TrueURL
TrueURL

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Free · No sign-up · Runs on Cloudflare's edge

URL Redirect Checker & URL Expander

Paste any link to see its complete redirect chain and final URL without opening it in your browser. Every hop shows its status code, response headers and timing.

  • Every hop with status, headers and timing
  • Detects meta refresh and JavaScript redirects
  • Custom method, headers, cookies and user agent

More redirect tools

Specialised checkers for every kind of redirect problem.

How the redirect checker works

When you press Check, the URL is sent to TrueURL's checker, which runs on Cloudflare's global edge network. The checker requests the URL with automatic redirects turned off and reads the response. If it is a redirect, it resolves the Location header and requests the next URL, hop by hop, until it reaches a page that doesn't redirect, an error, a redirect loop or the Max Hops limit.

Your browser never visits the checked URL, so you can safely inspect shortened, tracking or unfamiliar links. Besides HTTP 3xx redirects, the checker also finds meta refresh tags and simple JavaScript redirects in HTML pages and labels them as such, because these client-side redirects are easy to miss with command-line tools.

How to read the results

  • Final URL: where the link ends up after the last hop, with its status code. A 200 OK means the destination loaded normally.
  • Redirect chain: one row per hop with the URL, HTTP method, status code, response time and the Location it pointed to. Each hop also lists its full response headers and the names of any cookies it set.
  • Warnings: flags for temporary redirects, HTTPS downgrades, chains longer than three redirects, a final URL on another domain, client-side redirects and pages that look like a bot challenge. A redirect loop, the Max Hops limit or a failed hop is shown as the outcome of the check.
  • Share, copy and export: copy the final URL, share a link that checks the same URL again (without your Advanced Settings), or export the result.

Advanced Settings for realistic tests

Open Advanced Settings when the default request isn't enough:

  • HTTP Method: GET (the default), HEAD, or POST with a request body. Later hops follow browser rules: after a POST, a 301, 302 or 303 continues as a GET, while 307 and 308 keep the method and body. HEAD responses have no body, so meta refresh and JavaScript redirects can't be detected with HEAD.
  • Max Hops: stop after 1 to 50 redirects. The default of 20 matches the limit in Chrome and Firefox.
  • Custom User Agent: leave it empty for a recent desktop Chrome, or choose a preset such as Safari on iPhone, Chrome on Android, Googlebot, Bingbot, the Facebook and X link preview bots, or curl.
  • Custom Request Headers and Cookies: reproduce language- or login-dependent redirects, for example with Accept-Language: de or a session cookie. Headers that would pose as another client IP address, such as X-Forwarded-For, are not sent. Cookies set along the chain are kept for later hops, as in a browser.
  • Client-side redirects: choose whether meta refresh and JavaScript redirects are followed or only reported.
  • Ignore SSL Errors: Cloudflare's edge always validates certificates, so this can't skip a broken certificate. Instead, the TLS problem is reported on the hop where it happens.

Why a result can differ from your browser

TrueURL sends a clean request from a Cloudflare data center, with no browsing history, no logged-in session and no cookies unless you add them. By default it identifies as desktop Chrome and asks for English content (Accept-Language: en-US). Sites that redirect by country, language, device or login state may send it somewhere other than where they send you. Use the User-Agent, header and cookie settings to reproduce your situation; country-based redirects depend on where the site locates Cloudflare's IP address, which you can't change. Remember, too, that your browser may have cached an old 301.

Some websites block or challenge automated requests from data-center and edge networks. When a response looks like a bot check or challenge page (such as "Just a moment..."), TrueURL marks it, because the real destination is hidden behind the challenge rather than reached.

Who uses TrueURL

Frequently asked questions

What is a URL redirect?

A URL redirect tells a browser or crawler that the content it asked for is at another address. The server answers with a 3xx status code and a Location header, and the client requests the new URL. Sites use redirects when pages move, domains change, HTTP is upgraded to HTTPS or a short link points to a long one. Pages can also redirect in HTML, with a meta refresh tag or JavaScript.

Why should I check URL redirects?

To know exactly where a link leads and how it gets there. Site owners check that old URLs reach the right page in a single permanent redirect, that HTTP goes to HTTPS and that there are no loops or broken hops. Everyone else can verify a shortened, affiliate or tracking link before clicking it. Our guide on how to check URL redirects also covers curl and browser DevTools.

What's the difference between 301 and 302 redirects?

A 301 means the page has moved permanently: browsers may cache it, and search engines index the new URL and move signals such as links to it. A 302 is temporary, so the original URL usually stays indexed. Use 301 (or 308) for permanent moves. Our guide to HTTP redirect status codes compares all of them.

Does TrueURL store the URLs I check?

No. The URL and your settings are sent to our checker on Cloudflare's network only to run the check, and the result goes straight back to your browser. We don't keep check results or a history of the URLs you test. Cloudflare keeps short-lived technical logs of requests to our checker for troubleshooting. Your Advanced Settings are saved only in your own browser, and cookie values, header values and request bodies are never saved. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Can I check multiple redirects at once?

Yes. The Bulk Redirect Checker checks up to 100 URLs in one run and exports the results as CSV or JSON. To audit a whole site, the Sitemap Redirect Checker reads your XML sitemap and checks up to 500 of its URLs.

What does the response time indicate?

It's the time from sending the request for a hop until its response headers arrived, measured from the Cloudflare data center that ran the check. It includes the DNS lookup and connection setup when needed, plus the server's processing time. Every hop adds such a round trip before the final page can even start loading, which is why short chains matter. The Redirect Latency Checker shows this as a waterfall.

What are the risks of shortened URLs?

A short link hides its destination, so it can lead to a phishing page, a malware download or a scam as easily as to a legitimate site. That's why attackers like them in emails, text messages and social posts. Expanding the link first shows you the real final URL and every domain it passes through.

Which URL shorteners can TrueURL expand?

Any shortener that redirects with standard HTTP status codes, a meta refresh or a simple JavaScript redirect. That includes major services such as Bitly (bit.ly), TinyURL, X (t.co), Rebrandly, Ow.ly, Is.gd and Buffer (buff.ly), as well as branded short domains, and links that pass through several shorteners are followed to the end. Shorteners that show an ad, a warning or a CAPTCHA page before redirecting can't be expanded automatically; the chain then stops on that page.

Popular HTTP status codes

What the codes you'll see in a redirect chain mean.

All status codes

From the blog

Guides to checking redirects and choosing the right status code.

All articles