A User Agent is a string of text that identifies the browser and operating system to the web server. We can configure User Agent settings for Real Browser checks or Uptime checks to spoof the device, operating system, and browser.
By default, Rigor runs all HTTP Uptime Checks from the user agent: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Rigor/1.0.0; http://rigor.com)
When we configure the User Agent string for a Rigor check we can select from available presets or supply our own custom string:
How should I use the user agent setting in Rigor?
If the web site we’re monitoring includes code to detect browser version from the user agent and adjust the page design sent accordingly, we should set a custom user agent string to spoof identification and force server-side content.
For example, if we’d like to monitor how an online store works on an iPhone, we could rely on the user agent to specify an iPhone operating system and browser version. If the web site serves mobile specific content based on the user agent, this string would trigger than content to load.
Not sure what User Agent string to use? UserAgentString.com keeps a comprehensive list.
Notes:
- The user agent doesn’t fully emulate the operating system and browser specified; this string is only relevant if the site relies on a user agent to serve content
- If a browser was based on a previously existing browser, the User Agent string for that browser may include references to both