---
title: "SEO crawl diff | SEO Skill"
description: "Repeat a limited crawl and compare it with the previous run to find technical SEO issues that appeared, changed or disappeared after a release."
canonical: "https://seoskill.dev/docs/reports/crawl-diff"
language: "en"
---

# SEO crawl diff

Run the same limited crawl again and see which technical findings changed. This is the quick release check when you need fresh evidence rather than a comparison of two existing snapshots.

## Install and run the report

Install the CLI once, then run `seo start` to connect your site and Google data. After setup you can run this report yourself or ask your agent to run it.

Install the SEO CLI globally.

```
npm i -g seo
```

Run setup after installation.

```
seo start
```

Repeat a limited crawl and compare it with the previous run.

```
seo crawl-diff --url https://example.com
```

## What you get from this report

Repeat a limited crawl and compare it with the previous run to find technical SEO issues that appeared, changed or disappeared after a release.

Best for

A release, migration, or scheduled technical check needs a fresh comparison.

Needs

Current limited same-origin crawl

You get

Repeat a limited crawl and compare it with the previous run to find technical SEO issues that appeared, changed or disappeared after a release.

Use next

Compare two saved crawls

Every report follows the same rules for missing data and outside estimates.[See how report data works](https://seoskill.dev/docs/reports#how-report-data-works).

## What you need before you run it

The report uses the information below. Optional sources are only used when you ask for them.

### Current limited same-origin crawl

Provides live responses, page evidence, issues, failures, limits, and crawl configuration.

### Previous compatible monitoring snapshot

Provides the baseline for page and technical comparisons.

## Use a different report for these jobs

These jobs need a different report or a manual review.

[

### Both crawl snapshots already exist and you need to choose the exact earlier and later report IDs yourself.

Compare the saved crawls. It reads both local snapshots without fetching the site and checks their configuration and completeness before presenting changes.

SEO crawl comparison

](https://seoskill.dev/docs/reports/compare-crawls)[

### There is no compatible baseline yet and you need the first technical snapshot.

Run a site crawl and save it as the baseline. A change report cannot identify regressions from a single snapshot, but the saved crawl gives the next run something comparable.

Sitemap health check and technical site crawl

](https://seoskill.dev/docs/reports/site-crawl)

## Use the report with an agent or in code

The command above is enough for most work. These options let an agent, script or application run the same report with explicit input and structured output.

### CLI

Use the report catalog when an agent, script or CI job needs predictable JSON instead of the normal terminal output. Check the current input first, then run the report with the validated parameters.

Check the current input before the agent or script runs the report.

```
seo reports describe crawl-diff --json
```

Once the input is valid, run the report through the report catalog.

```
seo reports run crawl-diff --params '{"startUrl":"https://example.com/","site":"sc-domain:example.com","limit":250,"refresh":true}' --json
```

### MCP

An MCP agent follows the same two-step flow. It inspects the current schema, fills the required fields and only then runs the report.

Ask the MCP server for the current report input.

```
{
  "id": "crawl-diff"
}
```

Run the report after the agent has checked and filled the input.

```
{
  "id": "crawl-diff",
  "params": {
    "startUrl": "https://example.com/",
    "site": "sc-domain:example.com",
    "limit": 250,
    "refresh": true
  }
}
```

### TypeScript

Install the package in a Node 22 project when your application needs to run the report directly. The result includes the same evidence, warnings and limits returned through the CLI and MCP server.

Add the SEO package to your project.

```
npm install seo
```

Run the report from your TypeScript application.

```
import { executeReport } from 'seo/mcp'

const result = await executeReport(
  'crawl-diff',
  {
  "startUrl": "https://example.com/",
  "site": "sc-domain:example.com",
  "limit": 250,
  "refresh": true
},
)

console.log(result)
```

## What to do next

Check that the repeated crawl used the same start URL, limits and discovery rules. Inspect new regressions on live pages and run the limited crawl again after the release fix.

1.  01Audit representative regressions.
2.  02Use affected URLs for repeated rule changes.

## Related reports

[

Compare two saved SEO crawls to find new, fixed and changed technical issues. Check the crawl scope before treating the difference as real or complete.

SEO crawl comparison

](https://seoskill.dev/docs/reports/compare-crawls)[

Audit one URL for technical SEO, metadata, canonicals, schema, links and Search Console queries. See the live evidence before changing the page.

SEO page audit

](https://seoskill.dev/docs/reports/audit-page)[

Find every URL affected by a technical SEO issue, inspect the crawl evidence on each page and turn one broad finding into a practical fix list.

Technical SEO affected URLs

](https://seoskill.dev/docs/reports/affected-urls)

## Sources used by this report

These primary sources define the provider data or search controls used by the result.

-   [Google robots.txt guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots/intro)
-   [Google JavaScript SEO guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/javascript/javascript-seo-basics)