How scans run
The scan queue, local scan pacing and browser tabs, the daily advisory counter, and the scan retention setting.
Updated
A predictable scan pipeline is what keeps results comparable and your IP healthy. Here is what happens after you start a scan.
One scan at a time
GeckoGrid runs scans from a single queue. If you start a scan while another is running, or several schedules fire together, the extra scans wait their turn and process in order. Projects show a queued badge so you can see what is pending, and you can cancel any queued or running scan. When the queue empties while GeckoGrid is in the tray or behind other windows, one desktop notification sums up what finished and what failed; you can turn it off in Settings.
Local scans use 1 to 3 browser tabs, set by the concurrency option in Settings > Scanning. More tabs finish faster, but GeckoGrid enforces minimum delays between requests at every level, so the speedup is modest by design: it raises the request rate only about 1.4 to 1.5 times, protecting your IP from sustained bursts.
The daily local-scan counter
The sidebar shows a daily counter for local (browser) scans with a traffic-light status:
- Green: up to 30 local scans today.
- Yellow: 31 to 40.
- Red: above 40.
The counter is advisory. GeckoGrid never refuses a local scan because of it. Past 40, the engine automatically drops concurrency to its safest level until local midnight, then your saved settings return to normal. Treat 40 as a ceiling to stay under, not a target.
API scans do not count toward this number. The monthly DataForSEO spend cap in Settings is the separate hard limit: once this month’s recorded spend reaches the cap, API scans are refused until next month or until you raise the cap. An AI agent cannot change the cap.
How long a scan keeps running
Each grid point records at most the top 20 businesses, and every captured business carries its details for the competitor views. A scan that finishes keeps its full history, and you can compare scans over time with the same grid settings.
History is yours to manage. The retention setting in Settings lets you keep only the newest N completed scans per keyword, pruning older history automatically after each scan. It is off by default, so nothing is deleted unless you opt in.
What this means for you
For routine tracking, weekly scans on a schedule are the sweet spot: frequent enough to catch movement, gentle enough to run for years. For one-off bulk work, API scans skip the local pacing entirely.
Was this helpful?