Semgrep Avoids Full Code Ingestion

This deployment model makes Semgrep cheaper to serve and easier to approve in security reviews than vendors that pull source code into their own cloud. The actual scan happens inside the customer’s CI job or local environment, so Semgrep avoids storing full repositories and the heavy compute and data handling that come with hosted analysis. That lowers infrastructure cost, reduces IP exposure, and fits buyers that want PR comments and fixes without handing over their codebase.

• Semgrep’s own docs state that when it runs entirely in CI, source code stays in the customer environment, and its CI deployment guide says code is not sent anywhere unless code access is explicitly granted. That is a very different trust model from cloud scanners that need full repo ingestion to analyze code.
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• The contrast shows up in competitor architectures. Endor Labs is cloud SaaS by default, with a self hosted option, and DryRun runs analysis through a private LLM and serverless services. Those models can deliver richer centralized workflows, but they also carry more hosting and compute burden than Semgrep’s customer run scanner.
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• This also sharpens Semgrep’s competitive position against bundled scanners. GitHub Code Security is priced at $30 per active committer per month, and AWS launched Inspector code security as a native code, dependency, and IaC scanner. As platform bundles spread, Semgrep’s lightweight deployment and lower data sensitivity become part of why a separate tool can still win.
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Going forward, this architecture gives Semgrep room to add higher margin AI features on top of a low cost scanning base. The more security review shifts toward triage, autofix, and AI assisted developer workflows, the more valuable it becomes to keep raw code in the customer environment and send only the minimum context needed for analysis.