> For an index of all Botscent documentation, see https://botscent.nibnalin.me/llms.txt.

# Vercel

Add the server half of Botscent to a Vercel project as Routing Middleware and check the install.

Add the server half of Botscent to a Vercel project that does not use Next.js. The server half runs as Vercel Routing Middleware in `middleware.ts`. For a Next.js app, see [Next.js](/docs/nextjs). For the page half, see [A script tag](/docs/script-tag), [React](/docs/react), [Vue](/docs/vue) or the page for the framework your site uses.

## Before you start

You need:

* A Vercel project that does not use Next.js
* Node.js 22.12 or later, to install the package

## 1. Install the package

Install `botscent` from npm.

```sh title="Terminal"
npm install botscent
```

With pnpm, yarn or bun, use their `add` command.

## 2. Add the server half

Create `middleware.ts` in the project root. Export the Botscent middleware as the default export.

```ts title="middleware.ts"
export { default } from 'botscent/vercel'
```

The middleware now inspects each request and then continues to your site.

If `middleware.ts` already exists, wrap your middleware with `withBotscent`:

```ts title="middleware.ts"
import { withBotscent } from 'botscent/vercel'

function middleware(request: Request) {
  if (new URL(request.url).pathname === '/old') return Response.redirect(new URL('/new', request.url))
}

export default withBotscent(middleware)
```

Your middleware still runs first, before Botscent inspects the request.

Routing Middleware runs per request in front of Vercel's cache, so the transport is on by default. For an agent's document navigation, the middleware adds a `Server-Timing` entry with `Cache-Control: no-store`. The page half reads the entry.

To turn the transport off, write `withBotscent({ transport: 'never' })`, or pass the options after your middleware. For the details, see [From the server to the page](/docs/server-to-page).

## 3. Add the page half

The server half reads only what each request declares. The page half finds agents that operate a browser, from inside the page.

If your site is plain HTML, add `<script defer src="/botscent.js"></script>` to each page. Serve `node_modules/botscent/dist/botscent.js` at `/botscent.js` from your own origin. If a frontend framework renders your pages, add the page half there instead. The [Quickstart](/docs/quickstart) lists every framework.

## 4. Read the verdict

The middleware does not pass the verdict to your code. It sends the verdict to the page instead.

On an agent's document navigation, the page half reads the `Server-Timing` entry. The page verdict then includes the reasons of the request's own verdict. Read the page verdict in the page, for example with `verdict` from `window.botscent`.

In a Vercel Function, call `inspect` from `botscent/server` to get the request's own verdict:

```ts title="api/verdict.ts"
import { inspect } from 'botscent/server'

export async function GET(request: Request) {
  const verdict = await inspect(request)
  return Response.json(verdict)
}
```

A request from `curl` to `/api/verdict` gets `{"type":"agent","agent_name":"curl","reasons":["ua.declared-agent-token"]}`.

To give an agent access, use `isVerified` from `botscent/server` on this verdict. Use no other field for access. See [The trust model](/docs/trust-model).

## 5. Check the install

Deploy the project. Then, in the project's directory, run the check against one of its pages.

```sh title="Terminal"
npx botscent check https://your-site.example/
```

The `server-half` and `page-script` checks print `pass`, and the check exits with code 0. If you replaced an existing middleware instead of wrapping it, the `adapters` check prints `fail`. If a check fails, see [Verify your install](/docs/verify).

## Next steps

* [The verdict](/docs/verdict): what `type`, `agent_name` and `reasons` mean.
* [Server API (TypeScript)](/docs/server-api#inspect): every option of `inspect` and of the Vercel adapter.
* [Vercel example](https://github.com/nalinbhardwaj/botscent/tree/main/examples/vercel): the tested Vercel project.