rank-math/detect-seo-plugins detects leftover data from other SEO plugins — settings, post meta, terms and redirections — that Rank Math could import, along with what each one offers.
Detection only. The import is chunked and long-running, so it belongs on Rank Math’s own import screen.
At a glance
| Ability | rank-math/detect-seo-plugins |
| Toolset | Rank Math — toolset/rank-math |
| Group | Rank Math › Status, Backups & Tools |
| Requires | Rank Math SEO, active on the site |
| Capability | manage_options |
| Safety | Read-only — changes nothing |
| Repeatable | Idempotent — running it twice leaves the same result |
| Ships in | AcrossAI Abilities Manager 0.0.34 and later |
How it works
SEO plugin data outlives the plugin. Deactivating one leaves its post meta on every post and its settings in the options table, and a site that has been through two or three SEO plugins carries all of it.
That matters for two reasons. The obvious one is that the data can be imported rather than retyped. The less obvious one is that leftover meta from a deactivated plugin is a trap for anything reading post meta directly — a noindex directive from a plugin that has not run in three years still looks like a noindex directive.
The detection names what exists and what each source can contribute, which is enough to decide whether an import is worth running.
Running it is deliberately elsewhere. An import walks every post on the site in chunks, which does not fit a single ability call and fails badly if it times out halfway.
Input
This ability takes no input.
What comes back
| Name | Type | What it is |
|---|---|---|
detected | array | One entry per plugin found, with what it offers: settings, post meta, terms, redirections. |
count | integer | How many sources were found. |
success | boolean | Whether the call completed. |
message | string | A one-line summary of what happened, suitable for showing a human. |
error_code | string | Present only on failure — a stable machine-readable reason, such as a missing field, a wrong field type or an unmet confirmation. |
Example
Ask your assistant:
Is there old Yoast data on this site we could import?
It resolves to one call:
{
"ability": "rank-math/detect-seo-plugins",
"parameters": {}
}Worth knowing
- Detection only. Run the import from Rank Math’s own screen.
- Leftover meta from a removed plugin still looks like live configuration to anything reading meta directly.
- A site through several SEO plugins carries all of their data.
Related abilities
- Run Rank Math Maintenance Tool — the legacy block converters
- Get Rank Math Status — the import/export panel
Get the plugins:
AcrossAI Abilities Manager · AcrossAI MCP Manager
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