Robots.txt Generator
Generate a robots.txt file to control how search engines crawl your site.
What Is a Robots.txt File?
A robots.txt file is a plain text file placed at the root of your website that tells search engine crawlers which pages or sections they can and cannot access. It's one of the first files Googlebot checks before crawling your site, making it a critical component of technical SEO. Our generator makes it easy to create a properly formatted robots.txt with bot-specific rules.
How to Use This Tool
Select which crawlers to block (AI bots like GPTBot and ClaudeBot, SEO tool bots like AhrefsBot and SemrushBot, or regional bots like Baiduspider and YandexBot). Add your sitemap URL, set an optional crawl delay, and specify any paths to disallow. Click Generate robots.txt to get your file content, then copy and upload it to your site's root directory.
Robots.txt Best Practices
Always include your sitemap URL in robots.txt to help search engines discover all your pages. Don't use robots.txt to hide sensitive pages — it doesn't prevent indexing if other pages link to them. Instead, use the noindex robots meta tag. Check your existing robots.txt with our Meta Tag Analyzer to verify your directives are working as intended.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does robots.txt prevent pages from being indexed?
No. Robots.txt only controls crawling, not indexing. If other pages link to a URL that is blocked in robots.txt, Google may still index it (without content). To prevent indexing, use the noindex meta robots tag or X-Robots-Tag HTTP header on the page itself.
Should I block AI crawlers like GPTBot?
It depends on your goals. Blocking GPTBot prevents OpenAI from using your content for training data, while blocking ClaudeBot does the same for Anthropic. However, allowing AI crawlers may help your content appear in AI-generated answers. Consider your AI visibility strategy before deciding.
Where do I upload my robots.txt file?
Upload the robots.txt file to the root directory of your website so it's accessible at yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Most hosting control panels (cPanel, Plesk) let you upload files via File Manager, or you can use FTP/SFTP.
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