Robots.txt Generator
Create a robots.txt file online with crawler rules, disallow paths, and a sitemap reference.
What Is a Robots.txt File?
A robots.txt file is a plain text file placed at the root of a website, such as yoursite.com/robots.txt, that tells search engine crawlers which pages or sections they are allowed or not allowed to visit. It is one of the first files search engines check when crawling a site, making it an important and easy-to-get-wrong piece of basic technical SEO.
How to Create a Robots.txt File Online
Use the robots.txt generator above to select the rules you need, including which folders to block, which crawlers to target, and whether to include a sitemap reference. Then copy the finished file and upload it to your site's root directory. No coding knowledge is required.
After you create robots.txt online, use the XML sitemap generator to prepare a sitemap reference and read the beginner guide to creating and submitting robots.txt before uploading the file.
Common Robots.txt Directives Explained
- User-agent specifies which crawler the rule applies to, such as
*for all crawlers orGooglebotfor Google specifically. - Disallow tells crawlers not to access a specific path.
- Allow creates an exception within a disallowed path.
- Sitemap points crawlers to your XML sitemap location, helping them discover pages faster.
Common Robots.txt Mistakes to Avoid
A misconfigured robots.txt file can accidentally block your entire site from search engines, a mistake that is surprisingly common. Always double check that important pages are not disallowed, and remember that robots.txt controls crawling, not indexing. A disallowed page can still appear in search results if it is linked from elsewhere.
FAQ
How do I create a robots.txt file online for free?
Use a robots.txt generator tool to select your crawling rules, then copy the output, save it as robots.txt, and upload it to your website's root directory.
What does a robots.txt file do?
It tells search engine crawlers which parts of your site they can and cannot access, helping manage crawl behavior and server load.
Where do I upload my robots.txt file?
It must be placed at the root of your domain, for example https://yoursite.com/robots.txt, for search engines to find it.
Can robots.txt stop a page from appearing in Google search results?
Not reliably. Robots.txt blocks crawling, not indexing. A blocked page can still be indexed if other pages link to it. Use a noindex meta tag instead to prevent indexing.
Do I need a robots.txt file for a small website?
It is not strictly required, but including one is good practice. It lets you control crawler access and point search engines to your sitemap.
Maintained by Taimour Husnain.
How to check and validate your robots.txt
After creating or editing robots.txt, test it by fetching the file at yoursite.com/robots.txt and reviewing each rule. Use Google Search Console's robots.txt Tester to verify that specific URLs are allowed or blocked as intended. Check for accidental blocks of CSS, JavaScript, or image directories that prevent proper rendering.
Common mistakes to check: blocking the entire site with a bare Disallow rule, blocking the sitemap reference, using wildcard patterns that over-match, and forgetting to add a Sitemap directive. After uploading, wait 24-48 hours and check the crawl report for errors. Read the robots.txt guide for field-by-field syntax explanations.