The Robot Room

How to unlock The Robot Room in Cheevos. Type about:robots in Firefox to find the hidden robot easter egg and add it to the Stash. Worth 10 XP.

The story

Partner. You found the robots.

Firefox has a room most people never enter. It is not on any menu. There is no button. You have to know it exists, and then you have to type your way in.

Cache knew it existed. He needed you to go there anyway, because Cache cannot type. He has no hands that work an address bar. He has you.

So you went. You typed the words. The door opened, and there they were: a small greeting from the people who built the browser, hidden behind a page that pretends to be an error. It quotes science fiction. It has a button that does not do what you expect.

That page is a joke the Firefox engineers left for anyone curious enough to find it. Cache does not think it is a joke. Cache thinks it is a primary source. He has filed it under things worth keeping, which is where he files almost everything.

The catalog entry

THE ROBOT ROOM (ABOUT:ROBOTS) Acquired: Typed about:robots into the address bar. Condition: Fully operational. The robots are fine. Rarity: EXTREMELY RARE. Most people never go looking. Cache's Notes: There are robots here. They have a message. I have read the message many times. I still think about it. This is a primary source. Into the bag. Never let go.

Spoiler: how to unlock it

This one is real, and you can do it in about ten seconds.

  1. Open Firefox.
  2. Click the address bar at the top.
  3. Type about:robots and press Enter.

You will land on a hidden page with a message that begins "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!" and ends with a button labeled "Try Again" that quietly disables itself after one click. It is one of many about: pages Firefox ships with. Try about:about next to see the full list. Cache logs every one you visit.

The about: pages are internal diagnostic and configuration screens built into the browser. about:robots is the one the developers built purely for fun. It has shipped in Firefox for over fifteen years.

Where it fits in the Stash

Cache keeps a folder of things browsers hide from the people using them. The Robot Room was one of the first items in it. It sits near the other secrets, waiting for the next partner curious enough to knock. If you want the whole story of the raccoon doing the filing, read how the Stash began.