# Robots.txt Validator - Crawl Rules Analyzer (`pink_comic/robots-txt-validator`) Actor Analyze robots.txt files for any domain. Extract crawl rules, sitemaps, blocked paths, and crawl-delay settings. Validate configuration and identify SEO issues in bulk. - **URL**: https://apify.com/pink\_comic/robots-txt-validator.md - **Developed by:** [Ava Torres](https://apify.com/pink_comic) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, AI - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## robots.txt Validator & Analyzer Fetch, parse, and analyze `robots.txt` files for any domain in bulk. Built for SEO professionals, developers, and crawler operators who need to audit site access rules at scale. ### What It Does For each domain you supply, the actor: 1. Fetches `/robots.txt` from the domain root over HTTPS (falls back gracefully on 404 or network errors) 2. Parses all `User-agent`, `Allow`, `Disallow`, `Crawl-delay`, and `Sitemap` directives 3. Reports structured rules grouped by user-agent 4. Optionally checks whether specific paths are allowed or blocked for your chosen user-agent ### Input | Field | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | `urls` | string[] | Yes | Domains or full URLs (e.g. `google.com`, `https://openai.com/blog`) | | `userAgent` | string | No | User-agent to evaluate rules for. Defaults to `*` | | `checkPaths` | string[] | No | Specific paths to test for allow/disallow (e.g. `/admin`, `/api/`) | | `maxResults` | integer | No | Cap on domains to process. Defaults to 100 | ### Output One record per domain: | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `domain` | Domain name | | `robotsTxtUrl` | Full URL of the fetched robots.txt | | `robotsTxtFound` | `true` if HTTP 200 was returned | | `robotsTxtContent` | Raw robots.txt text | | `userAgentRules` | Parsed rule blocks, each with `userAgent` and `rules` array of `{directive, path}` | | `sitemapUrls` | All Sitemap URLs declared in the file | | `crawlDelay` | Crawl-delay in seconds for the requested user-agent (null if not set) | | `analyzedPaths` | Per-path results: `{path, allowed}` for each path in `checkPaths` | | `fetchError` | Error message if the file could not be fetched | ### Example Use Cases - **SEO audit**: Check which bots can access which parts of your site - **Crawler compliance**: Verify your spider respects `Disallow` rules before running at scale - **Competitive research**: Understand what paths competitors block from indexing - **Security review**: Identify paths hidden from crawlers (admin panels, staging URLs) - **Sitemap discovery**: Extract all declared sitemap URLs without manual inspection ### Pricing $0.10 per 1,000 domains checked. Typical run of 100 domains costs less than $0.02. # Actor input Schema ## `urls` (type: `array`): Domains or full URLs to analyze. Enter one per line (e.g., example.com, https://openai.com/blog). The actor fetches /robots.txt from each domain's root. ## `userAgent` (type: `string`): The user-agent string to check rules for (e.g., Googlebot, GPTBot, *). Defaults to * (wildcard). ## `checkPaths` (type: `array`): Optional list of URL paths to check whether they are allowed or disallowed for the specified user-agent (e.g., /admin, /sitemap.xml, /api/). ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of domains to process. Use this to control costs. ## Actor input object example ```json { "urls": [ "google.com", "github.com", "openai.com" ], "userAgent": "*", "checkPaths": [], "maxResults": 100 } ```` # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "urls": [ "google.com", "github.com", "openai.com" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("pink_comic/robots-txt-validator").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "urls": [ "google.com", "github.com", "openai.com", ] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("pink_comic/robots-txt-validator").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "urls": [ "google.com", "github.com", "openai.com" ] }' | apify call pink_comic/robots-txt-validator --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=pink_comic/robots-txt-validator", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Robots.txt Validator - Crawl Rules Analyzer", "description": "Analyze robots.txt files for any domain. Extract crawl rules, sitemaps, blocked paths, and crawl-delay settings. Validate configuration and identify SEO issues in bulk.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "a0W3f61KgdhmeokwI" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/pink_comic~robots-txt-validator/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-pink_comic-robots-txt-validator", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/pink_comic~robots-txt-validator/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-pink_comic-robots-txt-validator", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/pink_comic~robots-txt-validator/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-pink_comic-robots-txt-validator", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "urls" ], "properties": { "urls": { "title": "Domains / URLs", "type": "array", "description": "Domains or full URLs to analyze. Enter one per line (e.g., example.com, https://openai.com/blog). The actor fetches /robots.txt from each domain's root.", "default": [ "google.com", "github.com", "openai.com" ], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "userAgent": { "title": "User-Agent", "type": "string", "description": "The user-agent string to check rules for (e.g., Googlebot, GPTBot, *). Defaults to * (wildcard).", "default": "*" }, "checkPaths": { "title": "Paths to Check", "type": "array", "description": "Optional list of URL paths to check whether they are allowed or disallowed for the specified user-agent (e.g., /admin, /sitemap.xml, /api/).", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxResults": { "title": "Max Results", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 10000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of domains to process. Use this to control costs.", "default": 100 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```