Tracetify — Competitor Ads, Growth Traces & Search Console

tracetify-mcp

MCP server for Tracetify — trace how any product actually grew, read your own Search Console, and audit a site, without leaving Claude Code or Cursor.

Most competitive tools tell you where a product stands today. Tracetify reconstructs how it got there: the first mention, the quiet weeks, the directory wave, the launch spike. Twelve sources per trace, every claim linked to the page it came from.

Full setup guide and example questions: tracetify.com/mcp

Free agent skills

Start with Competitor Research and GSC SEO Optimizer for sourced competitor briefs and prioritized Search Console work. These free, MIT-licensed workflows use public sources or your own exports and do not require a Tracetify account. Browse the skill source. Connect this MCP server when you want additional Tracetify tools and data; authentication and applicable credit charges still apply.

Setup

Create an API key in the dashboard, then pick one of the two transports.

Claude Code — one command:

claude mcp add tracetify -e TRACETIFY_API_KEY=ttfy_... -- npx -y tracetify-mcp

Or skip the install entirely — nothing to install, not even Node:

claude mcp add --transport http tracetify https://tracetify.com/api/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer ttfy_..."

Same tools, same balance; the server runs on our side.

Claude Desktop / Cursor take the same JSON (Cursor reads ~/.cursor/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tracetify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "tracetify-mcp"],
      "env": { "TRACETIFY_API_KEY": "ttfy_..." }
    }
  }
}

Codex uses TOML in ~/.codex/config.toml — note the snake_case table name:

[mcp_servers.tracetify]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "tracetify-mcp"]
env = { TRACETIFY_API_KEY = "ttfy_..." }

Try asking

Your agent picks the right tool on its own — these are real questions, not placeholders:

• How did photoai.com get its first users? Cite the sources.
• My page ranks #12 for "ai headshot generator" — what should I change to reach page one?
• We just deployed — audit example.com and fix what you find.
• Where can I get my new SaaS listed for real dofollow links?
• What is competitor.com running on Meta and Google right now? Pull the hooks and landing pages.

If your agent ever reaches for the wrong tool, say trace <domain> and it will come straight here.

Tools

Tools that cost credits quote the price first and wait for you to say yes. Reading existing reports never costs anything.

Tool	Cost	What it does
search_reports	free	Find existing growth reports by domain
read_report	free	Read a full report — timeline & verdict follow your account's unlocks
start_trace	10 credits	Rebuild a competitor's growth from 12 sources (~60–90s); a fresh cached report comes back free
get_trace	free	Poll a running trace
unlock_report	10 credits	Permanently unlock a report's full timeline, evidence & SEO detail (idempotent — never charges twice)
gsc_overview	free	Your own Search Console: clicks, impressions, period comparison
gsc_queries	free	Your real ranking keywords with position and CTR — find what sits at #5–20
gsc_pages	free	Your pages by search performance, including high-impression low-CTR ones
site_audit_start	3 credits	Crawl a site for broken links, missing titles, redirect chains, thin content
site_audit_get	free	Poll an audit and read the issue list grouped by severity
research_competitors	2 credits	Who fights a domain for the same keywords, flagging which ones already have a report
research_domain_overview	3 credits	Estimated organic traffic and top keywords for any domain
research_keyword_volume	2 credits	Google Ads monthly search volume, CPC, 12-month trend and keyword difficulty (0–100) for up to 10 keywords (per market or worldwide; difficulty is US-based when worldwide)
research_serp_breakdown	3 credits	Who holds the Google top 10 for one keyword in one market: per position the domain, homepage vs inner page, domain rating (0–1000) and estimated monthly organic traffic — the weakest slot stands out
research_backlinks	3 credits	Referring domains, authority and anchor texts
research_competitor_ads	3 credits	The ads a domain is running on Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and Google right now — copy, CTA, landing page, creative URL, platforms, start dates
research_brand_lookup	12 credits	How AI assistants cite a brand: platforms, mentions, associated entities
backlink_directories	8 credits	Hand-verified directories that actually give dofollow links (billed once per day)

Everything draws from your Tracetify credit balance — the same balance the website uses. No seats, no per-tool add-ons. Top up at tracetify.com/pricing.

What this package does

It is a thin protocol adapter: MCP tool calls in, Tracetify HTTP API calls out. No business logic, no data of its own — your API key never leaves your machine except as an Authorization header to tracetify.com.

License

MIT