# Why IndieRedirect exists

> See every HTTP redirect hop, its status, and the final URL without opening a chain by hand.

By turushan.

Published: 2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z

Updated: 2026-09-07T23:31:38Z

Canonical: https://indieredirect.com/blog/why-indieredirect-exists/

One old link can hide several moves. HTTP can upgrade it to HTTPS, add `www`, remove `www`, move a
path, cross to another host, and only then reach the page a visitor sees. A browser hides most of
that route once it lands.

IndieRedirect makes that route visible. Paste one public URL and it requests each hop with automatic
redirects turned off. Every row shows the exact URL, its HTTP status, and the next Location value.
The final row shows where the chain settled. RFC 9110 supplies the status meanings next to the live
responses from the checked site.

The trace is deliberately bounded. IndieRedirect follows at most five redirects, stops after eight
seconds, and warns when a chain passes three redirects. It checks every destination before making a
request, refuses local and private addresses, and reads no response body. It never executes a page,
JavaScript, or an HTML meta refresh.

The request itself is real. Do not paste a magic link, unsubscribe link, signed download, or any
other private or one-time URL unless you intend to use it. The page sends the URL with POST, keeps it
out of browser history, stores no result, and publishes no lookup list.

The core stays free. There is no account, card, premium plan, or upgrade prompt. You get the chain,
the source, and the honest limits, then you get back to the redirect rule that needs fixing.

Once the public route settles, [inspect the destination page's canonical declaration](https://indiecanonical.com/) for a conflicting preferred URL.

Read [what one public HTTP trace does not measure](https://indieredirect.com/#what-can-one-trace-not-tell-me). Use [IndieRedirect](https://indieredirect.com/) to trace the observed HTTP hops of one public URL.

## Sources

- https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#section-15.4