CrawlCheck

AI crawlers · Search indexes

Slurp

Slurp is the search index crawler run by Yahoo: Yahoo Slurp. Its operator documents how to verify it: reverse DNS to crawl.yahoo.net, then forward DNS back to the same address. A reverse DNS lookup on the source address must return the operator's domain, and a forward lookup on that name must return the same address.

User-agent tokenSlurp
OperatorYahoo
What it doesYahoo Slurp
Kindsearch index crawler
Can a request be verified?Yes — reverse dns
Verification sourcereverse DNS to crawl.yahoo.net, then forward DNS back to the same address
In a CrawlCheck scanRead from robots.txt; a refusal is scored

Allow or block it in robots.txt

User-agent: Slurp
Disallow: /
User-agent: Slurp
Allow: /

Add a group that names it: "User-agent: Slurp" followed by "Disallow: /". A crawler follows only the most specific group that names it, so once a group names Slurp, rules under "User-agent: *" no longer apply to it; repeat in that group any Disallow lines you still want.

What blocking it changes

Indirectly. It feeds Yahoo Slurp. A refusal removes pages from that index, and most AI answer surfaces still draw on search indexes.

See what Slurp and every other named agent receive from your own site: run a free scan. The full catalogue is on AI crawlers and as JSON at /ai-crawlers.json.

Questions about Slurp

QHow do I block Slurp in robots.txt?
Add a group that names it: "User-agent: Slurp" followed by "Disallow: /". A crawler follows only the most specific group that names it, so once a group names Slurp, rules under "User-agent: *" no longer apply to it; repeat in that group any Disallow lines you still want.
QHow can I tell if a request from Slurp is real?
Its operator documents how to verify it: reverse DNS to crawl.yahoo.net, then forward DNS back to the same address. A reverse DNS lookup on the source address must return the operator's domain, and a forward lookup on that name must return the same address.
QDoes blocking Slurp affect whether my site appears in AI answers?
Indirectly. It feeds Yahoo Slurp. A refusal removes pages from that index, and most AI answer surfaces still draw on search indexes.
QDoes CrawlCheck test my site as Slurp?
Not as a request. CrawlCheck reads the rules your robots.txt sets for Slurp and reports them. A refusal of it counts toward the grade, because it costs the site visibility.