Observed arrival · 2026-09-13

HonestFetch, the bot that identifies itself

honestfetch.dev Observed source

Editorial interest 86/100 Selection signal · not a rating of the site

A transparency and exclusion page for an AI-agent reading tool that fetches one page at a time and returns a compact summary.

Landing page captured for the 2026-09-13 issue.

Field notes

HonestFetch describes a bot that identifies requests through HTTP Message Signatures rather than relying only on a User-Agent string. The page publishes its key directory and fetching addresses, and says owners can use robots.txt, ai-input=no, RSL, Crawl-delay, or server retry signals to control access. A separate exclusion flow accepts a DNS TXT record or domain email verification, retaining a domain, proof method, address hash, and timestamps.

Observed signals

Read the marks

Editorial observations of this landing page, not a rating.

○OpenPublic substance visible

✦PrettyNotable craft visible

●ProPolished or operationally mature

◎NicheUnusually specific use

One card from the complete issue

W Has No Surviving Value

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