# Redirect Chain Checker — MCP tool `findutils:redirect_chain_checker`

Follow the redirect chain of a public http(s) URL hop by hop and return each hop's URL, HTTP status, Location and time in milliseconds, plus the final URL and the number of hops. Requests use HEAD (GET only when HEAD is refused), follow at most 10 hops, detect loops, refuse any hop to a private, loopback, link-local or local address, and check the final HTML page for a meta refresh by reading at most 16 KB of it.

- Category: seo
- MCP server: https://mcp.findutils.com/ (Streamable HTTP, API key for tools/call, 120 req/min per IP)
- REST endpoint: POST https://api.findutils.com/api/tools/redirect-chain-checker/execute (API key, 60 req/min per IP)
- API key: Running a tool needs an API key. Keys are not for sale yet: ask for early access. Without a key, a tool call answers HTTP 402 Payment Required with the error code PAYMENT_REQUIRED. The catalog and the schemas stay open without a key. https://findutils.com/api/#api-keys
- Network tool: fetches a fixed, hard-coded public upstream (never a private host).
- Reference page: https://findutils.com/mcp/redirect-chain-checker/
- Same tool on the other surface: https://findutils.com/api/redirect-chain-checker/

## Connect

```bash
claude mcp add findutils --transport http https://mcp.findutils.com/ --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
```

Claude Desktop (`claude_desktop_config.json`):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "findutils": {
      "url": "https://mcp.findutils.com/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

## Call the tool (verified example)

```bash
curl -X POST https://mcp.findutils.com/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 1,
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {
      "name": "redirect_chain_checker",
      "arguments": {
        "url": "http://github.com"
      }
    }
  }'
```

## Input schema

| Argument | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `url` | string | yes | The public http or https URL to start from, e.g. "http://github.com". A bare host gets https:// in front. |
| `check_meta_refresh` | boolean | no | Read at most 16 KB of a final HTML page to find a <meta http-equiv="refresh"> redirect, and follow it. Default: `true`. |

Example arguments (verified):

```json
{
  "url": "http://github.com"
}
```

## Also a REST endpoint

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.findutils.com/api/tools/redirect-chain-checker/execute \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "http://github.com"
  }'

# Parameter schema (no key needed)
curl https://api.findutils.com/api/tools/redirect-chain-checker
```

Full REST reference: https://findutils.com/api/redirect-chain-checker/ · OpenAPI 3.1 spec: https://findutils.com/api/openapi.json

---
Full catalog: POST https://mcp.findutils.com/ with method `tools/list` · https://findutils.com/mcp/ · https://findutils.com/llms.txt