---
title: "Plain-fetch client defined | Agent Ready Checklist"
description: "Plain-fetch client: An HTTP client that downloads the response and does not run JavaScript, like most agent fetch tools. It sees only the initial HTML."
canonical: https://agentreadychecklist.com/glossary/plain-fetch-client
site: "Agent Ready Checklist"
last_updated: 2026-11-05
section: "Glossary"
---

# Plain-fetch client defined | Agent Ready Checklist

> Plain-fetch client: An HTTP client that downloads the response and does not run JavaScript, like most agent fetch tools. It sees only the initial HTML.

Source: https://agentreadychecklist.com/glossary/plain-fetch-client
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).

# Plain-fetch client

An HTTP client that downloads the response and does not run JavaScript, like most agent fetch tools. It sees only the initial HTML. Example: curl -s -A 'Claude-User/1.0' https://example.com/pricing. In the experiment the plain-fetch client got 0 of 5 answers from the js-only configuration; the JavaScript client got 5 of 5.

## Definition

An HTTP client that downloads the response and does not run JavaScript, like most agent fetch tools. It sees only the initial HTML.

## Example

```bash
curl -s -A 'Claude-User/1.0' https://example.com/pricing
```

## Nearby terms

-   [Initial HTML](https://agentreadychecklist.com/glossary/initial-html/)The HTML the server returns before any script runs.

## Asked about it

### Which changes actually stopped agents in the research?

Two. Ora's lab served one docs site in 19 configurations to a plain-fetch client and a JavaScript client: hiding the answer in JavaScript failed the plain fetch 0 of 5, and a 403 to agent user agents failed both clients 0 of 5. The other 16 configurations passed 5 of 5.

## Sources

-   [vercel.com/kb/guide/make-your-site-readable-by-ai-agents](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/make-your-site-readable-by-ai-agents)read 2026-11-04

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