Fetch + parse the target domain's robots.txt — sitemaps, per-User-agent allow/disallow rules, crawl-delay, Host directive. Use BEFORE crawling/scraping a target site (seo_audit, brand_assets, redirect_chain) to honour the site's published rules. status_code=404 means no robots.txt exists = implic...
Part of the ContrastAPI server.
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AI agents call robots_txt to retrieve information from ContrastAPI without modifying any data. This is common in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows where the agent needs context before taking action. Because read operations don't change state, they are generally safe to allow without restrictions -- but you may still want rate limits to control API costs.
Even though robots_txt only reads data, uncontrolled read access can leak sensitive information or rack up API costs. An agent caught in a retry loop could make thousands of calls per minute. A rate limit gives you a safety net without blocking legitimate use.
Read-only tools are safe to allow by default. No rate limit needed unless you want to control costs.
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"robots_txt": {}
}
}See the full ContrastAPI policy for all 53 tools.
These attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access robots_txt gives an agent. Each links to the full case and the policy that stops it:
Other read tools across the catalogue. The same approach applies to each: allow, with a rate cap to control cost.
Fetch + parse the target domain's robots.txt — sitemaps, per-User-agent allow/disallow rules, crawl-delay, Host directive. Use BEFORE crawling/scraping a target site (seo_audit, brand_assets, redirect_chain) to honour the site's published rules. status_code=404 means no robots.txt exists = implicit allow-all per RFC 9309 §2.4. ContrastAPI fetches with User-agent: ContrastAPI/<version> (+https://contrastcyber.com/bot) so site operators can identify + opt out via robots.txt; we honour Disallow: / for our UA in seo_audit and brand_assets. Per-target eTLD+1 throttle (60 req/min) prevents weaponising this endpoint against a single site; subdomain rotation collapses to the same bucket. Free: 30/hr, Pro: 500/hr. Returns {domain, fetched_url, status_code, sitemaps, user_agents:{ua:{allow,disallow,crawl_delay}}, host, truncated, summary}. Returns 502 ErrorResponse if the target rejected the connection (DNS/TCP/TLS failure); the agent should NOT assume "no robots" in that case — it's an upstream-failure signal.. It is categorised as a Read tool in the ContrastAPI MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the ContrastAPI MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for robots_txt: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches ContrastAPI. Nothing to install.
robots_txt is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the robots_txt rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for robots_txt. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
robots_txt is provided by the ContrastAPI MCP server (https://api.contrastcyber.com/mcp/). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 53 ContrastAPI tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
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