Developer Tools
Generate a Robots.txt File
Generate robots txt ideas or values for quick copy-and-use workflows.
Direct Answer
Use the Robots.txt Generator when you need a starter robots.txt file to tell crawlers which paths can be crawled and where the sitemap is located.
What robots.txt controls and what it doesn't
robots.txt is a crawling instruction, not an indexing or access-control mechanism, and mixing it up with those causes some of the most common site launch mistakes.
- controls whether well-behaved crawlers request a given path at all
- does not remove a page from search results by itself
- does not prevent a page from being indexed if it's linked from elsewhere
- is not enforced against bots that choose to ignore it
- must live at the domain root, not in a subdirectory
Common rules to include
A typical robots.txt combines a default policy with a few targeted exceptions and a pointer to the sitemap.
- User-agent: * as the default rule group
- Disallow entries for admin paths, internal search, or duplicate parameterized URLs
- a Sitemap: directive with the absolute sitemap URL
- separate User-agent blocks for bots you want to treat differently
- Allow entries to carve out exceptions inside a disallowed directory
Specific Use Cases This Tool Handles
These are the narrower jobs this page is designed to answer, including the long-tail searches people use when they need more than a generic tool name.
| Use Case | How This Page Helps |
|---|---|
| Copy-ready variations | Generate several options, copy the best result, then regenerate when you need another batch. |
| Fast naming and content drafts | Use generated output as a starting point for captions, titles, names, snippets, or random values. |
| No account workflow | Run the generator in the browser without signing into a large creative suite. |
How to Use Robots Txt Generator
- Set your options (length, type, count) using the controls.
- Click Generate to produce new results.
- Click Copy next to any item to copy it individually, or Copy all to get everything.
- Download .txt saves all generated results as a text file.
- Click Generate again for a fresh set.
Reference
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Generate reusable output from selected options. |
| Input | Settings such as count, length, format, or topic. |
| Result | Generated items ready to copy. |
| Best for | Fast ideas, random values, names, passwords, codes, and reusable snippets. |
| Category | Developer Tools |
| Works on | Desktop, tablet, and mobile browsers |
Common Ways People Search for This
People do not always know the exact tool name. These are plain-language searches this page is designed to answer:
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A Focused Robots Txt Generator Alternative
People looking for alternatives to JSONLint, Code Beautify, FreeFormatter, Browserling often want a simpler workflow. This robots txt generator focuses on the task first: clear inputs, a visible result, useful related tools, free access, and no account requirement.
- Puts the tool input and result near the top of the page
- Free to use with no account or payment step
- Includes focused explanations and related tools
- Designed to avoid misleading download buttons and forced interstitials
Useful Related Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
Does robots.txt stop a page from appearing in search results?
Not by itself. robots.txt blocks crawling, not indexing - a disallowed URL can still show up in search results (usually without a snippet) if other pages link to it. To reliably keep a page out of the index, use a noindex meta tag or header, which requires the page to be crawlable so the crawler can see that instruction.
What's the difference between Disallow in robots.txt and a noindex meta tag?
Disallow is a site-wide, per-path instruction that prevents crawling in the first place. A noindex meta tag is a per-page instruction inside the HTML that prevents indexing after the page has been crawled. Blocking a page with Disallow can actually prevent a crawler from ever seeing its noindex tag.
Where does robots.txt need to be located?
At the root of the domain, such as example.com/robots.txt - it won't be recognized in a subdirectory. Rules only apply to the exact host, scheme, and port the file was fetched from, so http and https versions, or a www and non-www version, each need their own file if the rules differ.
Is robots.txt legally or technically enforced?
No. It's a voluntary convention called the Robots Exclusion Protocol. Reputable search engine crawlers respect it, but nothing stops a scraper or malicious bot from ignoring the file entirely, so it shouldn't be relied on to protect sensitive content.
Can I block one specific bot without blocking all crawlers?
Yes. Add a separate User-agent block naming that bot (for example User-agent: BadBot) with its own Disallow rules, distinct from the User-agent: * group that applies to everyone else.
How do I point crawlers to my sitemap from robots.txt?
Add a Sitemap: line with the full absolute URL, such as Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml. You can list multiple Sitemap lines if you have more than one sitemap file or a sitemap index.
What does Crawl-delay do?
It asks a crawler to wait a given number of seconds between requests. Google ignores this directive entirely (crawl rate is managed through Search Console instead), while Bing and some other crawlers do honor it.
Can I use wildcards in robots.txt paths?
Yes. * matches any sequence of characters within a path, and $ anchors a rule to the end of the URL. Both are supported by Google and Bing, letting you write rules like Disallow: /*.pdf$ to block all PDF files.
What happens if robots.txt is missing or returns a 404?
Most crawlers treat a missing robots.txt as an implicit allow-everything and crawl the site normally. A robots.txt that returns a server error (5xx), however, can cause some crawlers to pause crawling out of caution until it's reachable again.
Should I use robots.txt to hide a staging or dev site?
Not as the only protection. Disallow doesn't stop the page from being indexed if it's linked from somewhere else, and it doesn't stop anyone from viewing the page directly. Password protection or a noindex tag combined with restricted access is more reliable for non-public environments.
Can robots.txt block CSS or JavaScript files?
It can, but it's discouraged. Search engines render pages to evaluate layout and content, and blocking the assets needed for rendering can cause a page to be misjudged as broken or low quality.
Does every subdomain need its own robots.txt file?
Yes. robots.txt rules apply per host, so www.example.com, example.com, and blog.example.com are each treated as separate hosts requiring their own file if their crawling rules differ.
How are conflicting rules resolved if two lines overlap?
Most crawlers apply the most specific matching rule, meaning the longest matching path, regardless of which line appears first or last in the file - not simple top-to-bottom order.