# Markdown for agents checker: test text/markdown and Vary

> Ask your homepage for markdown the way a coding agent does, and see the type and Vary header it answers with. Each result shows its evidence.

- Source: /tools/markdown-for-agents-checker
- Site: AgenticWebScore
- Language: English

---
Enter a domain to request its homepage as markdown. The report opens on the type and the Vary header of the answer, with any change to make.

The Markdown for agents checker runs the full scan of 60 checks, not one request. The five exemplar scans of 20 October 2026 sent 29 to 89 requests each and took 3 to 8 seconds. A scan that reaches its 60 s deadline is reported as not measured.

## What is checked

The report opens on 1 check of rubric v0.9. Each is described here in the rubric's own words.

### Markdown content negotiation

Some coding agents ask for text/markdown. Google Search does not use markdown.

`markdown-negotiation` is a scored check. Agent conventions: 30% of the score. A convention never holds a level.

The scanner requests the homepage again with `Accept: text/markdown, text/html;q=0.5` and reads the status, `Content-Type`, and `Vary` of the answer. Present when the answer is `text/markdown` or `text/x-markdown` with `Vary: Accept` or `Vary: *`. Served with an error when markdown comes without `Vary: Accept`, when a markdown body comes as `text/plain`, or when the markdown request answers HTTP 400 or above, other than 429, while the homepage answers 2xx. Not used when the answer is HTML: the request accepts HTML, so that is a valid response. Also not used when the answer is another type that is not markdown, or has no `Content-Type`. Not measured when the request gets no HTTP response, when it answers HTTP 429, a rate limit on the scanner, or when it answers an error and the homepage does too. Google Search does not use markdown. Present earns the check's points in the agent-conventions part; Served with an error and Not used earn none.

Run the same measurement against your own site. Set the origin on the first line:

```bash
HOMEPAGE=https://example.com/
curl -sSL -A 'AgenticWebScore/0.3 (+https://agenticwebscore.com/bot)' -H 'Accept-Language: en' -H 'Accept: text/markdown, text/html;q=0.5' -D - -o /tmp/aws-md.body "$HOMEPAGE" | grep -iE '^(HTTP/|content-type|vary)'; head -c 300 /tmp/aws-md.body; echo
```

[Read the `markdown-negotiation` check page](/checks/markdown-negotiation) for its sources and the change to make.

## Questions about the Markdown for agents checker

### Does Cloudflare's Markdown for Agents pass this check?

The check reads the answer, not what made it. The scanner requests the homepage again with `Accept: text/markdown, text/html;q=0.5` and reads the status, `Content-Type`, and `Vary` of the answer. Present when the answer is `text/markdown` or `text/x-markdown` with `Vary: Accept` or `Vary: *`. [Markdown for agents](/learn/markdown-content-negotiation) reads Cloudflare's documentation: the converted answer is `text/markdown`, and its `Vary` includes `Accept`. By the rule above, that answer is present. Next.js, WordPress, or an edge rule counts the same way.

### Does Google Search use markdown?

Some coding agents ask for text/markdown. Google Search does not use markdown. Claude Code, OpenCode and Cursor send Accept: text/markdown by default (Cloudflare, 2026-04).

### How do these checks count in the score?

`markdown-negotiation` is in the agent-conventions part: 30% of the score, and none of its checks holds a level. [The methodology](/methodology#what-the-score-counts) says what each state earns.

### Why does it run the full scan?

The form starts the same scan as /scan, so the result is a scan record with a fingerprint you can verify. The report opens on `markdown-negotiation`, and the full report follows. A stored record younger than 6 hours opens instead of a new scan.

## Read next

- [Markdown for agents: Accept text/markdown](/learn/markdown-content-negotiation)

Related checks in the rubric:

- [`llms-txt`](/checks/llms-txt): /llms.txt published and well-structured
- [`llms-full`](/checks/llms-full): /llms-full.txt expanded context
- [`link-headers`](/checks/link-headers): Discovery via Link response headers
- [`http-caching`](/checks/http-caching): HTTP caching of the homepage

[The methodology](/methodology) is the scoring contract for all 60 checks, including the rule for a site that is not measured.