Redirect chain checker
Follow a URL hop by hop. See every status code, how long each hop took, and the headers on the final response.
How it works
- 1
We follow one hop at a time
Each Location header is checked and requested separately, up to 10 hops, with timing for every step.
- 2
We judge the chain
Length, temporary versus permanent redirects, http to https, loops, slow hops and a failing destination.
- 3
We read the final headers
X-Robots-Tag, Strict-Transport-Security, Cache-Control, Content-Type and any canonical Link header.
Why it matters for AI search
Crawlers give up on long chains, and a hidden X-Robots-Tag: noindex can keep a page out of search and AI answers with no sign in the HTML. Redirect problems are invisible in a browser because it hides the hops.
Frequently asked questions
How many redirects are too many?
Aim for one. Two is tolerable. Beyond three, crawlers may stop following and each hop adds delay.
When should I use 301 versus 302?
Use 301 or 308 for permanent moves so indexes update. Use 302 or 307 only for genuinely temporary ones.
What is X-Robots-Tag?
An HTTP header that carries robots directives like noindex. It works for files that have no HTML head, and it is easy to forget it is set.
Why does the tool show http first?
Starting from http:// shows whether visitors and crawlers are moved to https in a single clean hop.