Robots.txt Generator
Create robots.txt files to control search engine crawler access to your website.
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🔒 All processing happens locally in your browser. No data is sent to any server.
Quick Presets
Crawler Rules
Sitemaps
Generated robots.txt
# robots.txt generated by Ventrips
# https://ventrips.com/tool/robots-txt-generator
User-agent: *Advertisement
How to Use the Robots.txt Generator
This robots.txt generator helps you create a properly formatted robots.txt file without needing to understand the complex syntax. Start by choosing which search engine crawlers you want to control using the user-agent selector. The asterisk (*) applies rules to all crawlers, or you can specify individual bots like Googlebot, Bingbot, or others.
Add disallow rules to block crawlers from specific URLs or directories. Common examples include /admin/, /private/, or /wp-admin/ for WordPress sites. Use the allow rules to create exceptions - for instance, you might block /wp-admin/ but allow /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php for AJAX requests that need to be accessible.
Include your sitemap URL to help search engines discover all your important pages. You can add multiple sitemaps if you have separate ones for different content types (pages, posts, images, videos). The crawl delay option tells crawlers to wait between requests, useful for preventing server overload on shared hosting.
Once you've configured your rules, copy the generated robots.txt content and save it as a plain text file named exactly "robots.txt" (lowercase, no spaces). Upload it to your website's root directory so it's accessible at https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Test it using Google Search Console's robots.txt tester to ensure it works as intended.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a robots.txt file?
A robots.txt file is a text file placed in your website's root directory that tells search engine crawlers which pages or sections of your site they can or cannot access. It's part of the Robots Exclusion Protocol and helps manage crawler traffic and prevent indexing of sensitive or duplicate content.
Where should I place my robots.txt file?
The robots.txt file must be placed in the root directory of your website, accessible at https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt. It cannot be in a subdirectory or have a different filename - search engine crawlers specifically look for /robots.txt.
What's the difference between Disallow and Allow?
Disallow tells crawlers NOT to access specific URLs or directories, while Allow explicitly permits access (used to override Disallow rules for subdirectories). For example, you might disallow /admin/ but allow /admin/public/ for specific content within a blocked directory.
Should I include my sitemap in robots.txt?
Yes! Adding your sitemap URL to robots.txt helps search engines discover and index your content more efficiently. Include it with the Sitemap directive, like 'Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml'. You can list multiple sitemaps if needed.
Can robots.txt block all search engines?
The robots.txt file can request that search engines don't crawl your site with 'User-agent: * Disallow: /', but it's not a security mechanism. Well-behaved crawlers will respect it, but malicious bots may ignore it. For true access control, use password protection or server-side restrictions.
How do I test my robots.txt file?
Google Search Console provides a robots.txt tester tool that lets you verify your file syntax and test specific URLs against your rules. You can also visit yourdomain.com/robots.txt in a browser to ensure it's publicly accessible and correctly formatted.