Search engine crawler · Yandex

YandexComBot user agent, IP ranges and robots.txt

YandexComBot is Yandex's search engine crawler. It identifies itself with the YandexComBot user-agent token, applies robots.txt only in part, per its operator, and can be verified by reverse DNS (yandex.ru, yandex.net, yandex.com).

Operator
Yandex
Reviewed
September 2026
Sources
1
Operator
Yandex
User-agent token
YandexComBot
Purpose
Search engine crawler
robots.txt token
YandexComBot
Honors robots.txt
Partially, see notes
Published IP ranges
No official range file
Verification
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 provides an IP address check tool.
Reverse DNS suffix
yandex.ru, yandex.net, yandex.com
Full user-agent example
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YandexComBot/3.0; +http://ya.cc/bots)
Documentation
yandex.com/support/webmaster/en/robot-workings/check-yandex-robots.html

Block or allow YandexComBot in robots.txt

Use the token YandexComBot in robots.txt. Yandex documents limits on how this bot applies robots.txt; see the operator note.
Block everything
User-agent: YandexComBot
Disallow: /
Allow everything
User-agent: YandexComBot
Allow: /

Verify a request is really YandexComBot

Anyone can put YandexComBot 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 provides an IP address check tool.

Reverse DNS check
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>

What YandexComBot does

Yandex operates YandexComBot, a search engine crawler that indexes content for search in languages other than Russian. Its robots.txt token is YandexComBot; Yandex says it does not follow general robots.txt rules and needs an explicit robot-specific Disallow to be blocked. Verification is by reverse DNS to yandex.ru, yandex.net or yandex.com with forward confirmation; Yandex publishes no IP range list.

The user-agent string is "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YandexComBot/3.0; +http://ya.cc/bots)". The link in the string, http://ya.cc/bots, redirects to Yandex's help page on checking Yandex robots. Yandex describes the crawler's job as indexing content for search in languages other than Russian, and says it can index content whenever there is no explicit robot-specific restriction. That wording means a page with no rule addressed to this bot is treated as open to it. Yandex does not document JavaScript execution.

Allowing YandexComBot keeps your pages eligible for Yandex search results in non-Russian languages. Blocking it removes them from that index, per the operator's description. A block has to name the bot. Yandex documents that this bot does not follow general robots.txt rules, so "User-agent: *" directives are ignored and it will index content unless a Disallow is placed under "User-agent: YandexComBot". This is why the registry records robots.txt support as partial.

Verification is by DNS. Reverse-resolve the requesting IP, confirm the hostname ends in yandex.ru, yandex.net or yandex.com, and then forward-resolve that hostname to check it maps back to the same IP. Yandex Webmaster also has an IP address check tool for the same purpose. Yandex publishes no IP range list for this crawler. A matching user-agent string on its own is not proof of origin, since the docs give DNS as the verification method.

Operator note. It does not take into account the general rules in robots.txt and needs an explicit robot-specific Disallow to be blocked. The UA links to http://ya.cc/bots, which redirects to Yandex's help page on checking Yandex robots.

Common questions

Should I block YandexComBot?
Only if you do not want your pages indexed for Yandex search in non-Russian languages, which is the purpose Yandex documents. If you do block it, write the rule under "User-agent: YandexComBot", because Yandex says a general "User-agent: *" rule does not restrict this crawler.
Why does YandexComBot ignore my robots.txt?
Yandex documents that YandexComBot does not follow general robots.txt rules and can index content if there is no explicit robot-specific restriction. Directives under "User-agent: *" therefore have no effect. Add a section for "User-agent: YandexComBot" with the Disallow paths you want applied.
How do I verify YandexComBot?
Do a reverse DNS lookup on the source IP and check the hostname ends in yandex.ru, yandex.net or yandex.com. Then forward-resolve that hostname and confirm it returns the original IP. Yandex Webmaster also has an IP address check tool. Yandex does not publish an IP range list for this crawler.

Sources

The operator documentation used for this entry. Recorded review date September 2026; consult the linked pages for current policy and compare them with this dated snapshot.

  1. [1]https://yandex.com/support/webmaster/en/robot-workings/check-yandex-robots.html

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.