What Datadog Synthetics does
Datadog Synthetics runs API tests and browser tests that Datadog customers configure to check their applications. API tests use the user agent "Datadog/Synthetics", and browser test user agents vary by browser and device but always end with "DatadogSynthetics". Every Synthetic request also carries a "sec-datadog" header identifying it as a Datadog Synthetics test, and browser tests set window._DATADOG_SYNTHETICS_BROWSER to true so the traffic can be excluded from analytics. Source IP ranges are published in CIDR notation at ip-ranges.<your-datadog-site>/synthetics.json and rarely change except when new managed locations are added.
How to identify Datadog Synthetics
Temso identifies Datadog Syntheticstraffic by matching the request's User-Agent header against this pattern. User-agent strings can be spoofed, so treat a match as an indication, not proof.
Datadog\/?SyntheticsDatadog Synthetics FAQ
What is Datadog Synthetics?
Datadog Synthetics is Datadog's synthetic testing service, which runs API tests and browser tests against applications on behalf of Datadog customers to verify availability and behavior. Its requests are identifiable by the "Datadog/Synthetics" user agent on API tests, user agents ending in "DatadogSynthetics" on browser tests, and a "sec-datadog" header on every request.
Can I block Datadog Synthetics with robots.txt?
No. Datadog Synthetics is not a web crawler; it runs tests that a Datadog customer configures against specific URLs, and Datadog's documentation does not describe any robots.txt handling. To block or filter this traffic, use the identifiers Datadog documents: the published IP ranges at ip-ranges.<your-datadog-site>/synthetics.json, the "sec-datadog" header, or the DatadogSynthetics user agent suffix.
About Operational Bots
Monitoring, security scanning, link previews, webhooks, and feed fetchers: the utility traffic that keeps integrations and shared links working.
Most of this traffic is service-critical or user-triggered. Webhooks and previews don't follow robots.txt, and blocking them tends to break things you rely on.
