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How to Set Up an llms.txt File for Your Website

A practical guide to choosing an llms.txt path, writing a curated Markdown index, advertising it, and setting realistic expectations for Google Search.

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To enable llms.txt, publish a concise Markdown file at your site root—usually /llms.txt—and fill it with a short site description and links to the pages you want AI agents to consult. The proposal also recommends advertising the file with a rel="describedby" link. It is a proposed content index, not a crawler-permission setting, and Google says it does not use llms.txt as a special file for Search or its generative AI features.

What llms.txt does—and what it does not do

llms.txt is a proposed Markdown file that gives agents a brief orientation to a website and points them to selected useful content. Jeremy Howard first published the proposal on September 3, 2024; its v2 proposal page was modified on August 10, 2026. Read the llms.txt proposal for its current format and scope.

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It is not a ratified web standard or a permission file. Listing a page does not grant access to it, and leaving a page out does not prevent a crawler from finding it. Use robots.txt and other applicable controls to manage crawler access. A sitemap remains useful as a broader inventory; llms.txt is meant to be selective.

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Do not expect it to improve Google rankings, visibility, or citations. Google Search Central says Google Search does not use llms.txt as a special file, including for its generative AI features, and says maintaining one neither harms nor helps Google Search visibility or rankings. That statement is specifically about Google Search; it does not establish how every other agent or model handles the file. See Google Search Central’s guidance on llms.txt.

Choose the right location and scope

For a site-wide index, publish the file at https://example.com/llms.txt. The proposal also allows a section-specific file, such as https://example.com/docs/llms.txt. A root file can orient agents across the whole site; a path-level file can be maintained by the team responsible for a particular section. When multiple files cover a URL, the more specific file applies to URLs under its path.

Use one root file unless separate sections have distinct content and owners who can keep their own indexes current. The file should be a curated guide, not a duplicate sitemap: prioritize material that helps answer likely questions, such as documentation, policies, or key product information.

Write a concise, useful index

The proposal’s format uses a heading for the site or project name, a blockquote for a short summary, optional explanatory text, and topic headings with Markdown links. For example:

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# Example Project

> Documentation and reference material for Example Project.

Use these pages for setup, supported interfaces, and security information.

## Documentation

- [Getting started](https://example.com/docs/start.md): Setup and first steps.
- [API reference](https://example.com/docs/api.md): Public interfaces and usage.

## Policies

- [Security](https://example.com/security.md): Security practices and disclosure information.

Keep the summary accurate and the page descriptions meaningful. Include stable, high-value pages rather than every URL on the site. The proposal gives examples of links to detailed pages or Markdown alternatives; only link to a Markdown version if your site actually publishes and maintains one.

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Publish and advertise the file

  1. Choose the URL. Use /llms.txt for a site-wide index or a relevant path, such as /docs/llms.txt, for a section index.
  2. Serve the Markdown file. Publish plain text or Markdown at that URL, then request it in a browser or with your normal site-checking method. Confirm that it returns the intended content successfully.
  3. Advertise the index. Add a rel="describedby" relation in the HTML or as an HTTP Link response header. The proposal’s header example is:
    Link: </llms.txt>; rel="describedby"; type="text/markdown"

    For a section index, use its corresponding path in the relation. The proposal permits an HTML <link> element or a response header.

  4. Link to clean Markdown alternatives where available. For an individual page with a Markdown version, the proposal recommends rel="alternate" with type="text/markdown". Its v2 page permits appending or substituting the .md extension according to the site’s URL structure.
  5. Keep it maintained. Review the index and its links when important content or site structure changes. Recheck that the URL works and that the discovery relation is still present.

The llms.txt implementation reference offers platform-specific guidance for WordPress, Shopify, Vercel, Netlify, Apache, Nginx, and custom deployments. Use guidance for your actual stack, then verify the final URL is served from the intended domain or path; there is no universally best deployment method established by these resources.

Check the setup without confusing it with access control

  • Open the chosen URL and confirm that it returns the intended Markdown rather than an error page or unrelated HTML.
  • Check that the links in the file lead to the pages you intend agents to consult.
  • Confirm that the rel="describedby" relation points to the correct root or section file.
  • Keep access rules separate: use robots.txt and any other applicable controls for crawler permissions.
  • Do not interpret the presence of the file—or a page’s inclusion in it—as evidence that an agent has read or will use that content.

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