Codex is OpenAI’s command-line coding agent, and alongside Claude it is one of the agents ContextBolt SEO is built around. It speaks the Model Context Protocol, so you can wire in ContextBolt SEO and pull live keyword, SERP, domain, and competitor data straight into your terminal workflow.
Codex has file access, so every lookup you run gets mirrored to a ./seo-findings/ folder in your project as markdown. Your research lives next to your code, searchable and version-controlled, instead of disappearing into the session.
SEO research where you ship
When you are building, the question “what should this rank for, and who already owns it?” is one you want answered without breaking flow. With ContextBolt SEO in Codex you ask it in the terminal and the numbers come back inline. No dashboard, no export, no second tool.
Because these are MCP tools, Codex chains them. “Find ten low-difficulty keywords for my docs site, check which ones a competitor already ranks for, and list the gaps” is one prompt, not ten dashboard sessions, and the whole session is written to disk.
The config block
Add ContextBolt SEO to ~/.codex/config.toml:
[mcp_servers.contextbolt-seo]
url = "https://seo.contextbolt.app/mcp/YOUR_TOKEN"
Restart your Codex session so it reloads the config, then ask “what SEO tools do you have?” to confirm. Your URL contains a personal token, so keep config.toml out of public repos or pull the URL from an environment variable. The full tour of tools and workflows is in the ContextBolt SEO guide.
How to connect ContextBolt SEO to Codex
-
Subscribe and get your MCP URL
Subscribe to ContextBolt SEO ($35/month for 1,000 lookups). Your private MCP URL arrives by email and looks like https://seo.contextbolt.app/mcp/YOUR_TOKEN. Keep it private, like a password.
-
Add it to config.toml
Open ~/.codex/config.toml and add a server block: [mcp_servers.contextbolt-seo] on one line, then url = "https://seo.contextbolt.app/mcp/YOUR_TOKEN" on the next. Save the file.
-
Start a session and check it
Start a new Codex session so it reloads the config, then ask 'what SEO tools do you have?'. If it lists keyword, SERP, domain, and competitor tools, the server is connected.
-
Connect your Search Console (optional, free)
Ask 'connect my Google Search Console', approve read-only access on Google's consent screen, and Codex can read your real clicks, positions, and quick wins. The Search Console tools are free and never spend your monthly lookups.
Example prompts for ContextBolt SEO + Codex
Once connected, try asking Codex:
Codex calls keyword_research and returns related terms with volume, difficulty, and intent, so you get a content shortlist from the terminal.
Chains keyword_difficulty and serp_overview so you get a difficulty score and the live page-one results without leaving Codex.
Runs ranked_keywords then competitor_keywords for a content map plus the rivals chasing the same keywords.
Calls backlink_gap and returns a spam-scored prospect list, a ready-made outreach shortlist. Backlink calls cost three lookups each.
What you can do with ContextBolt SEO in Codex
Run keyword research in plain English from the terminal
Score how hard a keyword is to rank for before you write
See who ranks in Google's top 10 for any query
Size up any domain's traffic, keywords, and authority
Find the keywords a competitor already ranks for
Spot backlink gaps: who links to rivals but not you
Connect your own Google Search Console, read-only and free
Save every lookup to ./seo-findings/ as markdown you can grep and commit