What is a Robots.txt Generator?
robots.txt is a simple text file that tells search engine crawlers which parts of your site they can and cannot access. It's placed at your site's root (example.com/robots.txt) and is one of the first things crawlers check.
This generator helps you create a properly formatted robots.txt with common rules for blocking admin areas, private directories, and more.
Common Robots.txt Directives
Key directives you can use:
- User-agent: * - Applies to all crawlers
- Allow: / - Permit crawling entire site
- Disallow: /path/ - Block a specific directory
- Sitemap: url - Point crawlers to your sitemap
What to Block
Block admin panels, login pages, and CMS backends - they waste crawl budget and shouldn't be indexed anyway.
Block API endpoints, staging directories, and development files. Block any private user content or duplicate content paths.
Don't block CSS/JS files if you want Google to render your pages properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is robots.txt?
robots.txt is a file that tells search engine crawlers which pages or sections of your site to crawl or skip. It lives at your site's root (example.com/robots.txt) and helps manage crawler traffic and indexing.
Does robots.txt hide pages from Google?
No! robots.txt only prevents crawling, not indexing. If other sites link to a blocked page, Google may still index its URL. For true hiding, use noindex meta tags or password protection.
What does Disallow: / do?
Disallow: / tells crawlers to not access any page on your site. Use this carefully - it will remove your entire site from search results over time. It's mainly for development/staging sites.
Should I include a sitemap reference?
Yes! Adding Sitemap: https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml helps search engines discover your content structure. It's a simple addition that aids indexing.