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DuckDuckBot (DuckDuckGo): what it is and how to allow or block it

Updated · checked against the operator's documentation on

DuckDuckBot is DuckDuckGo's crawler for its search results. Its robots.txt token is DuckDuckBot.

Facts

Operator
DuckDuckGo
Category
Search engine crawler
robots.txt token
DuckDuckBot
Honors robots.txt?
Yes, per DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo says the crawler respects the WWW::RobotRules library (a Perl robots.txt parser). Its page names no robots.txt token; DuckDuckBot is the conventional one.
User-agent example
DuckDuckBot/1.1; (+http://duckduckgo.com/duckduckbot.html)
User agent we logged
DuckDuckBot/1.1; (+http://duckduckgo.com/duckduckbot.html)Most common variant in our own logs, 3 requests, 19 to 25 Oct 2026. Static snapshot, not the live counter below. A logged string is a claim: anyone can send it.
Official source
DuckDuckGo: DuckDuckBot
Published IP ranges
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckbot.json
Compared with the source

What it is used for

DuckDuckGo says it uses the crawler to constantly improve its search results.

A traditional search engine crawler. AI features of the same company often draw on its index.

What happens if you block it

Your pages can drop out of DuckDuckGo results that rely on its own crawl. DuckDuckGo also draws on other sources, so a block does not remove you from every result.

DuckAssistBot, which DuckDuckGo uses for AI-assisted answers, is a separate bot with its own page.

Is it really DuckDuckBot?

Anyone can send DuckDuckBot as a user agent, so a log line proves nothing by itself. The way to tell is the requesting IP address.

How to allow or block DuckDuckBot

Add one of these groups to the robots.txt at the root of your domain. A group that names the bot overrides a general User-agent: * group.

Allow DuckDuckBot
User-agent: DuckDuckBot
Allow: /
Block DuckDuckBot
User-agent: DuckDuckBot
Disallow: /

Does your site allow DuckDuckBot today? The checker evaluates your robots.txt for this and every other bot.Check my site

What we see on our own sites

Live counter, last 30 days: no request identifying as DuckDuckBot recorded yet. The counter started after the week below, so it does not cover it. Earlier log snapshot (19 to 25 Oct 2026): 4 requests identified as DuckDuckBot.

Counts come from the websites we operate; they hold no IP addresses or URLs, and a user agent is only a claim. See the bot traffic data and the methodology.

Questions about DuckDuckBot

What is DuckDuckBot?

DuckDuckGo's crawler for its search results. DuckDuckGo says it uses the crawler to constantly improve its search results.

Is DuckDuckBot safe and legitimate?

The real DuckDuckBot is a search engine crawler run by DuckDuckGo. A user-agent string is only a claim, though, so anyone can send it. Compare the requesting IP address with the published IP ranges.

Does DuckDuckBot obey robots.txt?

Yes, per DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo says the crawler respects the WWW::RobotRules library (a Perl robots.txt parser). Its page names no robots.txt token; DuckDuckBot is the conventional one.

How do I block DuckDuckBot?

Add a group to the robots.txt at the root of your domain: User-agent: DuckDuckBot followed by Disallow: /. A group that names the bot overrides a general User-agent: * group.

Will blocking DuckDuckBot hurt my Google rankings or AI visibility?

For that search engine, yes: this is the crawler behind its index, and AI features of the same company often draw on that index. Your pages can drop out of DuckDuckGo results that rely on its own crawl. DuckDuckGo also draws on other sources, so a block does not remove you from every result.

Related bots

More from DuckDuckGo

Other Search engine crawlers

All Search Engine Crawlers · Bot directory · Which bots to allow or block · robots.txt generator · See a page as a bot