YandexBot
Yandex · reviewed 2026-11-13
About YandexBot
The main Yandex Search indexing crawler.
Operates Yandex Search; YandexBot is its main indexing crawler and publishes reverse-DNS suffixes for hit verification.
Usually means: A classic search crawler fetched this URL for its search index. This traffic is counted separately from AI arrivals.
Identity
User agent
Crawlers are matched by token, not the full browser string. Providers may add version or product text around it.
robots.txt token
Use this token in a User-agent line to allow or block the crawler.
Block this token
User-agent: YandexBot Disallow: /
A Disallow only stops crawlers that honor robots.txt. Classify the category before blocking; check the live file with the robots.txt checker.
Verify a hit
A matching user agent is not proof: any client can send the string. When the vendor publishes network data, compare the request against it before you trust the hit.
Match the user agent
Request UA contains YandexBot.
Check reverse DNS
Hostname ends with yandex.ru / yandex.net / yandex.com.
Check the IP range
The vendor publishes no IP ranges.
Reverse-DNS suffixes
yandex.ruyandex.netyandex.comA verified hit proves the network path; it does not prove what the crawler will do with the page.
YandexBot: common questions
What is YandexBot?
YandexBot is a crawler from Yandex, filed under Search engines. The main Yandex Search indexing crawler. Requests advertise it in the User-Agent header as YandexBot.
Does YandexBot train AI models?
No. It feeds the classic search index, which is counted separately from AI training and AI traffic.
How do I block YandexBot in robots.txt?
Add a group with User-agent: YandexBot and Disallow: / to robots.txt, then re-test the live file. robots.txt matches the token, not the full User-Agent string, and blocking this token does not block the vendor's other crawlers.
How do I verify a YandexBot hit?
Match the user agent, then confirm the hostname ends with yandex.ru or yandex.net or yandex.com. Yandex publishes no IP ranges for this crawler, so reverse DNS is the network check.
Testing a block? Run the live file through the robots.txt tester or check the whole AI crawler access group.
See when YandexBot hits your site
Page scripts never see AI crawlers because they do not run JavaScript. Install the server probe and each hit lands in the Crawlers block with its path and status.