---
phase: 09-osint-infrastructure
plan: 04
subsystem: recon
tags: [recon, robots, http, cache]
requires: [github.com/temoto/robotstxt]
provides:
  - pkg/recon.RobotsCache
  - pkg/recon.NewRobotsCache
affects: [pkg/recon]
tech-stack:
  added: [github.com/temoto/robotstxt@v1.1.2]
  patterns: [per-host TTL cache, default-allow on error, injectable http.Client]
key-files:
  created:
    - pkg/recon/robots.go
    - pkg/recon/robots_test.go
  modified:
    - go.mod
    - go.sum
decisions:
  - default-allow on fetch/parse error so a broken robots endpoint does not silently disable sources
  - cache key is host (not full URL) to share TTL across all paths on a site
  - UA matched is "keyhunter"; temoto/robotstxt TestAgent handles group precedence
  - RobotsCache.Client field lets tests inject httptest.Server.Client()
metrics:
  duration: ~6 min
  completed: 2026-04-05
  tasks: 2
  files: 4
requirements: [RECON-INFRA-07]
---

# Phase 9 Plan 04: robots.txt Parser with 1h Cache Summary

RobotsCache parses robots.txt via temoto/robotstxt and caches results per host for 1 hour, with default-allow on network/parse errors and injectable HTTP client for tests.

## Objective

Foundation for every web-scraping recon source (Phase 11 paste, Phase 15 forums, etc.): a thread-safe per-host robots.txt cache that only sources with `RespectsRobots()==true` consult. Satisfies RECON-INFRA-07.

## What Was Built

- `pkg/recon/robots.go` (95 lines) — `RobotsCache` struct with `NewRobotsCache()` constructor and `Allowed(ctx, rawURL) (bool, error)` method.
- `pkg/recon/robots_test.go` (118 lines) — 5 tests covering allow/disallow/cache-hit/network-error/keyhunter-UA.
- `github.com/temoto/robotstxt@v1.1.2` added to `go.mod` and `go.sum`.

## Behavior

- Parses URL, looks up host in `sync.Mutex`-guarded map.
- Cache hit within 1h TTL returns `entry.data.TestAgent(path, "keyhunter")` without network I/O.
- Cache miss fetches `<scheme>://<host>/robots.txt`; on success, stores `robotstxt.RobotsData`.
- Network error, HTTP 4xx/5xx, read error, or parse error => returns `true, nil` (default-allow).
- `Client` field (nil -> `http.DefaultClient`) lets tests inject `httptest.Server.Client()`.

## Tasks

| # | Name | Commit | Files |
|---|------|--------|-------|
| 1 | Add temoto/robotstxt dependency | c3b9fb4 | go.mod, go.sum |
| 2a | Failing tests for RobotsCache (RED) | 4bd6c6b | pkg/recon/robots_test.go |
| 2b | Implement RobotsCache (GREEN) | 0373931 | pkg/recon/robots.go |

## Verification

- `go test ./pkg/recon/ -run TestRobots -count=1 -v` — 5/5 PASS
  - TestRobotsAllowed
  - TestRobotsDisallowed
  - TestRobotsCacheHit (request counter == 1 after 3 calls)
  - TestRobotsNetworkError (500 -> allowed)
  - TestRobotsUAKeyhunter (keyhunter group matched over wildcard)
- `go vet ./pkg/recon/...` — clean
- `go build ./...` — clean

## Decisions Made

1. **Default-allow on error** — preferred over fail-closed to avoid silently disabling recon sources when a target has a misconfigured/500ing robots endpoint. Documented inline and in tests.
2. **Host-keyed cache** — a single robots.txt governs all paths on a host; caching by host shares TTL across every request to that site.
3. **Injectable Client** — `Client *http.Client` field on `RobotsCache` instead of a functional-option constructor to keep the surface minimal; tests pass `srv.Client()` directly.
4. **UA "keyhunter" literal** — constant `robotsUA = "keyhunter"` so upstream sources do not need to pass it. temoto/robotstxt `TestAgent` handles group precedence (specific UA beats wildcard).

## Deviations from Plan

### Out-of-scope discovery (NOT fixed, logged only)

**Untracked `pkg/recon/engine_test.go`** — present in the working tree from parallel wave work (plan 09-05 scaffold). It references `NewEngine`/`ExampleSource` which do not yet exist, causing the test binary for `pkg/recon` to fail to build until those types land.

- **Action taken:** Temporarily moved the file aside during my test run, verified my 5 tests pass + `go vet` clean + `go build ./...` clean, then restored the file unchanged.
- **Why not fixed:** Not caused by this plan (files_modified is `pkg/recon/robots.go` + `pkg/recon/robots_test.go` only). Belongs to plan 09-05 (wave 2, depends on 09-04). Fixing would be scope creep.
- **Impact on 09-04 verification:** None — my tests, vet, and full build all pass with the file in place only after 09-05's types exist. Under the current repository state, running `go test ./pkg/recon/...` will fail on the orphan test file, not on my code. Plan 09-05 will resolve this when it lands `engine.go` and `example.go`.

Otherwise: plan executed exactly as written.

## Known Stubs

None.

## Self-Check: PASSED

- pkg/recon/robots.go — FOUND
- pkg/recon/robots_test.go — FOUND
- go.mod contains github.com/temoto/robotstxt — VERIFIED
- Commit c3b9fb4 (Task 1) — FOUND
- Commit 4bd6c6b (Task 2 RED) — FOUND
- Commit 0373931 (Task 2 GREEN) — FOUND
- `go test ./pkg/recon/ -run TestRobots` — 5/5 PASS
- `go vet ./pkg/recon/...` — clean
- `go build ./...` — clean
