What is TerraCotta? AI crawler guide
TerraCotta is a crawler or fetcher associated with Ceramic AI. See source-graded user-agent, robots.txt, verification, and observation guidance.
What is TerraCotta?
TerraCotta is a documented Ceramic AI crawler or fetcher. Ceramic AI crawler token for downloading data used to train LLMs.
Evidence status
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Evidence | Officially documented |
| Lifecycle | Active |
| Purpose | training |
| robots.txt posture | honors |
| Source checked | 2026-06-11 |
Documented user-agent
TerraCotta
TerraCotta collects pages for model training. Training inclusion is not the same as being cited, so measure where AI answers actually cite your site before drawing conclusions from crawl logs.
robots.txt allow example
User-agent: TerraCotta Allow: /
robots.txt block example
User-agent: TerraCotta Disallow: /
What the rule can and cannot do
Robots.txt expresses an access policy to compliant automated crawlers. It does not authenticate the sender, remove content already collected, or guarantee that a model will use or not use content.
How to verify a request
- Match the complete documented user-agent where one exists. A match is only a clue.
- Look for operator-published IP ranges, reverse DNS, or signed-request guidance. None is attached to this record.
- Keep the observed request, operator documentation, and any inference as separate fields.
JavaScript behavior
The cited operator material does not verify JavaScript rendering. Serve useful HTML before client-side JavaScript where possible.
Related bots
- LAIONDownloader: Also tracked as a training crawler.
- AI2Bot: Also tracked as a training crawler.
- CCBot: Also tracked as a training crawler.
- cohere-training-data-crawler: Also tracked as a training crawler.
- MistralAI-Training: Also tracked as a training crawler.
- img2dataset: Also tracked as a training crawler.
- PanguBot: Also tracked as a training crawler.
- Applebot-Extended: Also tracked as a training crawler.
- GPTBot: Also tracked as a training crawler.
- AI Training Opt-Out: TerraCotta is a training crawler tied to this policy decision.
- Robots.txt: Robots.txt is the control file used to allow or block TerraCotta.
- SBIntuitionsBot: Also tracked as a training crawler.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TerraCotta?
TerraCotta is a officially documented crawler or fetcher record associated with Ceramic AI.
What user-agent does TerraCotta use?
TerraCotta. Check the evidence status before attributing a matching request.
Can TerraCotta be blocked in robots.txt?
The record identifies TerraCotta as the token to review. Robots.txt is a request policy, not proof of model use or non-use.
How can I verify a TerraCotta request?
Treat the user-agent as a clue and look for operator-published IP, reverse-DNS, or signature guidance.
Data & Sources
- Ceramic AI documentation - Primary source for TerraCotta crawler details.