Redirect Chain Tracer
The Redirect Chain Tracer follows a URL through up to 15 redirect hops, recording each hop's status code, response time and Location header along the way. It's built for SEO audits, tracking down redirect loops, and confirming that http→https and www/non-www canonicalisation land where you expect. The final row shows the URL your browser would actually end up on after every hop resolves.
How it works
A browser can't be handed a URL and told to report back every intermediate redirect it passes through — it just follows them silently and shows you the final page, and cross-origin scripting restrictions block a page's own JavaScript from inspecting each hop's headers directly. So this tool routes the request through our edge proxy, which is free to make server-to-server requests and read every response in full.
Starting from the URL you enter, the proxy makes a request and checks whether the response is a redirect status with a Location header. If it is, the proxy records that hop's status code, response time and Location header, then requests the Location URL next, repeating the process. It stops as soon as it hits a non-redirect response, detects a loop back to a URL already visited, or reaches 15 hops, whichever comes first — 15 is comfortably more than any legitimate redirect chain should need, so hitting the cap is itself a useful signal that something is misconfigured. Every hop is shown in order, along with the final resolved URL.
As with our other network tools, only the starting URL you submit is sent to the edge proxy for that one trace; it isn't stored or logged beyond serving your request.
Frequently asked questions
How many redirects can this tool follow?
Up to 15 hops. That's far more than any well-configured redirect chain needs, so hitting the cap usually points to a loop or a misconfiguration worth fixing.
What counts as a redirect hop?
Any response with a 3xx status code (301, 302, 303, 307 or 308) and a Location header. Each one is recorded with its status code, response time and target URL.
Can this detect redirect loops?
Yes. If a URL that's already been visited in the chain shows up again, the trace stops and flags it as a loop instead of running until the hop limit.
Why does my redirect chain matter for SEO?
Search engines have limited patience for long redirect chains and can lose or dilute ranking signals across extra hops. A clean chain — ideally a single 301 straight to the final URL — passes signals more reliably and loads faster for users.
Does it matter if I use 301 vs 302 in my chain?
Yes. A 301 tells search engines and browsers the move is permanent and safe to cache, while a 302 signals a temporary redirect that should be re-checked on every visit; mixing them unintentionally is a common cause of stale or unexpected results.