Scalpel Redirects

## A closer look

## What it does

• The real chain, not a re-fetchIt records the navigation your browser actually made, so the chain reflects your cookies, session, and location, not a fresh server request.
• Full headers per hopEvery response header of every hop, in original order, with per-hop hint chips for HSTS, X-Robots-Tag, canonical header, Cache-Control, server, resolved IP, and cache state.
• Meta and JavaScript redirectsMeta-refresh and JavaScript redirects are detected, labelled distinctly, and linked to the server chain that preceded them.
• Per-tab historyThe last 20 navigations per tab are kept and browsable, so a client-side redirect no longer erases the chain before you can read it.
• Verdict, wasted hops, and fix snippetsA plain verdict line for each chain, with hints where a hop is wasted, such as a 301 to 301 that should collapse or an http to https to www triple hop. For the shapes it recognises it writes the fix for you: nginx, Apache, and Cloudflare rules with the real final URL filled in.
• Side panel, curl, and exportsThe toolbar badge flags each tab's outcome before you click. Dock the inspector in a side panel for reload loops, read a per-hop timing waterfall, and copy any hop or the whole chain as a curl command. Export as JSON, Markdown, CSV, or HAR, with a right-click menu and a ? on each concept linking to the glossary.

## Permissions, explained

Chrome shows these permissions when you install the extension. Here's what each one is for and why it's the least this tool needs.

• webRequestObserves, never blocks or modifies, main-frame requests to record each redirect hop with its status, headers, IP, and cache flag.
• webNavigationDetects client-side meta and JavaScript redirects so they can be linked to the preceding server chain.
• storageKeeps recorded chains alive across service-worker restarts in session storage. It's memory-only and clears when the browser closes.
• sidePanelOpens the redirect inspector as a docked Chrome side panel that survives reloads.
• contextMenusAdds the extension's own right-click items to trace a link or open the side panel. It only adds menu items and reads no page.
• host_permissions: <all_urls>Redirect observation must work on whatever site you audit, so the host cannot be listed in advance. It is observational only.

## Frequently asked questions

## Learn the concepts

Plain-language definitions of the SEO, analytics, and web terms behind this tool.

• 301 redirect
• 302 redirect
• 303 redirect
• 307 redirect
• 308 redirect
• Cache-Control Header
• Canonical Link Header
• Follow Redirects with curl - Replay a Chain from the Shell
• HAR File - Share a Redirect Chain in DevTools Format
• HSTS Header: How Strict-Transport-Security Eliminates Redirect Hops
• JavaScript Redirect
• Meta Refresh Redirect: How It Works and Why Server Redirects Beat It

Browse the full glossary

## More Scalpel extensions

• Scalpel SEO On-page SEO audit and inspector.
• Scalpel Tags Analytics tag debugger.
• Scalpel Stack Technology detector.
• Scalpel Tab Suspender Tab suspender and memory saver.
• Scalpel Tables Table extractor.
• Scalpel Links Link extractor.
• Scalpel Images Image extractor.
• Scalpel Color Color toolkit.
• Scalpel Manage Tabs Tab search, cleanup, and sessions.
• Scalpel Ads Blocker Ad and tracker blocker.