> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.link11.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.link11.com/product-guides/bot-management/interface/rules.md).

# Rules

<figure><img src="/files/dlprhWSk83GOv3ITDtQo" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Introduction

Using Bot Management Rules, admins can control which bots are allowed on their website, and can change how certain bots are handled.

Rules are divided into the following categories, discussed below:&#x20;

* [Organization Rule](#id-botmanagement-rules-organizationrule) (for classifying bots and assigning actions to their requests)
* [Category Rule](#id-botmanagement-rules-categoryrule) (for changing a bot's default category)
* [IP Whitelist Rule](#id-botmanagement-rules-ipwhitelistrule) (for exempting IPs from being classified as bots)
* [User Agent Whitelist Rule](#id-botmanagement-rules-useragentwhitelistrule) (for exempting User Agents from bot filtering)

{% hint style="info" %}
Bot Management Rules are applied differently, depending on whether or not the traffic source has identified itself as a bot (e.g., GoogleBot).

* The IP Whitelist Rules and User Agent Whitelist Rules are applied in both cases.
* The Organization Rules and Category Rules apply only to known bots.&#x20;

Another difference is that the [Default Policy for Bad Bots](/product-guides/web-ddos/interface/instances/general-settings.md#default-policy-for-bad-bots) is only applied to unidentified bots. (Known bots already have default categories, classifications, and actions, which can be overridden by the Organization and Category Rules.)

The evaluation and application of these Rules is explained here: [How bot requests are processed](/product-guides/bot-management/introduction.md#how-bot-requests-are-processed).
{% endhint %}

## Organization Rule <a href="#id-botmanagement-rules-organizationrule" id="id-botmanagement-rules-organizationrule"></a>

An Organization Rule specifies how to handle traffic from the specified bots.

Each Rule specifies the bot classification to assign (Good/Bad) and the action that should be done to requests from this bot (DEFAULT/CAPTCHA/ALLOW/BLOCK).

**Examples:**

* NMAP = BAD(BLOCK)
* Curl = BAD(Captcha)
* NotifyNinja = BAD(ALLOW)

{% hint style="info" %}
The main window only lists custom Rules that override the default settings. Every known bot has a default classification and action, which are visible by selecting the **Add Rule** button.&#x20;
{% endhint %}

## Category Rule <a href="#id-botmanagement-rules-categoryrule" id="id-botmanagement-rules-categoryrule"></a>

A Category Rule moves a known bot into a different category than its default.&#x20;

{% hint style="info" %}
The main window only lists custom Rules that override the default settings. Every known bot has a default category, which can be seen by selecting the **Add Rule** button.&#x20;
{% endhint %}

A bot's assigned Category affects analytics, e.g. the [Bot Requests by Category](/product-guides/bot-management/interface/dashboard.md#bot-requests-by-category) and [Top Bot Category](/product-guides/bot-management/interface/dashboard.md#top-bot-category) reports.

**Example:** \
The Common Crawl bot (*ccbot*) is usually classified as "Scrape". A Rule to reclassify it as "Research" would be: \
`Ccbot = Research`

## IP Whitelist Rule <a href="#id-botmanagement-rules-ipwhitelistrule" id="id-botmanagement-rules-ipwhitelistrule"></a>

IP Whitelist Rules allow admins to prevent certain IPs from getting classified as bots.

**Example:**\
85.131.145.250/32

## User Agent Whitelist Rule <a href="#id-botmanagement-rules-useragentwhitelistrule" id="id-botmanagement-rules-useragentwhitelistrule"></a>

User Agent Whitelist Rules whitelist specific User Agents against the Bot Management Service. Requests with a User Agent included in this list will bypass all Bot Management validation and analysis checks, and will not be included in the good or bad bot statistics shown on the Dashboards

The User Agent Whitelist does not support Regex or wildcard values.&#x20;