Diffbot
Diffbot-User
Retrieves URLs on behalf of Diffbot users.
User-requested fetchAI search
Diffbot
Builds the search index behind Diffbot’s knowledge services.
Operated by Diffbot
See your agent traffic PurposeAI search
HTTP identifierDiffbot
IdentityVerify beyond the name
THE SIGNAL
What this visit tells you
Proactive crawling is separate from a user-triggered extraction request.
Fetched pages
Failed retrievals
Repeat fetches
Your next move
Review the public pages you want indexed and confirm the applicable access rules.
The technical details
MarkdownHow to identify it
Look for the Diffbot identifier in a request’s User-Agent. This is a name match, not identity verification. Version strings may change.
How to check identity
A User-Agent match identifies a claimed client. Check the source IP and any operator-published verification method before granting access.
Access and robots.txt
Diffbot documents robots.txt and Crawl-delay compliance by default. A configured override can apply when a customer has an agreement with the site owner.
Optional full-site opt-out. Merge with existing rules only if intended. robots.txt does not secure private content.
User-agent: Diffbot
Disallow: /Seeing 403 or 404 responses?
403 means access was denied; 404 means the resource was not found. Compare the public path, request time, edge security event and origin response to find the cause.
Separate intended restrictions and secret-file probes from pages that should work. A User-Agent name alone does not justify allowing a request.
SourcesReviewed 2026-09-14
Identity and purpose are based on these sources. Analytics interpretation and suggested checks are Apostl guidance.
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See their requests. Find the pages that matter.
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