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Trace a URL in 3 steps

Get started with Redirect Trace by tracing your first URL redirect chain.
1

Open Redirect Trace

Press Cmd + Space to open Raycast, then search for “Trace URL Redirects” and press Enter
2

Enter a URL

Type or paste any URL in the search bar. For example:
https://bit.ly/3example
The extension automatically validates and adds the protocol if missing
3

View the results

Press Enter to trace the redirect chain. You’ll see:
  • Original URL with character count
  • Final destination URL
  • Clean URL with tracking parameters removed
  • Complete redirect chain with HTTP status codes
For URLs under 500 characters, paste directly in the search bar. For longer URLs, use the clipboard method below.

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Example: Trace a shortened URL

Let’s trace a typical shortened URL to see where it leads: 
// Example URL to trace
const url = "https://bit.ly/example";

// Redirect Trace will show:
// Step 1: 301 Moved Permanently - https://bit.ly/example
// Step 2: 200 OK - https://example.com/destination?utm_source=twitter
//
// Clean URL: https://example.com/destination
The extension displays:
  • Total redirects: 1
  • HTTP status codes (301, 302, 307, etc.)
  • Each URL in the redirect chain
  • Clean final URL without tracking parameters

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Method 2: Trace long URLs from clipboard

For URLs with 500+ characters (common with email tracking links), use clipboard detection:
1

Copy the URL

Copy any long URL (500+ characters) to your clipboard
2

Open Redirect Trace

Open the extension. If a long URL is detected, you’ll see a notification:
Long URL detected in clipboard
3

Trace the URL

Click “Trace This URL” or press Cmd + V to check clipboard for URLs
Redirect Trace automatically detects URLs over 500 characters in your clipboard when you open the extension.

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Understanding the results

When you trace a URL, you’ll see three main sections:

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Summary section

interface RedirectChain {
  originalUrl: string;    // The URL you entered
  finalUrl: string;       // Where it ultimately leads
  steps: RedirectStep[];  // Each redirect in the chain
  totalRedirects: number; // Count of redirects
  isComplete: boolean;    // Whether chain completed
}
Displays:
  • Total redirect count (e.g., “2 redirects”)
  • Original URL you entered
  • Final destination URL
  • Clean URL with tracking removed

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Redirect chain

interface RedirectStep {
  url: string;                    // URL at this step
  status: number;                 // HTTP status code (301, 302, etc.)
  statusText: string;             // Status message
  headers: Record<string, string>; // Response headers
}
Each step shows:
  • HTTP status code (301, 302, 307, etc.)
  • Status message (Moved Permanently, Found, etc.)
  • Full URL at that step
  • Step number in the chain

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Clean URL section

If tracking parameters are detected, you’ll see:
  • Clean URL with all tracking removed
  • Character count reduction
  • List of removed parameters

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Common keyboard shortcuts

Speed up your workflow with these keyboard shortcuts:
ShortcutAction
Cmd + VCheck clipboard for URLs
Cmd + CCopy final/clean URL
Cmd + OOpen URL in browser
Cmd + Shift + CCopy original URL
Cmd + Option + CCopy full chain report
Cmd + Shift + LCopy clean URL (no tracking)
Press Cmd + K in the extension to see all available keyboard shortcuts.

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Example: Marketing URL with tracking

Here’s what happens when you trace a marketing URL: 
// Original URL
const marketingUrl = "https://example.com/page?utm_source=email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=launch&fbclid=abc123&gclid=xyz789";

// After tracing, you get:
// Clean URL: https://example.com/page
// Removed parameters: utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, fbclid, gclid
// Characters removed: 98
Redirect Trace removes 50+ types of tracking parameters, including:
  • Google Analytics (utm_*, gclid)
  • Facebook (fbclid, fb_*)
  • Email platforms (mc_cid, _hsenc)
  • Social media (igshid, ref_src)

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Try these example URLs

Test Redirect Trace with these common URL types:

Shortened URL

Try a bit.ly or TinyURL shortened link to see the redirect chain

Marketing link

Paste an email campaign URL with UTM parameters to see them removed

Social media

Trace a Facebook or Twitter shared link to see the redirect path

Long URL

Copy a 500+ character URL to test clipboard integration

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Next steps

Keyboard shortcuts

Master all keyboard shortcuts for efficient workflow

Redirect tracing

Learn about advanced redirect chain analysis

Tracking removal

Discover how tracking parameter removal works

Configuration

Customize max redirects and timeout settings

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