Semgrep

Semgrep is a developer-friendly static analysis tool known for fast, pattern-based code scanning with an accessible custom rules system. Its speed and lightweight footprint make it particularly well-suited to CI/CD integration — scans complete quickly enough not to significantly impact pipeline latency. For agents implementing code security workflows, Semgrep's API provides access to scan results, findings management, and custom rule deployment, enabling programmatic security policy enforcement without the overhead of heavier SAST platforms.

Authentication uses API tokens with organization-level access. Semgrep's token model is clean and appropriate for CI/CD automation. The separation between the open-source CLI (which runs locally without API access) and Semgrep Cloud Platform (which provides the API surface) means teams need to understand which model they're integrating — CLI-only usage doesn't require the API, but findings management and the full programmatic surface require the cloud platform.

The API covers findings, rules, deployments, and SCM integrations. Agents can retrieve scan findings by severity and rule category, manage custom rule deployments to enforce team-specific security policies, and access aggregate security posture data. The custom rules capability is a meaningful differentiator — teams can express security policies as Semgrep patterns and deploy them programmatically through the API, enabling codified security standards that agents can both enforce and report on.

Reliability is designed for CI/CD-scale usage. Semgrep's performance profile — fast, parallelizable scans — makes it reliable under the continuous integration load patterns that agents generate. Teams should note the distinction between scan execution (CLI) and results management (API) when designing agent workflows that need both.

Documentation is excellent and reflects Semgrep's developer-first culture. The API documentation is clear and well-organized. The rules documentation is particularly good — explaining the pattern syntax and rule structure comprehensively, which is important for teams that want to write custom security rules. Teams new to SAST will find Semgrep's conceptual guides accessible compared to more complex analysis platforms.