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Robots.txt Generator Generate a properly formatted robots.txt file to control search engine crawler access.

Robots.txt Generator illustration
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Robots.txt Generator

Generate a properly formatted robots.txt file to control search engine crawler access.

1

Select user agents

Choose which search engine crawlers to create rules for (all bots, Googlebot, Bingbot, etc.).

2

Set allow/disallow rules

Specify which URL paths crawlers can and cannot access.

3

Add sitemap and copy

Add your sitemap URL and copy the generated robots.txt content.

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What Is Robots.txt Generator?

The Robots.txt Generator helps you create a properly formatted robots.txt file that tells search engine crawlers which parts of your website they can and cannot access. The file sits at your domain root (example.com/robots.txt) and is the first file crawlers check before indexing your site. A misconfigured file can accidentally block important pages from search engines or waste crawl budget on unimportant resources. This tool generates standard-compliant directives including User-agent, Disallow, Allow, Sitemap, and Crawl-delay, ensuring your file follows the Robots Exclusion Protocol specification.

Why Use Robots.txt Generator?

  • Generate valid robots.txt syntax without memorizing the protocol specification
  • Pre-built templates for common configurations (WordPress, e-commerce, etc.)
  • Support for multiple user-agent blocks with different rules
  • Sitemap declaration to help crawlers discover your XML sitemap
  • Preview and validation before deploying to your server

Common Use Cases

New Website Launch

Create a robots.txt from scratch that properly controls crawler access.

Crawl Budget Management

Block crawlers from wasting resources on admin pages, search results, and parameter URLs.

Staging Site Protection

Prevent search engines from indexing staging or development environments.

WordPress SEO

Create optimized robots.txt for WordPress sites blocking wp-admin, feeds, and tag pages.

Technical Guide

The file follows the Robots Exclusion Protocol (REP). It must be placed at the root of your domain at /robots.txt. Each block starts with a User-agent directive specifying which crawler the rules apply to (* means all). Disallow blocks a path, Allow explicitly permits access (useful as an exception within a broader Disallow). Rules are path-prefix based — Disallow: /admin blocks /admin, /admin/users, /admin/settings, etc. The Sitemap directive can appear anywhere in the file and tells all crawlers where to find your XML sitemap. Important caveats: The file is a request, not an enforcement — malicious bots can ignore it. Also, if a URL is blocked in the file but linked from external sites, Google may still index the URL (without its content). To fully prevent indexing, use the noindex meta tag or X-Robots-Tag HTTP header instead.

Tips & Best Practices

  • 1
    Never block CSS, JavaScript, or image files — search engines need them to render your pages correctly
  • 2
    Use robots.txt for crawl efficiency, not for security — it is publicly readable
  • 3
    Always include your Sitemap URL in robots.txt for crawler discovery
  • 4
    Test your robots.txt using Google Search Console's robots.txt Tester
  • 5
    Remember: Disallow does not prevent indexing if external links point to the blocked URL

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q Where do I put the robots.txt file?
It must be at the root of your domain: https://example.com/robots.txt. Subdomains need their own robots.txt.
Q Does robots.txt block indexing?
Not entirely. It prevents crawling, but if external sites link to a blocked URL, Google may still index the URL (showing a "No information is available for this page" snippet). Use noindex meta tag for full prevention.
Q Can I have different rules for different crawlers?
Yes. Create separate User-agent blocks for each crawler (Googlebot, Bingbot, etc.) with specific rules for each.
Q What does Crawl-delay do?
Crawl-delay tells crawlers to wait N seconds between requests. Google ignores this directive — use Search Console to set Googlebot crawl rate instead. Bing and others respect it.
Q Should I block /wp-admin in WordPress?
Yes, block /wp-admin/ but allow /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php (needed for many WordPress features). Also consider blocking /wp-includes/ and feed URLs.

About This Tool

Robots.txt Generator is a free online tool by FreeToolkit.ai. All processing happens directly in your browser — your data never leaves your device. No registration or installation required.