squirrelscan Audit a Website and Fix It
Run a squirrelscan audit against a website, read the LLM report, map each issue to the code or content that causes it, fix in batches, and re-audit until the score target is met.
Requires the squirrel CLI (squirrelscan.com/download; verify with squirrel --version). For CLI setup, login, publishing, MCP, and general CLI usage, use the companion squirrelscan skill.
Rule docs
Look up any rule at https://docs.squirrelscan.com/rules/{rule_category}/{rule_id}, for example:
https://docs.squirrelscan.com/rules/links/external-links
Running the audit
squirrel audit https://example.com --format llm
- Use
--format llm: it is compact, exhaustive, and made for agents. - If the user doesn't provide a URL, ask which site to audit.
- Prefer auditing the live site: only there do you see true rendering, performance, and redirect behavior. If both a local dev server and a live site exist, suggest the live one; apply the fixes to the local code either way.
- Audits are cached locally. Re-render later without recrawling:
squirrel report <audit-id> --format llm.
Scan progression
- First pass, quick coverage (the default): a fast, shallow scan to learn the site's structure, technology, and biggest problems without impacting the site.
- Second pass, deeper coverage:
-C surface(one page per URL pattern) for template-level coverage, or-C fullfor a comprehensive crawl before sign-off.
| Mode | Default pages | Use |
|---|---|---|
quick |
25 | First look, CI checks |
surface |
100 | Template-level coverage (one sample per pattern like /blog/{slug}) |
full |
500 | Final verification, deep analysis |
Useful flags: --refresh (ignore cache, full re-fetch), --resume (continue an interrupted crawl), -m <n> (page cap), --verbose (progress detail).
If the site blocks unknown crawlers (Shopify / Cloudflare), pass Web Bot Auth headers with repeated -H "Name: Value" flags. Header values are secrets and are redacted in output. See https://docs.squirrelscan.com/guides/web-bot-auth
The fix loop
- Present the report: score, grade, top issues by severity.
- Propose fixes: list the issues you can fix and confirm with the user before changing anything.
- Map issues to source: find the template, component, or content file behind each finding.
- Fix in batches: apply the approved fixes.
- Re-audit (use
--refreshafter deploys or content changes) and show before/after scores. - Repeat until the target is met or only judgment calls remain (for example "should this link be removed?"). Flag those for user review instead of guessing.
After each batch, verify the project still builds and existing checks pass.
Score targets
| Starting score | Target | Expected work |
|---|---|---|
| < 50 (F) | 75+ (C) | Major fixes |
| 50-70 (D) | 85+ (B) | Moderate fixes |
| 70-85 (C) | 90+ (A) | Polish |
| > 85 (B+) | 95+ | Fine-tuning |
Sign off against a -C full crawl, since the quick pass samples only part of the site.
Rules carry a level (error, warning, notice) and a rank (1-10): fix errors first, then high-rank warnings. Findings that need a content edit count the same as ones that need a code edit. Broken links usually need a human decision (remove, replace, or keep): flag them rather than guessing.
Verifying regressions
Compare against a baseline to prove improvement or catch regressions:
squirrel report --diff <baseline-audit-id> --format llm
squirrel report --regression-since example.com --format llm
Completion
Done means: all errors fixed; warnings fixed or documented as needing human review; a re-audit confirms the improvement; and the user has seen the before/after score comparison plus a summary of every change made. Re-audit regularly to keep the site healthy. If the user wants to share results, offer a published report (see the squirrelscan skill).
Report format
The LLM report is a compact XML/text hybrid optimized for token efficiency: summary with health score, issues grouped by category with affected URLs, broken links, and prioritized recommendations. Full spec: OUTPUT-FORMAT.md