What is Gigabot?

Gigabot is a bot in the search engine crawlers category, operated by Gigablast.

Bot name
Gigabot
Operator
Gigablast
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Yes
robots.txt user agent
Gigabot
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About Gigabot

Gigablast is the only non-Big Tech search engine in the U.S. that uses its own search index and algorithms.

Search engine crawlers index your pages so they can appear in search results. Keep the genuine ones allowed and verify them, because fake search crawlers are one of the most common disguises for scrapers.

Gigabot user agent

Gigabot identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • Gigabot

Anyone can copy a user agent string. Transfon Security also checks where each request comes from, so a request that claims to be a known crawler but comes from the wrong network is treated as a fake, not as the real crawler.

How to block Gigabot in robots.txt

Gigabot follows robots.txt, so these rules stop it crawling the paths you choose. robots.txt is a plain text file at the root of your domain, such as https://example.com/robots.txt.

Block Gigabot from the whole site

User-agent: Gigabot
Disallow: /

Block Gigabot from some folders

User-agent: Gigabot
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /search

Allow Gigabot only on some folders

User-agent: Gigabot
Allow: /blog/
Disallow: /

Allow Gigabot and block other crawlers

User-agent: Gigabot
Allow: /

User-agent: *
Disallow: /

Things to know

  • Each host needs its own file. Rules on www.example.com do not apply to shop.example.com.
  • A crawler obeys only the most specific group that names it. Once you add a User-agent: Gigabot group, Gigabot ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take Gigabot from Gigabot's user agent; check Gigablast's own documentation if it publishes a different robots.txt name.
  • Crawlers cache robots.txt, so changes can take up to a day to apply. Disallow stops crawling but does not remove pages already collected or indexed.

Limits of robots.txt

  1. Gigabot may not follow the rule. Gigabot says it follows robots.txt, but nothing enforces that. Changes can take a day to apply, the operator can change its policy, and other crawlers from Gigablast use different names and rules.
  2. The user agent could be fake. robots.txt matches the name a request claims. Anyone can send Gigabot's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by Gigablast's robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real Gigabot from a fake one.

Treat robots.txt as a statement of your policy, and enforce it where requests arrive.

Who should care about Gigabot

Publishers

Gigabot brings search traffic, so keep the real one allowed. Fake Gigabot requests are a common cover for scrapers, so verify it by network rather than by name.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

Search crawlers fetch landing pages to check them. Keep Gigabot allowed, but out of campaign and conversion data.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

Gigabot indexes products for search results. Allow it, and block impersonators that use its name to scrape prices.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

Allow Gigabot on marketing and docs pages, and keep it off signed-in app pages it cannot use.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block Gigabot with Transfon Security

robots.txt is a request, not an enforcement. Transfon Security shows Gigabot by name in the Top Bots report, so you can see how often it visits and which pages it reads. Block or allow it with a User Agent rule, or slow it down with a rate limit decision rule.

Transfon Security

Control Gigabot on your site

  • See every Gigabot visit and the pages it reads
  • Spot bots that fake trusted crawler names
  • Block, allow or rate limit Gigabot with one rule
  • Works with or without robots.txt support

Frequently asked questions

What is Gigabot?

Gigabot is a bot in the search engine crawlers category, operated by Gigablast. Gigablast is the only non-Big Tech search engine in the U.S. that uses its own search index and algorithms.

Does Gigabot respect robots.txt?

Yes. Gigabot follows robots.txt, so a Disallow rule for the Gigabot user agent stops it from crawling the paths you list.

How do I block Gigabot?

Add "User-agent: Gigabot" followed by "Disallow: /" to the robots.txt file at the root of your site. To enforce it, block requests whose user agent contains "Gigabot" at your WAF. In Transfon Security that is one User Agent block rule.

Is robots.txt enough to block Gigabot?

No. robots.txt is voluntary, so Gigabot may not follow it, and anyone can send Gigabot's user agent, so a fake Gigabot ignores your rule. Enforce the rule where requests arrive, at your WAF, and check the source network.

Should I block Gigabot?

Search engine crawlers index your pages so they can appear in search results. Keep the genuine ones allowed and verify them, because fake search crawlers are one of the most common disguises for scrapers.

Related bots

All search engine crawlers · Full bot directory

See Which Bots Visit Your Site

Transfon Security identifies every bot in this directory in your traffic reports, flags fake search crawlers, and lets you allow, block or rate limit each bot.

Stay ahead of the publishing curve

Privacy, security, monetization, and performance insights. A few emails a month, no spam.

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy.