To see which bots and AI crawlers visit a Next.js site, log incoming request metadata on the server: the raw User-Agent, timestamp, method, path, response status, and any request ID your host provides. Use Next.js’s userAgent() helper or a hosting provider’s bot controls to add labels, but treat those labels as clues—not proof of who made a request. Start in observation mode; blocking is a separate policy decision.
Choose where to observe requests
For visibility across requests before a page renders, log at a server-side request boundary. Next.js Middleware or Proxy can run before a request completes, and Next.js documents logging as one use for server-side custom logic. Scope execution with a matcher: middleware may run across routes, and broad logging can create unnecessary work and collect more data than you need. Keep the logging lightweight. File naming and framework conventions vary by Next.js version, so use the documentation for the version deployed on your site. Next.js Middleware documentation
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If you only need the User-Agent while rendering an App Router Server Component, the current API is asynchronous: read it with (await headers()).get('user-agent'). The returned headers are read-only. Because headers() is a Dynamic API, using it makes that route dynamic; it is not a substitute for a request-wide logging boundary when you need to observe requests before rendering. Next.js headers() documentation
Capture raw evidence and add cautious labels
Next.js provides a userAgent(request) helper for a NextRequest. It parses request browser and device information and exposes isBot, which indicates whether the helper recognizes the request as a known bot. That is useful for classification, but it does not authenticate the requester or guarantee that every new AI crawler is recognized. Keep the original header alongside any derived label so you can review or reclassify it later. Next.js userAgent() documentation
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User-Agent values are supplied by the requester and can be imitated. Next.js documentation describes crawlers identifying themselves with custom User-Agent strings and notes Googlebot as a commonly used crawler; its metadata guidance also describes bot-specific HTML handling based on the incoming User-Agent. These behaviors explain why the header is useful for observation, not how to verify crawler IP ownership. Next.js crawler learning material Next.js metadata documentation
Build a useful, privacy-conscious request log
A practical event should let you answer who appeared to make a request, what it requested, and what your site returned, without collecting unrelated sensitive data.
- Record: UTC timestamp, HTTP method, normalized path, response status, raw User-Agent, and a hosting-provider request identifier when available.
- Classify separately: add a field such as
known_bot, plus a bot-family or vendor label if your framework or platform supplies one. Include provenance or confidence so a platform classification is distinguishable from a simple string match. - Minimize sensitive data: avoid query-string values that may contain secrets. Do not log cookies, authorization headers, credentials, or other personal data you do not need for the operational question.
- Control access and retention: send events to a controlled log sink and retain them only as long as needed to understand traffic patterns or investigate an issue.
A request count is not a count of unique visitors, and a crawler request does not show that a page was indexed. Use paths, status codes, rates, and time windows to interpret activity rather than treating a bot label as an outcome.
Use Vercel’s managed AI bot controls when applicable
For a Vercel-hosted site, Vercel Bot Management offers an AI bots managed ruleset intended to identify known AI crawlers from a maintained list, with log or deny actions. This is a hosting-provider feature, separate from portable Next.js request logging. Begin with logging if the goal is to learn what is visiting; deny actions change traffic behavior and should follow an explicit policy. Check Vercel’s current ruleset directory and mode behavior before relying on a particular classification. Vercel Bot Management documentation
Vercel’s Knowledge Base also describes firewall observability for IP addresses, User-Agent values, and request counts, as well as runtime logs and external telemetry as investigative inputs. That material does not establish exact setup steps, current plan availability, or equivalent AI-bot classification in third-party tools. Verify the current documentation for any logging or telemetry service you choose. Vercel Knowledge Base: identifying bot traffic
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Turn observations into a traffic policy
- Start with visibility. Deploy scoped request logging or an appropriate provider observation mode without changing how requests are handled.
- Review patterns over time. Compare bot labels and raw User-Agent strings with paths, response statuses, request rates, and time windows. Look for repeated patterns rather than assuming one request represents a crawler visit of consequence.
- Check the evidence behind labels. Determine whether a label came from Next.js recognition, a hosting-provider directory, or a simple User-Agent match. Keep the raw header available for audit.
- Decide on a specific action. Allow, rate-limit, challenge, or deny only after deciding which traffic warrants that treatment and what effect it may have on your site.
- Review the policy as catalogs change. Framework helper coverage and managed bot lists can change. Recheck the documentation and ruleset for your deployed framework and hosting provider.
Framework-level logging offers a request signal that is more portable across hosts, while managed controls can supply a maintained classification and enforcement options within their platform. The sources do not establish a complete feature, retention, privacy, coverage, or price comparison, so choose based on the request data you need, log access and retention, execution scope, and whether observation without blocking is available for your deployment.
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