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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesA scraping feasibility checker can tell you whether a crawler’s requested path appears allowed under the applicable robots.txt rules and whether the policy could be retrieved and interpreted reliably. It cannot establish that scraping is legally permitted, guarantee that a site will serve the data, or make anti-bot restrictions disappear. Start by checking the exact scheme, host, port, crawler identity, and path; then treat the result as a technical policy assessment, not a green light.
What a scraping feasibility checker actually checks
A useful checker answers a narrow, reproducible question: given a particular URL, crawler user-agent, and robots-policy interpretation, what does the site’s current robots.txt say about that path?
The Robots Exclusion Protocol, standardized in IETF RFC 9309 in September 2022, describes rules that crawlers are requested to honor. It explicitly states: “These rules are not a form of access authorization.” An “allowed” result therefore means only that the checked robots rules do not prohibit the path under the checker’s stated matching logic. It does not mean the site owner has granted permission.
What the result can establish
- Whether a robots file was retrieved, and the response or retrieval condition observed.
- Which user-agent group was selected for the crawler identity being checked.
- Whether that group’s matching rules allow or disallow the requested path under the stated interpretation.
- When the file was fetched, so a reader can judge whether the result is still current.
What it cannot establish
- Whether the target site’s terms, an authorization agreement, or applicable law permits your planned collection or use.
- Whether the server will actually deliver the page, or whether it will return a challenge, rate limit, or other response.
- Whether the data can be parsed reliably, is accurate, or is appropriate to retain or reuse.
Check the exact robots.txt scope first
The file’s scope is easy to misread. Robots.txt is located at the top-level path of the applicable service, commonly /robots.txt. Google’s documentation says a robots file applies only to its host, protocol, and port; it does not automatically cover another subdomain or scheme. Thus, https://example.com/robots.txt is not automatically the policy for https://shop.example.com/ or http://example.com/. A non-default port is another distinct scope to account for.
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For a target such as https://shop.example.com/catalog/item, check the policy served for that same HTTPS host and port, then evaluate the full requested path. Do not assume the root domain’s policy governs a subdomain, or that a policy fetched over HTTP governs HTTPS.
How to assess a target, step by step
- Define the actual request. Record the complete target URL, including scheme, host, port if present, and path. If you intend to request several paths or hosts, assess each relevant scope rather than generalizing one result.
- Choose the crawler identity. Use the user-agent token your crawler will send, and record it. Robots rules may have different groups for different crawler identities; a check using one identity does not automatically answer for another.
- Fetch the scoped robots file. Retrieve the top-level
/robots.txtfor that exact service. Record the retrieval time, final response condition, and any redirects or network failures. A missing or inaccessible file is not the same observation as a successfully fetched file with no matching prohibition. - Apply the selected group and path rules. Identify the applicable user-agent group and compare its rules with the requested path. RFC 9309 says the most specific matching rule is used. Preserve the matched rule and explain how specificity was determined rather than reporting only a bare “yes” or “no.”
- Report uncertainty and freshness. Include the fetch timestamp, interpretation used, and retrieval condition. RFC 9309 says a cached file generally should not be used for more than 24 hours unless it is unreachable. Google says its crawlers generally cache robots files for up to 24 hours and may cache longer when refresh is not possible. These are distinct protocol and Google-crawler statements, not a guarantee that all checkers or crawlers refresh identically.
- Make separate operational and legal checks. Review the site’s applicable terms and your authorization, data type, purpose, jurisdiction, privacy and copyright considerations. A robots assessment does not resolve those questions.
Interpret the result without overstating it
| Observation | Responsible interpretation | What not to conclude |
|---|---|---|
| A matching rule allows the requested path | The checked policy does not prohibit that path for the specified crawler identity under the stated matching logic. | That scraping is authorized, lawful, or guaranteed to work. |
| A matching rule disallows the path | The policy asks crawlers in the applicable group not to fetch that path. | That the path is technically inaccessible or that every crawler implements the same extensions identically. |
| The file is unavailable or absent | Report the exact response and the convention the checker used. RFC 9309 distinguishes unavailable client responses from unreachable server or network failures, and baseline treatment differs. | That all robots implementations treat the condition alike. |
| The fetch fails due to server or network unreachability | The policy could not be reliably observed; mark the outcome uncertain and follow the explicitly named crawler interpretation. | That a failed fetch means “allowed.” |
| The policy is cached | Show the fetch timestamp and cache age; indicate whether the freshness limit or an unreachable-file exception applies. | That a once-current result remains current indefinitely. |
Google publishes its own status-code handling for Google crawlers. A checker should identify whether it follows RFC 9309 baseline behavior, Google’s documented behavior, or another crawler’s rules. Avoid presenting one vendor’s interpretation as universal.
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Rules and implementation details that can change the answer
User-agent groups and matching
The selected user-agent group matters: checking for a generic crawler identity may produce a different result from checking for a named crawler. The requested path matters too. A site may disallow one section while allowing another. RFC 9309’s most-specific-match principle means a checker should show which matching rule determined its result, especially when both allow and disallow directives are relevant.
Extensions and crawler differences
Do not assume every crawler implements every vendor-specific extension in the same way. Google documents supported robots fields and says crawl-delay is not among the fields it supports. A checker should label any extension handling and the crawler interpretation it models rather than treating the directive as universally binding.
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Redirects, errors, and freshness
Redirect handling and retrieval outcomes can affect what policy was actually evaluated. Preserve enough detail to reproduce the fetch: requested robots URL, final response or error condition, fetch time, and the rules used. Under RFC 9309, cached robots content generally should not be used for more than 24 hours unless unreachable. Google says its crawlers generally cache up to 24 hours and may cache longer if refresh is not possible; that is Google’s documented practice, not a universal caching rule.
Technical feasibility is not legal clearance
A robots check is one input to a decision about a proposed crawl. It is not a substitute for site terms, authorization, privacy review, copyright analysis, or advice tailored to the relevant jurisdiction and intended use. Those factors depend on the site, data, purpose, and circumstances; the robots file alone does not settle them.
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The European Data Protection Board’s page for “Guidelines 03/2026 on web scraping in the context of generative AI” describes draft guidance under consultation, with feedback open through October 30, 2026. It is draft and consultation material, not final guidance, and its stated generative-AI context should not be generalized to every scraping scenario.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where ScreenshotNeo fits—and where it doesn’t
ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server, not a robots-policy or legal-permission checker. It is relevant when the technical task is to capture a rendered page as an image or PDF, rather than to determine whether a crawl is authorized. Its clean-shot workflow accepts cookie/consent banners like a visitor and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each step can be turned off. Bot checks/CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, and responses identify the page verdict and billing status in headers. It also provides MCP tools for AI agents: take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf.
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For a screenshot of a page you are permitted to capture, one GET request returns an image or PDF. This cURL example saves a WebP screenshot of Stripe:
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp
See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options and response details. Cookie banners, popups, and chat widgets are removed before the shot; bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are never billed. AI agents can use its MCP server to take screenshots. The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. Sign up for free.
Common checker failures and how to report them
- Wrong host or scheme: You fetched the root domain or HTTP policy for a subdomain or HTTPS target. Fetch the policy for the exact target service scope.
- Wrong user-agent: The check used a generic identity while your crawler sends a different token. Repeat the evaluation using the actual crawler identity and disclose it in the result.
- Path mismatch: You checked only the domain root rather than the requested deep path. Evaluate the full path and show the most-specific matching rule.
- Robots retrieval timeout or network error: The policy was not reliably retrieved. Mark the result uncertain; do not infer that the path is allowed.
- Ambiguous missing-file response: Distinguish the observed status from the checker’s interpretation, and name whether it follows RFC 9309 or a specific crawler’s published rules.
- Stale cache: A result without a fetch timestamp cannot be judged for freshness. Re-fetch when possible and report cache age, including any exception applied.
- Unexpected directive behavior: Check whether the directive is supported by the crawler model. Google, for example, documents that it does not support
crawl-delay; another crawler may differ. - Robots says allowed but page capture or retrieval fails: Robots policy and page delivery are separate. Treat bot checks, blank responses, timeouts, or failed loads as operational outcomes, not contradictions that change the robots rule.
What a reproducible feasibility report should contain
A compact report should let another developer repeat the assessment and understand its limits. Include:
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- Crawler user-agent identity used for group selection.
- Fetch timestamp, response or failure condition, and any redirect outcome.
- Policy text or a durable record of the relevant group and matching directives.
- Path evaluated, matching rule, and the protocol or crawler interpretation applied.
- Cache age and whether an unreachable-file exception affected freshness.
- A plain statement that the outcome describes robots policy, not legal authorization or guaranteed access.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an “allowed” robots.txt result mean I have permission to scrape?
No. RFC 9309 expressly says robots rules are not access authorization; the result is only about the checked crawl policy.
Does the root domain’s robots.txt cover every subdomain?
No. Google documents robots scope as limited to the host, protocol, and port where the file is served.
Is robots.txt itself legally binding in every jurisdiction?
The sources here do not establish a universal legal answer. Terms, authorization, data, use, and jurisdiction require separate consideration.
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