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Understand, create, and verify llms.txt.

A reference for understanding the llms.txt proposal, drafting a Markdown file, and checking its structure. Start with the guide, create a draft, then review the diagnostics.

Validate a file What is llms.txt

Documented rules · Nine languages · CC BY 4.0

# llmtxt.info

> The reference site on llms.txt: what it is, how it works, how to create one, with a free validator and generator.

## Core pages

- [What is llms.txt](https://llmtxt.info/what-is-llms-txt/): definition, origin, adoption.
- [How it works](https://llmtxt.info/how-it-works/): file structure and parsing rules.
- [How to create llms.txt](https://llmtxt.info/how-to-create/): step-by-step with templates.
- [Comparison](https://llmtxt.info/comparison/): llms.txt vs robots.txt vs sitemap.xml.

## Tools

- [Validator](https://llmtxt.info/validator/): paste a file, read the diagnostics.
- [Generator](https://llmtxt.info/generator/): scaffold a llms.txt from a form.

## Optional

- [FAQ](https://llmtxt.info/faq/): twenty common questions.
- [Glossary](https://llmtxt.info/glossary/): key terms.

A practical reference

From first question to a checked file.

Understand the proposal, draft a focused Markdown file, and check its structure against documented rules. Review its links and descriptions before publishing your file.

Public llms.txt files

Checked 5 September 2026

An observation of published files, without implying a partnership or model use. Explore 43 public files (September 6, 2026)

01 / Learn

Understand the spec

What llms.txt is, the problem it solves, who proposed it, who adopted it, and its real status in 2026.

What is llms.txt →

02 / Build

Create your file

Templates, step-by-step instructions and per-stack guides (Next.js, Astro, WordPress, Cloudflare Pages, Vercel, Netlify).

How to create →

03 / Verify

Validate & test

Paste your file in the validator to check conformance, or use the generator to start from a clean baseline.

Validator → Generator →

In one paragraph

llms.txt is a Markdown file placed at the root of a site (/llms.txt) that gives large language models a curated map of the pages most worth reading. It was proposed in September 2024 by Jeremy Howard (Answer.AI). It is not a W3C or IETF standard, and as of 2026 no major LLM provider has publicly committed to consuming it systematically, but it is widely adopted by documentation platforms (Anthropic, Cloudflare, Stripe, Mintlify, Vercel, Perplexity) and useful as a stable, machine-readable contract that you control on your own site.

Sources: llmstxt.org, Answer.AI announcement.

Does llms.txt actually work? Read the factual analysis →

Explore the topic

Pages are organized in three clusters: foundations, build guide, and reference. Pick where to start.

Foundations

What is llms.txt
Definition, origin, adoption.
How it works
Structure, syntax, parsing.
vs robots.txt & sitemap.xml
Which file for what.
Benefits & limitations
What llms.txt really delivers.
Does llms.txt work?
Evidence by use case: AI citations, SEO, tooling.
llms.txt and SEO
Google rankings, GEO, AI traffic.

Build guide

How to create llms.txt
Templates, deployment, per stack.
Best practices
Ten rules and common mistakes.
Validator
Paste a file, read the diagnostics.
Generator
Scaffold a clean baseline.

Reference

Real-world examples
Anthropic, Cloudflare, Stripe…
The llms.txt file
Locations, scope, and discovery.
Does Google use llms.txt?
The clear, sourced answer.
Does ChatGPT use llms.txt?
What OpenAI has (not) said.
Find a site's llms.txt
See any website's file.
FAQ
Twenty common questions.
Glossary
Key terms (GEO, AEO, RAG…).
Our /llms.txt
Dogfooding.

Practical guides

4 October 2026 · EN

Test HTML and Markdown delivery through your cache

Check whether your CDN serves the intended HTML and Markdown representations. A practical test matrix for explicit URLs, negotiation and cache validation.