Robots.txt Generator — Free, Advanced & SEO-Optimised
Generate a complete, validated robots.txt file instantly. Choose from 9 templates, add rules for 30+ specific bots, block AI scrapers with one click, and get a real-time SEO health score — all 100% free, forever.
A robots.txt file tells search engine crawlers like Googlebot exactly which pages to crawl — and which to skip. A well-configured file protects your crawl budget, prevents duplicate content issues, and ensures your most important pages get indexed first. Use this free generator to create yours in under 60 seconds.
📄 Robots.txt Generator
Build, validate & download your robots.txt file — no signup, no watermark, free forever
Click any bot to add a dedicated rule for it. You can then customise the directives in the Rule Builder tab.
⚠️ Google ignores Crawl-delay — use Google Search Console to manage Googlebot speed. Host is only read by Yandex to set your preferred canonical domain.
No sitemaps added yet — adding your sitemap boosts your SEO score.
No history yet — your configurations auto-save here.
🔒 100% Private: All processing happens in your browser. Your data is never sent to any server.
How to Generate a Robots.txt File — Free & Instant
- Choose a Template — select the preset that matches your site type: WordPress, e-commerce, blog, SaaS app, news site, or portfolio. You can also start from a blank Default template and add rules manually.
- Add Custom Rules in the Rule Builder tab. Choose a user-agent (use
*for all bots or a specific name likeGooglebot), then add Allow and Disallow directives for the paths you want to control. - Add Your Sitemap URL in the Sitemap section. This tells all major crawlers where to find your XML sitemap — boosting both discoverability and your SEO health score.
- Review the Live Preview and check the Validation panel. Fix any errors or warnings highlighted. Check your SEO Health Score out of 100 for a quick rating of your configuration.
- Download your robots.txt file and upload it to your website's root directory so it's accessible at
yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Then verify it in Google Search Console.
🚀 Features — Advanced Robots.txt Generator, Free
📋 9 Smart Templates
Pre-built configurations for WordPress, e-commerce, blogs, news sites, SaaS apps, and portfolios. Load any template with one click and customise from there — the fastest starting point for any site type.
🔧 Visual Rule Builder
Add, edit, reorder, and delete crawl rules without touching any code. Each rule lets you target a specific user-agent and add as many Allow or Disallow directives as needed.
🤖 30+ Bot Presets
One-click rules for Googlebot, Bingbot, GPTBot, SemrushBot, AhrefsBot, Facebook, Yandex, and 25+ more. Add precise rules for the crawlers that matter most to your site.
🚫 Block AI Training Bots
Block OpenAI's GPTBot, Common Crawl's CCBot, Anthropic's Claude-Web, Google-Extended, and other AI scrapers in one click. Protect your content from being used to train large language models.
✅ Real-Time Validation
Instant error detection with colour-coded results — red for errors, yellow for warnings, green for passes. Catches common mistakes like accidentally blocking your entire site before you publish.
🏥 SEO Health Score (0–100)
Get an instant SEO score with an animated ring meter. Scores consider wildcard rules, sitemap declarations, block-all detection, and configuration completeness — with actionable badges explaining each point.
📥 Import & Parse
Upload an existing robots.txt file or paste content directly to import, parse, and visually edit it. Drag and drop your file onto the import zone for instant loading.
🕐 Auto-Save History
Your last 5 configurations are automatically saved in your browser. Restore any previous setup with one click — useful when testing different configurations before going live.
📄 Syntax-Highlighted Preview
See your robots.txt output with colour-coded syntax highlighting and line numbers in real time. Directives, paths, sitemaps, and comments are colour-coded for instant readability.
🔗 Shareable Config Links
Generate a unique share URL that encodes your entire configuration. Share your robots.txt setup with a colleague or client so they can review and load it instantly — no account needed.
What Is a Robots.txt File & Why Does It Matter for SEO?
A robots.txt file is a plain-text file placed in the root directory of your website that tells search engine crawlers — also known as web robots or bots — which pages, directories, and files they are permitted or forbidden to access. It follows the Robots Exclusion Protocol (REP), a standard respected by all major search engines including Google, Bing, and Yandex.
When any crawler visits your site, the very first thing it does is check yourdomain.com/robots.txt. If rules are present, well-behaved bots will follow them. A missing or misconfigured file can result in wasted crawl budget, indexed admin pages, duplicate content issues, and slower SEO performance.
🔒 Your privacy is guaranteed. Unlike many online generators that process your configuration on their servers, this tool runs entirely in your browser. Your site data and URL structure are never transmitted to or stored by any external server.
Robots.txt vs. Meta Robots Tags — What’s the Difference?
Both control crawler access, but they work at different levels. Robots.txt prevents crawling — the bot never visits the page. Meta robots tags (noindex) prevent indexing even if the page is crawled. For pages already in Google’s index, use a noindex tag; for pages you never want crawled (admin panels, staging), use Disallow in robots.txt.
Who Should Use This Robots.txt Generator?
Robots.txt Mistakes That Hurt SEO — And How to Fix Them
🚫 Accidentally blocking your entire site
Adding Disallow: / under User-agent: * blocks Googlebot from crawling every page on your site. Our real-time validator catches this error and flags it immediately with a red warning before you download.
📷 Blocking CSS and JavaScript files
Google needs to render your CSS and JS to properly understand your pages. Blocking these prevents Google from seeing your site as users do, which can hurt rankings. Never add Disallow rules for your assets directories unless you have a specific reason.
💡 Confusing Disallow with noindex
Disallow prevents crawling but does not remove a page from Google’s index. A page already indexed before you added the rule can still appear in search results. To de-index a page, use a noindex meta robots tag or submit a URL removal request in Google Search Console.
🗺 Missing a Sitemap declaration
Your robots.txt file is the perfect place to declare your XML sitemap URL. Without it, crawlers have to find your sitemap through Search Console or by discovering it manually. Always include at least one Sitemap: directive — our tool flags this as a warning if it’s missing.
Our Tool vs. Basic Generators — Feature Comparison
| Feature | This Tool | Basic Generators |
|---|---|---|
| Visual Rule Builder | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Real-Time Validation | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| SEO Health Score | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| 30+ Bot Presets | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Block AI Training Bots | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Import Existing File | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Syntax-Highlighted Preview | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Auto-Save History | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Smart Templates | ✅ 9 Templates | ❌ None |
| 100% Free | ✅ Always | ✅ Usually |
Frequently Asked Questions — Robots.txt Generator
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A robots.txt file tells search engine crawlers which pages they can and cannot access on your website. You don't technically need one — Google will crawl your site without it. However, it's strongly recommended for SEO. Without it, crawlers freely access every page including admin areas, duplicate pages, and search result URLs, wasting your crawl budget on pages that shouldn't be indexed.
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No — and this is one of the most common misconceptions. Disallow prevents crawling, not indexing. If Google has already indexed a page before you added the Disallow rule, it can still appear in search results. To remove a page from Google's index, you must use a
noindexmeta robots tag on the page itself, or submit a URL removal request via Google Search Console. -
Add User-agent: * followed by Disallow: /. Our "Block All" template does this with one click. Important caveat: this only works with well-behaved bots. Malicious scrapers and spam crawlers may ignore your robots.txt file entirely — use server-level firewalls and IP blocking for genuine security.
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Your robots.txt file must be placed in the root directory of your domain — accessible at exactly yourdomain.com/robots.txt. It must be on the same protocol and subdomain it applies to. For WordPress, you can manage it via Yoast SEO or All in One SEO. For Shopify, go to Online Store → Themes → Edit Code. For other platforms, upload via FTP to your public_html or www directory.
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Crawl-delay tells bots to wait a set number of seconds between requests, reducing server load. However, Google officially ignores the Crawl-delay directive — use Google Search Console's crawl rate settings to control Googlebot specifically. Crawl-delay is respected by Bing, Yandex, and some other crawlers, so it's useful if those bots are causing server strain.
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Yes — use the "Block AI Training Bots" toggle in the Advanced tab. This adds Disallow: / rules for GPTBot (OpenAI), CCBot (Common Crawl), Claude-Web (Anthropic), Google-Extended, and other AI training scrapers. These companies have committed to respecting robots.txt opt-outs. Note that this only prevents compliant bots from scraping — it is not a legal protection.
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After uploading your robots.txt, go to Google Search Console → Settings → robots.txt and use the built-in testing tool. You can enter any URL on your site and test whether Googlebot can access it. Alternatively, visit yourdomain.com/robots.txt in your browser to confirm the file is live and readable.
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Yes — 100% free with no sign-up, no account, no watermark, and no usage limits. All processing happens entirely in your browser. Your configuration data is never sent to any server. We generate revenue through non-intrusive advertising on the page, which allows us to keep all tools free for everyone forever.
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📄 Generate My Robots.txt — It’s Free