Redirect Chain Viewer

Trace the full redirect chain for any URL and see every hop (301/302/307/308) until the final destination. Validate canonical redirects (HTTP→HTTPS, www/non-www, locale paths), reveal loops and long chains, and optionally inspect raw headers including Location. Export results to JSON for audits and monitoring.

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About Redirect Chain Viewer

Enter a URL to follow its redirects hop-by-hop and confirm where it really ends up. This tool is ideal for SEO migrations, debugging redirect rules (Nginx/CDN/app), verifying canonical host/HTTPS behavior, and spotting redirect loops or unnecessary extra hops that slow down users and crawlers.

Features

  • Trace redirect chains (301/302/307/308) and reveal the final destination URL.
  • Show each hop's Location target to understand routing and canonicalization.
  • Validate common canonical redirects (HTTP→HTTPS, www↔non-www).
  • Optional raw headers view for deeper debugging (including Location and caching headers if present).
  • Copy results for tickets, audits, and migration runbooks.
  • Export JSON reports for automation and repeatable SEO checks.
  • Safe-by-default: blocks private-network targets and uses a fixed User-Agent.

🧭 How to use for redirect-chain-viewer

1

Paste the URL you want to test

Enter the starting URL (including protocol if possible). Testing both http:// and https:// can reveal canonicalization issues.

2

Keep "Follow Redirects" enabled

This tool is designed to trace chains. Following redirects shows every hop and the final destination.

3

Enable "Show Raw Headers" when debugging

If you need deeper clues (Location formatting, caching layers, server behavior), enable raw headers to see more details.

4

Interpret the chain

Look for extra hops, protocol flips, hostname flips, or locale rewrites. The best chain is usually 0–1 hops to the canonical URL.

5

Export JSON for audits

Download the JSON report to store results, compare changes over time, or attach evidence to SEO/ops tickets.

Technical specs

Redirect tracing behavior

The tool requests the URL and follows redirect responses, collecting each hop until the final destination or the configured redirect cap is reached.

SettingBehaviorDefault
Follow RedirectsFollows redirects to collect the full chainEnabled
Max RedirectsStops tracing after this many hops15
Show Raw HeadersIncludes raw response headers in the output for debuggingDisabled
TimeoutRequest timeout limit15000 ms
User-AgentIdentifies the request user agentEncode64Bot/1.0 (+https://encode64.com)
Private networksBlocks access to private network ranges for safetyDisabled (private networks not allowed)

Common "good" redirect patterns

Most sites should converge to one canonical URL quickly to minimize latency and crawler overhead.

GoalExample chainRecommended
HTTP→HTTPShttp://example.com → https://example.com✅ Yes (permanent)
Canonical hosthttps://example.com → https://www.example.com (or reverse)✅ Yes (permanent)
Trailing slash normalization/page → /page/✅ Sometimes (be consistent)
Locale normalization/ → /en/✅ If your strategy requires it
Multiple hopshttp → https → www → /en/ → /page/⚠️ Reduce if possible
For SEO migrations, permanent redirects are typically 301 or 308. Keep redirect chains as short as possible, and update internal links and sitemaps to point directly to the final canonical URLs.

Loop detection and failure modes

Redirect loops typically come from conflicting rules across layers (CDN + Nginx + app) or mismatched canonicalization settings.

SymptomTypical causeFix approach
Hits redirect capLoop between two URLs (www↔non-www, http↔https, slash rules)Audit rules in CDN, reverse proxy, app router; ensure single source of truth
Unexpected 302/307Temporary redirect set by auth, A/B test, middlewareSwitch to 301/308 for permanent moves; isolate middleware behavior
Chain differs by regionEdge routing varies by POP / geo / deviceTest multiple entry URLs; standardize redirects at the edge

Command line

Use curl to inspect redirect chains quickly from the terminal, similar to what this tool visualizes.

macOS / Linux

Show redirect chain headers

curl -IL http://example.com

-I prints headers only, -L follows redirects. You'll see each HTTP status and Location hop.

Print final effective URL after redirects

curl -Ls -o /dev/null -w "%{url_effective}
" http://example.com

Outputs the final URL after following redirects.

Windows (PowerShell)

Inspect response and redirections

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri http://example.com -MaximumRedirection 10 -Method Get | Select-Object StatusCode, BaseResponse

PowerShell can follow redirects up to a limit and shows the resulting status.

If you're debugging a loop, temporarily lower the redirect cap (e.g., 3–5) to fail fast and identify the conflicting rule pair.

Use cases

SEO canonicalization checks

Confirm that every entry URL resolves to one canonical URL quickly and consistently.

  • Ensure HTTP redirects to HTTPS
  • Ensure www/non-www canonical choice is enforced
  • Reduce multi-hop chains to improve crawl efficiency

Site migrations and domain changes

Validate that old URLs redirect correctly to their new equivalents and that the chain ends with a 200 response.

  • Verify old slugs redirect to new slugs
  • Confirm permanent redirects (301/308) for moved content
  • Catch redirect-to-404 situations

CDN / reverse-proxy debugging

Understand how edge rules, proxies, and the application interact when a URL is requested.

  • Identify which layer creates each hop
  • Detect loops caused by duplicate canonicalization rules

QA for localized routing

Validate locale or region routing (e.g., / → /en/) without accidentally creating long redirect chains or loops.

  • Confirm locale rewrite behavior
  • Avoid /fr → /fr/ → /fr (loop) patterns

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

❓Why are redirect chains bad for SEO?

Redirect chains add latency and increase failure points for crawlers. Search engines can follow redirects, but long chains waste crawl budget and can reduce reliability—especially on large sites.

❓What should I use: 301 or 308?

Both are permanent redirects. 308 preserves the HTTP method more strictly, while 301 is widely used and understood. For SEO, either can be fine if used consistently for permanent moves.

❓Why do I see 302/307 when I expected 301?

Temporary redirects often come from middleware, auth flows, A/B testing, or misconfigured edge rules. If the move is permanent, switch to 301/308 and update internal links to the final URL.

❓How do I find the cause of a redirect loop?

Loops usually come from conflicting rules (e.g., CDN forces www, app forces non-www; proxy forces HTTPS, app forces HTTP). Audit one layer at a time and keep canonicalization logic in a single place when possible.

❓Should I redirect trailing slashes?

Either strategy can work, but be consistent. Pick one canonical form and ensure internal links and sitemaps use it directly to reduce redirects.

❓Is it safe to paste URLs here?

The tool makes server-side requests to the provided URL and blocks private-network targets. Avoid including secrets in URLs (tokens in query strings).

Pro Tips

Performance Tip

Aim for 0–1 redirects to reach the canonical URL. Update internal links and sitemaps to point directly to the final destination.

Best Practice

Keep canonicalization rules in one layer (CDN OR proxy OR app) to avoid conflicting redirects and loops.

Best Practice

For permanent moves, use 301/308 and avoid 302/307 unless the redirect is truly temporary.

CI Tip

When testing canonical behavior, check both protocol and host variants (http/https + www/non-www) and compare results.

CI Tip

Export JSON results during migrations to track regressions and prove redirect correctness to stakeholders.

Additional Resources

HTTP Redirections (MDN)
Reference
HTTP response status codes (MDN)
Documentation
Google Search Central: URL redirects and status codes
Reference

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