What is GitHub-Hookshot?

GitHub-Hookshot is a bot in the webhook senders category, operated by GitHub, Inc..

Bot name
GitHub-Hookshot
Operator
GitHub, Inc.
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Not confirmed
robots.txt user agent
GitHub-Hookshot
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About GitHub-Hookshot

GitHub-Hookshot delivers webhook event payloa

Webhook senders call your endpoints to deliver events from payment, messaging and SaaS platforms. Blocking them breaks integrations. Allow them on the webhook paths they need and nowhere else.

GitHub-Hookshot user agent

GitHub-Hookshot identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • GitHub-Hookshot/*

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 GitHub-Hookshot in robots.txt

We have not confirmed whether GitHub-Hookshot follows robots.txt. Add a rule, then check your logs to see that it stopped. robots.txt is a plain text file at the root of your domain, such as https://example.com/robots.txt.

Block GitHub-Hookshot from the whole site

User-agent: GitHub-Hookshot
Disallow: /

Block GitHub-Hookshot from some folders

User-agent: GitHub-Hookshot
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /search

Allow GitHub-Hookshot only on some folders

User-agent: GitHub-Hookshot
Allow: /blog/
Disallow: /

Allow GitHub-Hookshot and block other crawlers

User-agent: GitHub-Hookshot
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: GitHub-Hookshot group, GitHub-Hookshot ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take GitHub-Hookshot from GitHub-Hookshot's user agent; check GitHub, Inc.'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. GitHub-Hookshot may not follow the rule. robots.txt is a request that nothing enforces, and we have not confirmed that GitHub-Hookshot follows it. Check your logs after adding a rule.
  2. The user agent could be fake. robots.txt matches the name a request claims. Anyone can send GitHub-Hookshot's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by GitHub, Inc.'s robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real GitHub-Hookshot from a fake one.

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

Who should care about GitHub-Hookshot

Publishers

Allow GitHub-Hookshot if it is a service you use, and keep its visits out of page views and ad requests either way.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

GitHub-Hookshot is not a person. Exclude it from campaign and conversion data so reports reflect real visitors.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

Allow GitHub-Hookshot only if it works for your store, and keep it away from cart and checkout.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

If GitHub-Hookshot is a service you use, allow it on the endpoints it needs and block it elsewhere.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block GitHub-Hookshot with Transfon Security

robots.txt is a request, not an enforcement. Transfon Security shows GitHub-Hookshot 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 GitHub-Hookshot on your site

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

Frequently asked questions

What is GitHub-Hookshot?

GitHub-Hookshot is a bot in the webhook senders category, operated by GitHub, Inc.. GitHub-Hookshot delivers webhook event payloa

Does GitHub-Hookshot respect robots.txt?

We have not confirmed whether GitHub-Hookshot follows robots.txt. Add a robots.txt rule, then check your logs to see that it stopped, and block it by user agent if it did not.

How do I block GitHub-Hookshot?

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

Is robots.txt enough to block GitHub-Hookshot?

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

Should I block GitHub-Hookshot?

Webhook senders call your endpoints to deliver events from payment, messaging and SaaS platforms. Blocking them breaks integrations. Allow them on the webhook paths they need and nowhere else.

Related bots

All webhook senders · 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.

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