YandexBot
Yandex operates YandexBot, which it calls its main indexing robot. It honors robots.txt under the token YandexBot. Yandex does not publish an IP list; site owners verify the crawler by reverse DNS, where the host must end in yandex.ru, yandex.net or yandex.com, followed by a forward DNS lookup that returns the same IP.
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YandexBot/3.0; +http://yandex.com/bots)What YandexBot does
The standard user agent is "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YandexBot/3.0; +http://yandex.com/bots)". Yandex notes that logs may also show a browser version appended, such as "AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/81.0.4044.268", and recommends not matching on the version number. Requests send "Accept-Encoding: gzip,deflate". Yandex describes this robot as its main indexing robot, so the visits build the Yandex search index; allowing it keeps your pages eligible for Yandex search results, and blocking it under the YandexBot token removes them from indexing.
JavaScript rendering is a per-site setting in Yandex Webmaster under Indexing, then JavaScript page rendering. The default is "At the bot's discretion", so the crawler may or may not execute scripts on your pages unless you change the setting. If the crawler loads your server too heavily, Yandex says responding with HTTP 429 makes the robot reduce its request rate, which is a gentler tool than a robots.txt block.
Yandex does not disclose the crawler's IP list. Its documentation says the robots use AS13238, AS208722 and AS212066 plus IPs that change often, and for that reason Yandex recommends reverse DNS verification over IP-based filtering. Because the user agent string alone does not prove where a request came from, the DNS pair is the documented way to confirm the real crawler. Yandex Webmaster also has an IP address check tool under Tools.
Operator note. Yandex notes that logs may show a browser version appended, for example 'Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YandexBot/3.0; +http://yandex.com/bots) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/81.0.4044.268', and recommends not matching on the version. Requests send 'Accept-Encoding: gzip,deflate'. Whether it executes JavaScript is controlled per site in Yandex Webmaster (Indexing -> JavaScript page rendering, default 'At the bot's discretion'), and responding with 429 makes the robot reduce its request rate. Yandex recommends reverse DNS over IP-based filtering.
Controlling YandexBot with robots.txt
Use the token YandexBot in robots.txt. Yandex documents that YandexBot honors robots.txt directives.
User-agent: YandexBot
Disallow: /User-agent: YandexBot
Allow: /Verifying a request is really YandexBot
Anyone can put YandexBot in a User-Agent header. Reverse DNS lookup on the requesting IP must return a host ending in yandex.ru, yandex.net or yandex.com, and a forward DNS lookup of that host must return the same IP. Yandex Webmaster also offers an 'IP address check' tool (Tools -> IP address check). Yandex bots use AS13238, AS208722 and AS212066 with frequently changing IPs, and the IP list is not disclosed.
host <request-ip>
# expect a hostname ending in yandex.ru, yandex.net, yandex.com
host <that-hostname>
# expect it to resolve back to <request-ip>Common questions
Should I block YandexBot?
Blocking YandexBot removes your pages from Yandex's search index, since Yandex calls it the main indexing robot. If the concern is server load rather than visibility, Yandex documents a gentler option: respond with HTTP 429 and the robot reduces its request rate. Block only if you do not want Yandex search traffic.
Does YandexBot run JavaScript?
It can. Yandex controls this per site in Yandex Webmaster under Indexing, then JavaScript page rendering. The default setting is "At the bot's discretion", so the crawler decides unless you set an explicit preference for your site.
How do I verify YandexBot?
Run a reverse DNS lookup on the requesting IP. The host must end in yandex.ru, yandex.net or yandex.com. Then run a forward DNS lookup on that host; it must return the same IP. Yandex Webmaster also has an IP address check tool under Tools. Yandex does not publish an IP list and advises against IP-based filtering.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against Yandex's own documentation, listed below, and re-checked by a second reviewer before publication. Reviewed September 2026.
Related crawlers
This registry documents how operators describe their own bots so site owners can identify and control them. It does not publish third-party IP lists or guess at undocumented behaviour. To see how your own site responds to automated visitors, the bot detection scanner reads a URL's live response and names the protection it finds.