Redirect Checker & URL Chain Tracer
Follow HTTP redirect chains and detect redirect loops online.
- Runs in your browser
- Free, no signup
Redirect Chain Hop History
Inspected sequentially hop-by-hop| Hop | Status | Source URL & Redirect Target | Latency | Protocol |
|---|
CURLOPT_RESOLVE and peer connection verification eliminate DNS rebinding and TOCTOU vulnerabilities.
Outbound requests originate from our secure servers with strict SSRF controls. Tested URLs, IP mappings, and redirect payloads are not stored.
A URL redirect forwards a visitor or search engine crawler from a requested address to another. When migrations, affiliate tracking, or HTTPS rewrites are chained together, they create redirect chains that increase page load latency and dilute search ranking equity.
ToolDuck's Redirect Checker tracks every intermediate hop sequentially, classifies redirect status codes (301, 302, 303, 307, 308), measures round-trip latency, identifies infinite redirect loops, and verifies the final destination URL with strict Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) safeguards.
How to use this tool
- Enter the initial URL you want to trace (e.g. http://example.com or a shortened link).
- Optionally customize the maximum hop limit (up to 20 redirects) and per-hop request timeout.
- Click Check Redirects to initiate the sequential trace.
- Review the complete hop history, HTTP status codes, latency, and click Copy Redirect Chain or Copy Final URL.
How redirect checking works
When your browser requests a web page, the web server may return an HTTP 3xx redirect status code accompanied by a Location header specifying where to go next. An automated redirect checker simulates this process but prevents automatic forwarding so each hop can be individually inspected, measured, and verified before proceeding.
This enables website owners, SEO specialists, and developers to audit URL migrations, diagnose broken or cyclical redirects, and ensure that canonical URLs are reached cleanly without unnecessary intermediate hops.
HTTP redirect status codes: 301 vs 302 vs 307 vs 308
Different HTTP redirect codes communicate different instructions to browsers and search engine crawlers:
• 301 Moved Permanently: The permanent relocation standard. Search engines transfer link equity (PageRank) to the destination URL, and browsers cache the redirect aggressively.
• 302 Found (Moved Temporarily): Signals a temporary move. Search crawlers retain the original URL in their search index, and browsers do not cache the redirect long-term.
• 303 See Other: Directs clients to retrieve the target resource using an HTTP GET request, commonly used after form POST submissions to prevent duplicate transactions.
• 307 Temporary Redirect: Modern strict equivalent of 302 that forbids the browser or client from changing the HTTP request method or request body.
• 308 Permanent Redirect: Modern strict equivalent of 301 that permanently redirects while preserving the HTTP request method and payload unchanged.
The SEO and performance impact of redirect chains and loops
Every redirect hop forces the client to negotiate a new round-trip connection, incurring DNS lookup, TCP handshake, and TLS negotiation overhead. On mobile networks, a 3-hop redirect chain can delay First Contentful Paint by several seconds.
Furthermore, search engines allocate a limited crawl budget to each domain. Excessive redirect chains waste this budget, while redirect loops cause crawler errors that drop pages from search indexes. Aim for direct 1-to-1 redirects whenever possible.
Enterprise SSRF & DNS rebinding protection
Because checking redirects requires outbound HTTP requests from ToolDuck servers, this tool enforces strict Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) defenses. Private RFC 1918 subnets (10.x, 172.16.x, 192.168.x), loopback (127.0.0.1, ::1), carrier-grade NAT, and cloud metadata endpoints (169.254.169.254) are rejected on every single hop.
Additionally, destination IPs are validated before connection and pinned via socket-level controls (CURLOPT_RESOLVE) to defeat DNS rebinding (TOCTOU) exploits.
Frequently asked questions
What is a redirect chain?
A redirect chain occurs when a URL points to a second URL, which in turn points to a third URL before reaching the final page (e.g. http://site.com -> https://site.com -> https://www.site.com/). Each hop adds latency and slows page rendering.
What is a redirect loop and how is it detected?
A redirect loop happens when URL A redirects to URL B, and URL B redirects back to URL A (or through an intermediate cycle). ToolDuck normalizes each visited address and terminates immediately upon detecting a cyclical reference, reporting the exact loop point.
How does a 301 redirect differ from a 302 redirect for SEO?
A 301 redirect passes full link equity and canonical ranking signals to the new destination. A 302 redirect indicates a temporary relocation, meaning search engines will continue indexing the source URL rather than the destination.
Why does a destination return HTTP 403 or 429 when checking redirects?
Many popular websites and CDNs (such as Cloudflare, Akamai, or AWS CloudFront) use automated bot-protection and Web Application Firewalls (WAF) that challenge non-browser diagnostic clients. An HTTP 403 or 429 indicates the server received the request but chose to block automated tools.
Can I check relative URL redirects?
Yes. ToolDuck automatically parses RFC 3986 relative Location headers (such as /new-path, ./subpage, and ?query) and resolves them against the base URL of the previous hop.