YandexDirect
Yandex operates YandexDirect, which downloads information about the content of Yandex Advertising network partner sites to identify their topic categories and match relevant advertising. Its robots.txt token is YandexDirect; Yandex says it does not follow general robots.txt rules, so directives must name it. Verification is reverse DNS to yandex.ru, yandex.net or yandex.com plus forward confirmation; Yandex publishes no IP list.
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YandexDirect/3.0; +http://yandex.com/bots)What YandexDirect does
The user-agent string in logs is "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YandexDirect/3.0; +http://yandex.com/bots)". Yandex describes the visits as downloading information about the content of sites that are partners in the Yandex Advertising network, so that the network can identify each site's topic categories and match advertising to them. The documentation ties the bot to advertising partner sites. Yandex does not document JavaScript execution for this bot, and it gives no crawl frequency.
For a site that is a partner in the Yandex Advertising network, allowing YandexDirect lets Yandex classify page topics and match relevant ads, and blocking it removes the content signal that classification relies on, per the operator's description. Yandex documents that YandexDirect does not follow general robots.txt rules, which means a Disallow under "User-agent: *" does not restrict it. Any restriction has to be placed under "User-agent: YandexDirect". This exception is why the registry records robots.txt support as partial. The operator's documentation does not say whether the bot visits sites outside the advertising network.
Confirm a request by reverse-resolving the source IP and checking that the hostname ends in yandex.ru, yandex.net or yandex.com, then forward-resolving that hostname to make sure it returns the same IP. Yandex Webmaster also has an IP address check tool for this purpose. Yandex publishes no IP range list for this bot, so a user-agent match by itself does not establish origin.
Operator note. It does not take into account the general rules in robots.txt.
Controlling YandexDirect with robots.txt
Use the token YandexDirect in robots.txt. Yandex documents limits on how this bot applies robots.txt; see the operator note.
User-agent: YandexDirect
Disallow: /User-agent: YandexDirect
Allow: /Verifying a request is really YandexDirect
Anyone can put YandexDirect 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.
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 YandexDirect?
If your site runs Yandex Advertising network placements, blocking YandexDirect stops Yandex reading your content to identify topic categories and match relevant ads, which is the purpose Yandex documents. If you are not a partner site, the documentation describes no other reason for its visits. Block it under "User-agent: YandexDirect", since general rules are not followed.
Does YandexDirect obey robots.txt?
Partially. Yandex records "General robots.txt rules: No" for this bot, so directives under "User-agent: *" do not apply. Directives written under "User-agent: YandexDirect" do apply. The documentation does not list any further exceptions.
How do I verify YandexDirect?
Reverse-resolve the requesting IP and confirm the hostname ends in yandex.ru, yandex.net or yandex.com, then forward-resolve that hostname and check it returns the same IP. Yandex Webmaster's IP address check tool does the same. Yandex does not publish an IP range list for this bot.
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.