ExaUser-Images

Exa uses ExaUser-Images to fetch an image live when a user, or an application built on the Exa API, asks for it. It is the image counterpart of ExaUser. ExaUser-Images is not used for crawling the web in an automatic fashion; that is ExaSearchBot-Images.

ExaUser-Images is not used to determine whether content may appear in Exa search. Use ExaSearchBot in robots.txt to manage search opt-outs and automatic crawling.

User-agent

ExaUser-Images

Each image is a single GET request for the image URL, with an Accept header listing image types. The image is reduced to at most 560 pixels on its longest side before it is returned.

Verification

Every request is signed with Web Bot Auth (RFC 9421) and is verified automatically on Cloudflare, Akamai, and other providers that support it. Keys are published at https://exauser-images.crawler.exa.ai/.well-known/http-message-signatures-directory.

How ExaUser-Images behaves

robots.txt policy

Because fetches are initiated by a user, robots.txt rules may not apply.

Signs requests

So you can confirm a request is genuinely us.

Fetches on demand

Only when a user asks for an image; no scheduled or background crawling.

Images only

One GET per image URL. It does not attempt to bypass logins, paywalls, or CAPTCHAs, and submits no forms.

Contact

Questions: support@exa.ai, ideally from an address at the domain you are asking about.