---
title: "Link header defined | Agent Ready Checklist"
description: "Link header: HTTP response header (RFC 8288) carrying typed links, so an agent finds resources without parsing HTML. Sourced example from blog.cloudflare.com."
canonical: https://agentreadychecklist.com/glossary/link-header
site: "Agent Ready Checklist"
last_updated: 2026-11-05
section: "Glossary"
---

# Link header defined | Agent Ready Checklist

> Link header: HTTP response header (RFC 8288) carrying typed links, so an agent finds resources without parsing HTML. Sourced example from blog.cloudflare.com.

Source: https://agentreadychecklist.com/glossary/link-header
Site: Agent Ready Checklist
Last reviewed: 2026-11-05
Agent endpoints: https://agentreadychecklist.com/llms.txt (index), https://agentreadychecklist.com/openapi.json (API), https://agentreadychecklist.com/mcp (MCP server), https://agentreadychecklist.com/ask (search)
Access: https://agentreadychecklist.com/auth.md (no key). Pricing: https://agentreadychecklist.com/pricing.md (free).

# Link header

HTTP response header (RFC 8288) carrying typed links, so an agent finds resources without parsing HTML. Example: Link: </.well-known/api-catalog>; rel="api-catalog". Related rows: AR-FIND-04, AR-READ-06, AR-READ-09. AR-READ-09 asks: Advertise a markdown mirror with <link rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"> or an equivalent HTTP Link header. The guide "One-day agent-readiness sprint" covers a row that names Link header.

## Definition

HTTP response header (RFC 8288) carrying typed links, so an agent finds resources without parsing HTML.

## Example

```text
Link: </.well-known/api-catalog>; rel="api-catalog"
```

## Where it appears on the checklist

-   [AR-FIND-04](https://agentreadychecklist.com/checklist/ar-find-04/)AI Catalog at .well-known: Publish an AI Catalog at /.well-known/ai-catalog.json listing every agent-facing resource (MCP server card, OpenAPI, A2A card, docs, llms.txt, skills), linked with <link rel="ai-catalog"> and an HTTP Link header.
-   [AR-READ-06](https://agentreadychecklist.com/checklist/ar-read-06/)Link the discovery files: Link discovery files (llms.txt, .well-known/\*, openapi.json) from content agents already visit: the footer, <link rel="alternate"> in the head, or a resources section.
-   [AR-READ-09](https://agentreadychecklist.com/checklist/ar-read-09/)Advertise a markdown mirror: Advertise a markdown mirror with <link rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"> or an equivalent HTTP Link header.
-   [Guide](https://agentreadychecklist.com/guides/one-day-agent-readiness-sprint/)The one-day agent-readiness sprint
-   [Guide](https://agentreadychecklist.com/guides/ship-llms-txt-and-link-it/)How to ship llms.txt and link it
-   [Guide](https://agentreadychecklist.com/guides/publish-openapi-agents-can-find/)How to publish an OpenAPI file agents can find

## Sources

-   [blog.cloudflare.com/agent-readiness/](https://blog.cloudflare.com/agent-readiness/)read 2026-11-04

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. AgentReady v2.0, read 2026-11-04.