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    User Agent Parser

    Parse and analyse any User Agent string. Identify browser, OS, device type, and rendering engine instantly.

    Free to use. Runs in your browser.

    Paste a user-agent string to see the browser, browser version, operating system, device type, and engine. Useful for debugging device-specific issues.

    Browser

    Google Chrome 146.0.0.0

    Operating System

    macOS 10.15.7

    Device Type

    Desktop

    Rendering Engine

    WebKit/Blink

    What Is a User Agent String?

    Every time your browser requests a web page, it sends a User-Agent header that identifies itself. This string tells the server which browser you're using, which version, what operating system you're on, and sometimes which device. It's basically your browser's name tag.

    The problem? User agent strings are notoriously messy. They've accumulated decades of compatibility hacks. Chrome's user agent contains "Safari" and "Mozilla" for historical reasons, every new browser pretends to be every older browser to avoid being blocked by servers that check for specific strings.

    This parser untangles that mess. Paste a user agent string and instantly see the browser, version, operating system, device type, and rendering engine, without manually decoding the compatibility tokens.

    Anatomy of a User Agent String

    ComponentExampleWhat It Means
    Mozilla/5.0Mozilla/5.0Compatibility token, almost every browser sends this regardless
    Platform(Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64)OS and architecture, Windows 10, 64-bit
    EngineAppleWebKit/537.36Rendering engine, Blink-based browsers use WebKit token
    BrowserChrome/120.0.6099.130Actual browser name and version
    CompatibilitySafari/537.36Legacy token, Chrome includes Safari for compatibility

    What this means for you: Don't try to parse user agents with simple string matching. The tokens are misleading by design. Use a proper parser (like this tool) or a server-side library.

    Common User Agents by Device Type

    DeviceKey IdentifierNotes
    Desktop ChromeChrome/xxx, no "Mobile"Most common browser globally (~65% market share)
    Mobile Chrome (Android)Chrome/xxx Mobile, Linux; AndroidIncludes Android version and device model
    Safari (Mac)Version/xx Safari/xxx, MacintoshOnly browser without Chrome token
    Safari (iPhone)iPhone; CPU iPhone OS, Mobile SafariAll iOS browsers use WebKit engine underneath
    FirefoxGecko/xxx Firefox/xxxUses Gecko engine, only major non-WebKit/Blink browser
    GooglebotGooglebot/2.1 or Googlebot-MobileGoogle's web crawler, renders JavaScript
    Bingbotbingbot/2.0Microsoft's search crawler

    Why User Agents Matter

    Analytics and Reporting

    Your analytics platform parses user agents to show browser and device breakdowns. If your site gets 40% mobile traffic but your design only looks good on desktop, the user agent data tells you that.

    Bot Detection

    Legitimate crawlers identify themselves via user agent strings. Googlebot, Bingbot, and social media scrapers all have distinctive signatures. Parsing these helps you serve appropriate content.

    Bug Reproduction

    When a user reports a bug, their user agent tells you exactly which browser, version, and OS to test on. This cuts debugging time dramatically compared to "it doesn't work on my phone."

    Content Negotiation

    Some sites serve WebP images to Chrome and JPEG to older browsers. Others serve lighter pages to mobile devices. User agent detection (combined with feature detection) enables this.

    Why User Agent Strings Are So Messy

    Every modern browser's user agent string contains "Mozilla/5.0", even Chrome, even Safari, even Edge. This is a legacy of the 1990s browser wars. When Netscape Navigator was dominant, websites checked for "Mozilla" to serve advanced features. Every browser since has included "Mozilla" in its UA string to avoid being served a degraded experience.

    The result is absurd strings like Chrome's: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/124.0.0.0 Safari/537.36. It claims to be Mozilla, uses WebKit, is "like Gecko", and mentions Safari, despite being Chrome on Windows. This is why parsing UA strings requires specialised tools rather than simple string matching.

    Related Tools

    How to use this tool

    1

    Your current browser's user agent is auto-detected on page load

    2

    Paste any custom user agent string to analyse it

    3

    Click Parse to see the browser, OS, device type, and rendering engine

    Common uses

    • Identifying browser and OS from server log entries
    • Debugging device-specific rendering issues from user bug reports
    • Detecting bot traffic in website analytics
    • Understanding which browsers your users actually use

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is a User Agent string?
    It's a header sent by your browser to websites identifying your browser, OS, and device. Servers use it to serve appropriate content and track analytics.
    Can I parse a custom User Agent?
    Yes. Paste any User Agent string into the input to analyse it. Useful for checking strings from server logs, analytics reports, or bug reports.
    Is this accurate?
    It uses pattern matching for common browsers and OS families. Edge cases with spoofed or unusual user agents may not parse perfectly, but it handles all major browsers reliably.
    Why does Chrome's user agent contain 'Safari' and 'Mozilla'?
    Historical compatibility. Each new browser added existing browser tokens to avoid being blocked by servers checking for specific strings. Chrome inherited Safari's token, which inherited Mozilla's. It's messy but that's the web.
    What's the difference between a rendering engine and a browser?
    The rendering engine draws web pages, Blink powers Chrome/Edge, Gecko powers Firefox, WebKit powers Safari. Multiple browsers can share the same engine. The browser is the user-facing application.
    Can user agent strings be spoofed?
    Yes, easily. Browser extensions and developer tools can change the user agent string. This means user agent detection should never be used for security, only for analytics and content optimisation.
    What is a bot user agent?
    Web crawlers like Googlebot, Bingbot, and social media scrapers identify themselves with distinctive user agent strings. Legitimate bots include their name and a URL with documentation.
    Why is my current user agent detected automatically?
    The tool reads your browser's navigator.userAgent property, which is available to any JavaScript running in your browser. This is the same string your browser sends to every website you visit.
    What are Client Hints replacing user agents?
    Client Hints (UA-CH) is a newer API that provides structured, lower-entropy device information. Chrome is gradually reducing user agent detail and moving to Client Hints for privacy reasons.
    How do I find a user agent in server logs?
    In Apache/Nginx logs, the user agent is typically the last quoted string in each log line. In JSON-formatted logs, look for the 'user-agent' or 'http_user_agent' field.
    Is my data sent anywhere?
    No. All parsing happens in your browser using JavaScript pattern matching. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
    What mobile devices can be detected?
    The parser identifies iOS (iPhone/iPad), Android devices, and tablets based on keywords in the user agent string. Specific device models are sometimes included in Android user agents.

    Results are for general informational purposes only and should be checked before use. They are not professional advice. See our Disclaimer and Terms of Service.