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Cloudflare Setup

Connect your Cloudflare zone to detect AI crawlers using analytics data.

4 min readUpdated Mar 20, 2026
What you'll achieve
  • Create a Cloudflare API token with the right permissions
  • Connect your zone to Trakkr
  • Start receiving AI crawler visit data

If your site is behind Cloudflare, this is the easiest way to track AI crawler visits. Cloudflare already sees every request to your site - we just need read access to that data.

Before you start

You'll need:

  • A Cloudflare account with at least one active zone (domain)
  • Access to create API tokens in your Cloudflare dashboard
  • Your site must be proxied through Cloudflare (orange cloud icon in DNS settings)
Note
If your site uses Cloudflare for DNS only (grey cloud), Cloudflare doesn't see the traffic and this method won't work. Consider using the tracking pixel or a different platform integration instead.

Step 1: Create an API token

Cloudflare uses scoped API tokens to control access. You need a token with two specific permissions.

  1. 1Go to dash.cloudflare.com/profile/api-tokens
  2. 2Click Create Token
  3. 3Choose Create Custom Token (not one of the templates)
  4. 4Set these permissions:
PermissionAccess
Zone > Analytics > ReadLets Trakkr read your traffic analytics
Zone > Zone > ReadLets Trakkr list your zones so you can pick one
  1. 1Under Zone Resources, choose either All Zones or select specific zones you want to track
  2. 2Click Continue to summary, then Create Token
  3. 3Copy the token immediately - Cloudflare only shows it once
Warning
Don't use your Global API Key. It has full access to your entire Cloudflare account. A scoped token is safer and gives Trakkr only the read access it needs.

Step 2: Connect in Trakkr

  1. 1Navigate to the Crawler Tracking page in Trakkr
  2. 2Click Connect on the Cloudflare card
  3. 3Paste your API token and click Verify Token
  4. 4Select the zone (domain) you want to track
  5. 5Click Connect Zone

That's it. Trakkr will start pulling AI crawler visit data from your Cloudflare analytics within a few minutes.

What Trakkr reads

With these permissions, Trakkr can only:

  • List your zones (domain names and their plans)
  • Read analytics (traffic data, including bot visits)

Trakkr cannot modify your DNS, firewall rules, caching settings, or anything else. The token is read-only.

Troubleshooting

"Failed to verify token"

  • Double-check you copied the full token (no trailing spaces)
  • Confirm the token has Zone > Analytics > Read and Zone > Zone > Read
  • Make sure the token hasn't expired (check token settings in Cloudflare)
  • If you restricted zone access, ensure the target zone is included

No zones appear after verification

  • Your token may not have Zone > Zone > Read permission
  • The token may be restricted to zones you don't have active

No crawler data after connecting

  • Crawler data can take a few hours to appear
  • Verify your site is proxied through Cloudflare (orange cloud in DNS)
  • Check that you haven't blocked AI crawlers in Cloudflare's WAF or bot management rules

Revoking access

To disconnect at any time:

  1. 1Remove the connection in Trakkr (Crawler Tracking page)
  2. 2Optionally, revoke the API token in Cloudflare API Tokens

Neither action affects your website or its traffic.

Next steps

WordPress Setup

Connect WordPress for crawler tracking.

JavaScript Rendering

Ensure AI crawlers see your content.

Next upWordPress Setup

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