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Link preview bot

What is Slackbot-LinkExpanding?

Slackbot-LinkExpanding is the bot Slack uses to expand links posted in channels into previews.

Link previewIgnores robots.txtNo way to verify
Operator
Slack
Purpose
Link preview. Builds the preview card when someone shares your link in a chat or social app.
robots.txt token
Slackbot-LinkExpanding
Sample user agent
Slackbot-LinkExpanding 1.0 (+https://api.slack.com/robots)User agents change with versions. Match on the token, not the full string.
Follows robots.txt
No. Slack says it does not currently honor robots.txt, because it acts for a person and does not follow links.
How to verify
Slack doesn't publish a way to verify it.
Sources
Slack documentation
Last reviewed

Allow or block Slackbot-LinkExpanding

Block Slackbot-LinkExpanding
User-agent: Slackbot-LinkExpanding
Disallow: /

Asks Slackbot-LinkExpanding not to crawl any page. Well-behaved crawlers stop; it does not stop anyone who ignores robots.txt.

Allow Slackbot-LinkExpanding
User-agent: Slackbot-LinkExpanding
Allow: /

Lets Slackbot-LinkExpanding crawl everything. You only need this if a broader rule would otherwise block it.

Should you block it?

Blocking Slackbot-LinkExpanding breaks the preview card when someone shares your link on Slack.

Write a full policy with the AI Crawler Policy Generator

Slackbot-LinkExpanding can't be verified

Slack doesn't publish IP ranges, DNS names or signatures for Slackbot-LinkExpanding. The user agent is the only signal, and anyone can copy it, so treat a request that claims to be Slackbot-LinkExpanding as unproven.

Questions about Slackbot-LinkExpanding

Is Slackbot-LinkExpanding safe to allow?

Slackbot-LinkExpanding reads public pages; it does not log in or submit forms. Whether to allow it depends on whether you want Slack's product to use your pages.

How do I know a request is really Slackbot-LinkExpanding?

You can't, from the request alone. Slack doesn't publish IP ranges, DNS names or signatures for it, so the user agent is the only signal, and anyone can copy that.

How often does Slackbot-LinkExpanding visit?

It depends on your site; Slack doesn't publish a schedule. Referscope shows the real visits.

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