# Wisp, a free open-source link checker, avoids false dead-link alarms

> Original title: Your link checker is probably lying to you.

- Source: X search: indie AI launches (I built, solo founder)
- Published: 2026-10-27T05:19:59.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/rbdbc7a003eskk8akzsfs7nbs
- Original: https://x.com/AshwiniNK21/status/2114950212250984794

## Summary

The developer of Wisp, a free open-source website checker built for a Haunted-themed hackathon, says standard link checkers wrongly flag 403 and bot-blocked 404 responses as dead. Wisp reports a link as dead only for a 404 or 410 status, a nonexistent domain, or a malformed address, and sorts access refusals and bot checks into a separate "couldn't check" list. It also retries a 404 with browser-like headers before calling it dead, and runs weekly checks that report only new problems.

## Post

Your link checker is probably lying to you. 

It calls a 403 “dead.” 

It calls a bot-blocked 404 “dead.” 

On bad Wi-Fi it calls every link “dead.” 

I built Wisp, a ghost, to stop all three. 

How it works, in plain words 👇🏻 https://x.com/i/article/2114944183026974720