- [ Home ](/) / - Find a site's llms.txt # How to find a website's llms.txt file V2 allows a file at the root or on a more specific path. Start with declared relations, then follow the page scope, and use the root as a fallback. Last updated: August 12, 2026 ℹ The v2 discovery order Check the page for rel="describedby" , then try the most specific path-level file, and finally the origin root. A page may also advertise a clean Markdown alternate with rel="alternate" type="text/markdown" . ## The quickest way The quickest reliable method is to inspect the page HTML and HTTP `Link` header for `rel="describedby"`. If no relation is declared, try the most specific path that contains the page, then fall back to the origin root: ``` https://example.com/llms.txt ``` If the site publishes one, it loads as plain text in your browser. If you get a 404, the site has not published one at the root (see the fallbacks below). ## Step by step - **Inspect discovery relations.** View the page source and response headers for `rel="describedby"`. Also note any `rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"`, which identifies a Markdown representation of the page rather than its map. - **Try the most specific path.** For `https://example.com/docs/api/auth`, check `https://example.com/docs/api/llms.txt` and then `https://example.com/docs/llms.txt`. - **Fall back to the origin root.** Check `https://example.com/llms.txt` when no declared or path-level file is available. A 404 means only that this root file is absent. - **View source if needed.** The file is Markdown served as text. If your browser tries to render it oddly, use View Source or fetch it with `curl -s https://example.com/llms.txt`. ✓ Tip: read it like a map A valid llms.txt starts with a single H1 (the site name), an optional one-line summary in a blockquote, then H2 sections listing links. That structure tells you, at a glance, what the site considers its most important pages. ## If there is no llms.txt A 404 simply means the site has not adopted the convention. Your options: - Confirm the discovery relation, path-level candidates and root URL in that order. - Check the documentation subdomain or subpath if it is a docs-heavy site. - If it is your own site, you can create one in minutes: paste your URL into our [generator](/generator/) to build a draft from your sitemap, or follow [how to create an llms.txt file](/how-to-create/). ## Browse public directories To discover sites that already publish llms.txt, community directories keep running lists: [directory.llmstxt.cloud](https://directory.llmstxt.cloud/) and [llmstxt.site](https://llmstxt.site/). For annotated, hand-checked examples with notes on what makes each one good, see our [real-world examples](/examples/). ## Validate what you find Found a file and want to know if it is well-formed? Paste it into our [validator](/validator/) to check it against the spec: required H1, optional summary, section structure, and link syntax. It flags errors and warnings line by line. ## FAQ **Where is the llms.txt file located?** Usually at the origin root, but v2 also allows a file under any path, such as `https://yourdomain.com/docs/llms.txt`. **What is llms-full.txt?** A companion file with the full content of the listed pages, concatenated into one Markdown file for ingestion. See [what is llms-full.txt](/llms-full-txt/). **Does every site have one?** No. Adoption is growing but still optional; a 404 just means the site has not published one. ## Next steps - [Validator](/validator/): check any llms.txt against the spec. - [Generator](/generator/): build one from your sitemap. - [Real-world examples](/examples/): annotated files worth copying. - [What is llms.txt?](/what-is-llms-txt/) The foundations. ## Sources - [ llmstxt.org, official specification ](https://llmstxt.org/) - [ directory.llmstxt.cloud, community directory ](https://directory.llmstxt.cloud/) - [ llmstxt.site, directory of llms.txt files ](https://llmstxt.site/) On this page - [ The quickest way ](#quickest) - [ Step by step ](#steps) - [ If there is no llms.txt ](#not-found) - [ Browse public directories ](#directories) - [ Validate what you find ](#validate) - [ FAQ ](#faq)