Semgrep Code

Semgrep Code is the commercial Static Application Security Testing (SAST) engine in the Semgrep AppSec Platform. Coverage extends across 30-plus programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, Go, Rust, Ruby, PHP, Kotlin, Scala, Swift, C, C++, Apex, and infrastructure-as-code formats (Terraform, Kubernetes manifests, Helm). The same engine handles modern microservices and the legacy stacks enterprise programs still maintain.

Cross-file and cross-function dataflow analysis are the engine differentiators. Single-file SAST scanners flag syntactic matches. Semgrep traces tainted data through the application across function and file boundaries to find where untrusted input reaches a sink. Cross-file analysis produces 50-70% more true positives than single-file analysis with low false-positive rates per Semgrep's published benchmarks. Recent platform improvements have increased detected true positives by 250% and reduced false positives by 25% via cross-file capabilities.

YAML custom rule authoring is the practical reason developers adopt Semgrep faster than competing SAST tools. Rules are written in YAML and look like source code, so AppSec architects encode the customer's internal coding standards directly into the scanner without learning a domain-specific language or working with abstract syntax trees. Custom rules deploy alongside the 20,000-plus Pro Rules from Semgrep's security research team. AI-powered detection in private beta extends the platform into business-logic vulnerabilities like IDORs (Insecure Direct Object References) and broken authorization patterns.

Default rules and Pro Rules produce signal but not customer-specific signal. Programs that adopt Semgrep without authoring custom rules use it as a noisier substitute for other SAST tools rather than the better one. Merito's standard rollout begins with Pro Rules calibration against the customer's risk tolerance, custom rule authoring for internal coding standards, AI Assistant Memories configuration, and PR-time integration so developers see findings in the workflow they already use.

Semgrep Code's Pro Rules and cross-file dataflow produce more true positives at lower false-positive rates than single-file SAST scanners. The engine math is real. Programs that adopt Semgrep without authoring custom rules still see the engine improvement, but they miss the part of the value that requires the customer's own internal coding standards encoded into the scanner.

YAML custom rule authoring is the practical reason developers adopt Semgrep faster than competing SAST tools. Rules look like source code. AppSec architects encode internal standards directly without learning a domain-specific language. Merito's first thirty days on every Semgrep engagement include rule design, custom YAML rule authoring for the customer's specific patterns, and AI Assistant Memories configuration so the noise filtering grounds in the customer's actual code rather than generic Semgrep defaults.

AI Assistant is real but augments triage rather than replacing it. Programs that adopt Semgrep expecting full triage automation are setting up the wrong expectation. The capability reduces analyst toil materially when Memories are authored well. Without Memories, the AI Assistant has no organization-specific context to ground in.