Teams moving from Semgrep to Aikido typically want broader security coverage in a single dashboard, less reliance on custom-rule authoring as the primary signal source, and a quieter PR experience.

For the overall migration hub, see Migrating to Aikido. For the feature-level comparison, see Aikido vs Semgrep vs GitHub Advanced Security.

Why teams switch

One dashboard for SAST, SCA, Secrets, IaC, Container, CSPM, VM, and DAST instead of separately-licensed Semgrep products.
AutoTriage filters unreachable and low-confidence findings by default, reducing reliance on custom rule tuning to keep the queue small.
Ownership-aware routing through CODEOWNERS, teams, path-based assignment, and Jira smart routing.
Custom Rules are still supported on eligible paid plans for the detections teams want to preserve.

A safe transition plan

The pattern: visibility first, blocking later, and one tool blocks, the other measures during overlap. Cut over by capability, not by one big-bang date.

Export your custom Semgrep rules for reference.
Connect Aikido to your SCM and enable the equivalent capabilities Semgrep currently runs.
Baseline existing findings. Aikido distinguishes newly introduced findings from pre-existing ones, so existing Semgrep debt stays visible as non-blocking backlog separate from net-new gating.
Run in parallel, warn-only, for 2–4 weeks: Semgrep remains the blocker, Aikido warns.
Re-author the load-bearing rules as Aikido Custom Rules. Translation is manual and rule-by-rule — Aikido does not currently publish an automated Semgrep-to-Aikido converter. Many patterns are best replaced by AutoTriage's default behavior.
Flip enforcement by capability, then move Semgrep to report-only or off for that capability.

What to preserve before cutover

Custom rules and their detection intent. Export the YAML for reference. Re-author the rules that still earn their keep.
Historical scan archive. Keep read-only for your audit retention window. Aikido does not currently publish an automated importer for Semgrep findings, suppressions, or ignore state.
Audit evidence going forward comes from Aikido via Reports, PDF and issue export, the activity log API, SBOM/VEX export, the REST API and webhooks, and the Vanta integration for control mapping.

Ownership and routing during migration

Set CODEOWNERS, teams, path-based assignment, and Jira smart routing before turning enforcement on. Configure roles, permissions, and SAML in the same window. No repo should be onboarded without an owner.

Introducing enforcement without double-blocking PRs

Only one tool blocks a given capability at a time. During overlap Semgrep blocks and Aikido warns; after cutover Aikido blocks and Semgrep is report-only or off for that capability.

When to decommission Semgrep

Retire by capability once:

Aikido has been the sole PR gate for that capability for at least one full release cycle.
Net-new finding volume and ownership routing are stable.
Reports and evidence exports have been validated with your audit or compliance reviewer.
The Semgrep scan history for that capability is archived read-only.

Some teams with a dedicated AppSec rule-authoring practice choose to keep a Semgrep OSS instance for a specific niche use case. That is a coexistence decision, not a migration blocker.

Migrating from Semgrep to Aikido