01 · Operator
Who operates ArchiveTeam
- Type
- Other bot
- Official docs
- wiki.archiveteam.org
02 · Behavior
What ArchiveTeam does
ArchiveTeam runs distributed crawls on volunteer machines and its ArchiveBot tool. Files are uploaded to the archiveteam collection at the Internet Archive. Many captures become visible through the Wayback Machine.
03 · Impact
Why ArchiveTeam matters for your site
If you allow it
- Preserves content that may disappear
- Captures are publicly accessible later
If you block it
- Crawls can be intensive during rescue projects
- It does not always follow robots.txt
04 · Allow
How to allow ArchiveTeam
robots.txt
User-agent: ArchiveTeam
Allow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "ArchiveTeam")
Action: Skip › All Super Bot Fight Mode rules
# Also check Security › Bots: "Block AI bots" can block it regardless of robots.txt.WordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: ArchiveTeam
Allow: /nginx
# nginx serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure no rule like this blocks it:
# if ($http_user_agent ~* "ArchiveTeam") { return 403; }Apache
# Apache serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure .htaccess has no rule like this:
# RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ArchiveTeam [NC]
# RewriteRule .* - [F,L]05 · Block
How to block ArchiveTeam
Start with robots.txt. If ArchiveTeam keeps showing up in your logs, block it at your CDN or web server.
robots.txt
User-agent: ArchiveTeam
Disallow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "ArchiveTeam")
Action: BlockWordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: ArchiveTeam
Disallow: /nginx
# In your server { } block:
if ($http_user_agent ~* "ArchiveTeam") {
return 403;
}Apache
# .htaccess
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ArchiveTeam [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>06 · User agents
User agents we see for ArchiveTeam
The operator does not publish a full user agent string. Requests contain the token “ArchiveTeam”.
07 · Verification
Is it really ArchiveTeam?
ArchiveTeam’s operator publishes no IP ranges or hostnames, so requests cannot be verified. Treat the user agent as a claim, and watch your logs for unusual request rates.
FAQ
Questions about ArchiveTeam
Is ArchiveTeam part of the Internet Archive?
No. ArchiveTeam is an independent volunteer group, but it uploads its files to the Internet Archive.
What user agent does ArchiveTeam use?
Its FAQ names ArchiveBot as the user agent of its crawling tool. Volunteer crawls may use other strings.
Should I block ArchiveTeam?
Only if the crawl load causes problems. Its purpose is preservation, and captured pages usually end up in the Wayback Machine.
Last reviewed Oct 7, 2026