Use redirect-trace when a specific URL behaves unexpectedly after a move,
canonical change, or routing release. It follows HTTP redirects manually,
records each response, and audits the final destination for basic indexability
and canonical evidence. The trace is one observation from the machine and time
that ran it; CDNs, geography, cookies, user agents, and later deploys can differ.
Run the report
With MCP, call seo_list_reports with {"category":"monitoring"}. Call
seo_describe_report with {"id":"redirect-trace"}, then call
seo_run_report, for example
{"id":"redirect-trace","params":{"url":"https://example.com/old-page","maxHops":8,"js":false,"refresh":true}}.
The CLI uses the same registry:
seo reports describe redirect-trace --json
seo reports run redirect-trace --params '{"url":"https://example.com/old-page","maxHops":8,"refresh":true}' --json
maxHops is currently a broad number in discovery. Pass a small positive whole
number; very large chains are not a useful success condition.
Interpret the output
Read chain in order. Each step contains the requested URL, status, Location,
resolved next URL, and duration. Then compare finalUrl with finalPage and
summary.finalStatus. summary.issues can identify a loop, hop limit,
redirect without location, final 4xx or 5xx, non-indexable final page, or a
canonical mismatch.
Inspect metaRobots, xRobotsTag, canonical, and warnings as observations.
A missing finalPage or fetch warning limits indexability conclusions.
JavaScript rendering affects final-page extraction, not the HTTP redirect chain.
A canonical pointing elsewhere can be intentional; a 302 can also be
intentional. The report does not know the desired destination.
Act safely
Confirm the intended URL map before editing redirects. Prefer one direct permanent redirect for a genuine move, remove loops, restore missing locations, and align the final canonical only when the destination is correct. Re-run the trace after deployment. Do not declare an SEO defect or ranking impact from a chain difference without intent and search evidence.