---
title: "User-initiated fetcher defined | Agent Ready Checklist"
description: "User-initiated fetcher: A fetcher that loads a page because a user asked, such as ChatGPT-User or Claude-User. It may not consult robots.txt at all."
canonical: https://agentreadychecklist.com/glossary/user-initiated-fetcher
site: "Agent Ready Checklist"
last_updated: 2026-11-05
section: "Glossary"
---

# User-initiated fetcher defined | Agent Ready Checklist

> User-initiated fetcher: A fetcher that loads a page because a user asked, such as ChatGPT-User or Claude-User. It may not consult robots.txt at all.

Source: https://agentreadychecklist.com/glossary/user-initiated-fetcher
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).

# User-initiated fetcher

A fetcher that loads a page because a user asked, such as ChatGPT-User or Claude-User. It may not consult robots.txt at all. Example: curl -iL -A 'Claude-User/1.0' https://example.com/your-page. Related rows: AR-FIND-01 (Do not block agents), CF-PAY-PER-CRAWL (Pay per crawl, HTTP 402). The row "Do not block agents" names User-initiated fetcher.

## Definition

A fetcher that loads a page because a user asked, such as ChatGPT-User or Claude-User. It may not consult robots.txt at all.

## Example

```bash
curl -iL -A 'Claude-User/1.0' https://example.com/your-page
```

## Where it appears on the checklist

-   [AR-FIND-01](https://agentreadychecklist.com/checklist/ar-find-01/)Do not block agents: Do not block agent and crawler access to public content, in robots.txt or at the network layer (WAF, bot manager).
-   [CF-PAY-PER-CRAWL](https://agentreadychecklist.com/checklist/cf-pay-per-crawl/)Pay per crawl, HTTP 402: If you charge crawlers, answer with HTTP 402 Payment Required and pricing headers, or 200 when the crawler presents payment intent.
-   [Guide](https://agentreadychecklist.com/guides/one-day-agent-readiness-sprint/)The one-day agent-readiness sprint
-   [Guide](https://agentreadychecklist.com/guides/test-with-a-plain-fetch-client/)How to test with a plain-fetch client
-   [Guide](https://agentreadychecklist.com/guides/read-server-logs-for-agent-user-agents/)How to read your server logs for agent user agents

## Asked about it

### Does robots.txt stop an AI agent browsing with a user session?

No. robots.txt is advisory and applies to crawlers. The spec notes that user-initiated fetchers may not consult it at all, and an agent driving a browser in a user session behaves like the user.

## Sources

-   [github.com/agentready-org/standard/blob/main/spec/spec.md](https://github.com/agentready-org/standard/blob/main/spec/spec.md)read 2026-11-04

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