What is NutchCVS?

NutchCVS is a bot in the HTTP clients and libraries category, operated by Apache.

Bot name
NutchCVS
Operator
Apache
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Not confirmed
robots.txt user agent
NutchCVS
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About NutchCVS

NutchCVS is the default name of Apache Nutch, an open source web crawler, when the person running it has not set their own.

HTTP clients are programming libraries and command line tools. Developers use them for scripts, integrations and scrapers. Real browsers never send these user agents, so treat them as automated traffic and block them on pages meant for people.

NutchCVS user agent

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 NutchCVS in robots.txt

We have not confirmed whether NutchCVS 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 NutchCVS from the whole site

User-agent: NutchCVS
Disallow: /

Block NutchCVS from some folders

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

Allow NutchCVS only on some folders

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

Allow NutchCVS and block other crawlers

User-agent: NutchCVS
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: NutchCVS group, NutchCVS ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take NutchCVS from NutchCVS's user agent; check Apache'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. NutchCVS may not follow the rule. robots.txt is a request that nothing enforces, and we have not confirmed that NutchCVS 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 NutchCVS's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by Apache's robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real NutchCVS from a fake one.

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

Who should care about NutchCVS

Publishers

NutchCVS is a common tool for scrapers. Real readers never use it, so block it on article pages and keep it out of ad requests.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

Traffic from NutchCVS on landing pages is automated. It inflates clicks and visits, so filter it from campaign data and raise it with the ad network.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

Price scrapers, stock checkers and card testing scripts often run on NutchCVS. Block it on product, cart and checkout pages.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

NutchCVS is normal for API clients but not for your web app. Allow it only on API routes that need a key, and rate limit it there.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block NutchCVS with Transfon Security

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

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

Frequently asked questions

What is NutchCVS?

NutchCVS is a bot in the HTTP clients and libraries category, operated by Apache. NutchCVS is the default name of Apache Nutch, an open source web crawler, when the person running it has not set their own.

Does NutchCVS respect robots.txt?

We have not confirmed whether NutchCVS 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 NutchCVS?

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

Is robots.txt enough to block NutchCVS?

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

Should I block NutchCVS?

HTTP clients are programming libraries and command line tools. Developers use them for scripts, integrations and scrapers. Real browsers never send these user agents, so treat them as automated traffic and block them on pages meant for people.

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