Can robots.txt prevent scheduled Checkly checks?

Do not rely on it. Cloudflare's bot directory says Checkly does not follow robots.txt, and a configured check already knows its destination URL.

How can I identify my own account's checks?

Add a private request header or an account-specific user-agent suffix, then combine that with Checkly's published static source addresses.

Are Checkly monitoring IP addresses fixed?

Checkly says all monitoring traffic comes from a fixed set and publishes an up-to-date IPv4 and IPv6 list for allowlisting.

Does a Checkly visit count as AI crawling?

No. Checkly runs synthetic monitoring. It is not documented as collecting content for AI answers or model training.

Checkly: What It Is & How to Handle It

Q: What are Checkly's default user agents?

API and multistep checks use `Checkly/1.0 (https://www.checklyhq.com)`. Browser checks use `Checkly, https://www.checklyhq.com` unless customized.

What is Checkly?

Checkly customers define synthetic checks for their own sites and APIs. An API check sends direct requests, while browser checks and Playwright suites can open pages and run a scripted journey. The traffic measures whether an application works as configured; it is not gathering pages for a content index.

API and multistep checks default to Checkly/1.0 (https://www.checklyhq.com). Browser checks use Checkly, https://www.checklyhq.com unless the customer supplies another user agent. Because a real browser loads its dependent resources and may navigate through several steps, one scheduled run can create many related log entries.

Checkly says all monitoring traffic comes from a fixed set of published IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. Customers can also add an account-specific header or user-agent suffix to their checks. Those options are more useful for allowlisting than trusting the public Checkly token on its own.

Cloudflare's bot directory says this bot respects robots.txt, but the supporting bot directory records the opposite. Scheduled checks also address configured URLs directly, so robots.txt is not a dependable control. Checkly has no documented connection to AI search or model training, even when a customer happens to test an AI feature.

Not relevant for AI search

Is Checkly relevant for AI search?

No. Checkly is not part of AI search or training, so allowing or blocking it does not change your AI visibility.

Checkly runs synthetic monitoring or uptime checks on a schedule. It is not collecting content for any index or model, so it has no bearing on search rankings or AI answers. You usually see it because your own team or a service you use set up a check.

How to handle Checkly

Work out whether the log entries came from an API check or a browser run. A browser can fetch page assets and call APIs as part of one script, while a simple API check may touch only its target. Compare the source with Checkly's current static IP list and use a private header or account-specific user-agent suffix for checks your team owns.

The stable token makes this robots.txt group possible:

User-agent: Checkly
Disallow: /

Treat it as advisory because Cloudflare's bot directory says Checkly does not follow robots.txt. Disable or change the check in Checkly when it is legitimate but no longer needed. A server or CDN rule can stop other traffic, but blocking an active monitor will create failed runs and may send alerts.

Examples

A scheduled API check calls `/api/health` with `Checkly/1.0` and verifies the expected status and response body.
A Playwright suite signs in and opens a dashboard, so the logs contain the document, assets, and API calls. The team adds its own Checkly suffix to identify the whole run at the WAF.

Frequently asked questions about Checkly

Learn about AI visibility monitoring and how Promptwatch helps your brand succeed in AI search.

Browser checks load scripts, styles, images, and API calls, then may follow a multistep Playwright journey. Those requests can all belong to one check.