VEXA - how it works

VEXA is a free tool for URLs that look indexed even though robots.txt blocks Googlebot. You paste the URLs - usually from a Search Console export - and VEXA checks each one live.

You get a clear PASS or FAIL plus a one-line Do-this. No Search Console login, no crawl credentials - just public robots.txt and live page fetches.

• robots.txt: which Googlebot (or *) rule matches the URL path.
• Blocked?: whether that rule is a Disallow for Googlebot.
• Fetchable: whether the page itself returns a usable HTTP response.
• noindex: meta robots or X-Robots-Tag saying noindex.
• Private smell: login, cart, admin, account-style paths or titles.

PASS means one of these is true:

• CLEAR - crawlable, indexable, no conflict.
• NOINDEX_OK - crawlable and correctly set to noindex.

FAIL is labelled with one verdict so you know what to do:

• TRAP - Disallow blocks Googlebot while the page says noindex (or can't be fetched) - Google can't read the noindex.
• ALLOW_PUBLIC - blocked but looks like a normal public page; lift or narrow the Disallow.
• KEEP_PRIVATE - blocked and looks private; keep the block and lock the page down.
• FETCH_ERROR - robots.txt or the page couldn't be read in time.

Same URL, same rules, same result. No guessing.

1. 01Go to the tool and sign in with your email - one-tap link, no password.
2. 02Paste up to 50 URLs (one per line), or press Sample input to try it on nikkos.io.
3. 03Hit Run. Results stream with PASS / FAIL and a Do-this for each row.

Tip: paste the "Indexed though blocked by robots.txt" URL list from Search Console. VEXA never connects to Search Console - you paste the list.

The point isn't the count. It's the fix list someone can ship.

• Filter to fails, traps, or fetchable-noindex.
• Read the Do-this column - one action per URL.
• Tick the rows you want, then export CSV or a plain URL list.

Paste that straight into a robots.txt or CMS ticket. Live check in, ticket out.

• Public data only: robots.txt + live HTTP.
• Capped at 50 URLs per run.
• Every mode free to use after email sign-in.
• Sibling tools: LOCRA for sitemaps, RAUM for Search Console Pages reasons, KNOT for canonicals, GATE before you request indexing, and BOTCHECK to check real Googlebot isn't blocked at your server.

VEXA isn't a standalone tool - it's one mode inside the GSC Companion at /tools/seo. The same email magic-link opens every mode, so you can move from VEXA to another check without signing in again.

If you want the wider picture first, read GSC Companion - how it works.