What is MuckRack bot?

MuckRack bot is a specialized web crawler operated by Muck Rack, a public relations software platform that connects journalists with PR professionals. The bot functions as a data aggregation tool that scans websites, blogs, news outlets, and social media platforms to collect information about journalists and their published content. It identifies itself in server logs with the user agent string Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MuckRack/1.0; +https://muckrack.com), which includes a reference to its version and a link to the company's website for verification purposes.

As a conventional web scraper rather than an AI-powered crawler, MuckRack bot systematically visits media-focused websites to gather intelligence that powers Muck Rack's journalist database and media monitoring services. The crawler operates with a "politeness policy" that adjusts its crawl rate based on website responsiveness and typically maintains crawl delays between requests to minimize server impact.

Why is MuckRack bot crawling my site?

MuckRack bot is likely visiting your site to collect information about published content, especially if your website contains news articles, blog posts, press releases, or bylined content from journalists. The bot prioritizes media-focused websites, journalist portfolios, and publications that might contain relevant information for Muck Rack's database.

The frequency of visits depends on how often your content is updated and its relevance to Muck Rack's services. News sites and media outlets may experience more frequent crawling than corporate websites with occasional press releases. The bot is particularly interested in author information, publication dates, article topics, and other metadata that helps categorize content for PR professionals searching for media contacts or monitoring coverage.

What is the purpose of MuckRack bot?

MuckRack bot gathers data to power Muck Rack's PR platform, which serves multiple functions for media professionals. The collected information helps build and maintain comprehensive journalist profiles, including their publication history, beat coverage, and contact information. This enables PR professionals to identify relevant media contacts for story pitches and relationship building.

Additionally, the bot supports Muck Rack's media monitoring capabilities, allowing PR teams to track coverage of their brands, competitors, or industry topics across thousands of news sources. The platform uses this data to provide real-time alerts, automated reports, and analytics that measure PR campaign effectiveness.

For website owners, particularly those in media and publishing, being included in Muck Rack's database can increase visibility to PR professionals seeking expert sources or story opportunities. However, the crawler does consume server resources during its visits, which is why it implements politeness protocols to minimize impact.

How do I block MuckRack bot?

MuckRack bot respects the standard robots.txt protocol, making it straightforward to control its access to your website. To completely block the bot from crawling your site, add the following directives to your robots.txt file:

User-agent: MuckRack
Disallow: /

If you prefer to allow MuckRack bot on most of your site but restrict access to certain sections, you can specify particular directories or file paths:

User-agent: MuckRack
Disallow: /private-directory/
Disallow: /drafts/
Disallow: /subscriber-only/

The bot is compatible with standard robots.txt syntax, including wildcard patterns for more complex exclusion rules. For example, you can block access to all URLs containing certain parameters:

User-agent: MuckRack
Disallow: */preview
Disallow: */draft

Blocking MuckRack bot may reduce your site's visibility to PR professionals using the Muck Rack platform, potentially decreasing opportunities for media coverage or journalist connections. However, if server resource conservation is a priority or you prefer not to have your content included in their database, implementing robots.txt restrictions is an appropriate solution.

MuckRack bot