Redirect Checker

A redirect chain is a series of responses, often 301 or 302, that ends on a final URL. Long chains add extra requests before the page loads. This tool draws that kind of list without contacting the host.

A live redirect trace follows Location headers until a final status. This screen draws that kind of list locally. Use a client that prints each response if you are debugging a loop or a chain that is too long.

Hop is one of the values Redirect Checker puts on screen. A hop is one response in a chain. The screen lists sample hops for the URL you typed. Do not delete a redirect rule because a sample hop looked wrong.

Read 301 and 302 on its own before you mix it with the other rows. 301 is a permanent redirect and 302 is a temporary one. The sample uses those codes as labels on hops. The host did not choose them.

Final status answers a narrower question than the headline number. The chain ends on a code that is not a redirect, or on an error such as a loop. The final line is part of the sample trace. A loop warning here is not proof the live site loops.

Treat Address on a hop as a label with a specific job. Each hop names the URL that answered. Those addresses are drawn for the layout. They are not Location headers from the server.

The Length line is worth a full stop. Long chains add extra requests before the page. The sample length is not measured on your site. Shorten a real chain only after you have seen the real hops.

The URL is only a label on the sample trace. Status codes you see are there to teach the columns. They are not the codes the host returned.

If you remember one sequence from Redirect Checker, remember the fields in the order they change a decision. Hop matters because A hop is one response in a chain. In practice, The screen lists sample hops for the URL you typed. The mistake to avoid is this: Do not delete a redirect rule because a sample hop looked wrong. 301 and 302 matters because 301 is a permanent redirect and 302 is a temporary one. In practice, The sample uses those codes as labels on hops. The mistake to avoid is this: The host did not choose them. Final status matters because The chain ends on a code that is not a redirect, or on an error such as a loop. In practice, The final line is part of the sample trace. The mistake to avoid is this: A loop warning here is not proof the live site loops. Address on a hop matters because Each hop names the URL that answered. In practice, Those addresses are drawn for the layout. The mistake to avoid is this: They are not Location headers from the server. Length matters because Long chains add extra requests before the page. In practice, The sample length is not measured on your site. The mistake to avoid is this: Shorten a real chain only after you have seen the real hops. After that, the checks are simple. You did not edit redirect rules from this list. You did not call a sample 302 a real temporary redirect. You did not treat a loop label as a confirmed loop. The hop count stayed out of the performance budget. A live client is the source for the chain.

The worked example for Redirect Checker, read as one scene, is this. Type https://example.com and run the trace. You get a hop list and a final status that were not collected by requesting example.com. Follow the same URL with curl -I -L or the browser network panel. Use that hop list in any ticket.

Final notes for Redirect Checker, written as decisions rather than as a table. When Hop is in front of you, decide using this: A hop is one response in a chain. Do not delete a redirect rule because a sample hop looked wrong. When 301 and 302 is in front of you, decide using this: 301 is a permanent redirect and 302 is a temporary one. The host did not choose them. When Final status is in front of you, decide using this: The chain ends on a code that is not a redirect, or on an error such as a loop. A loop warning here is not proof the live site loops. When Address on a hop is in front of you, decide using this: Each hop names the URL that answered. They are not Location headers from the server. When Length is in front of you, decide using this: Long chains add extra requests before the page. Shorten a real chain only after you have seen the real hops. Then apply the checks without skipping one. You did not edit redirect rules from this list. You did not call a sample 302 a real temporary redirect. You did not treat a loop label as a confirmed loop. The hop count stayed out of the performance budget. A live client is the source for the chain.

Keep Redirect Checker as this step only. When the job moves on, the HTTP Status Code Checker is the next page: HTTP Status Code Checker takes a URL and shows a status, a response time, and a server IP on the page. The Robots.txt Generator covers a different piece of the same work: Robots.txt Generator builds a robots.txt file from an allow or disallow default, optional paths, a crawl delay, and a sitemap URL.