- [ Home ](/) / - [ How to create ](/how-to-create/) / - Hugo guide # llms.txt for Hugo Two approaches: a static file in static/ (zero config, works everywhere), or a custom output format that generates llms.txt automatically from your content at build time. Last updated: April 22, 2026 ℹ Which approach to use? If your llms.txt content is stable and you update it manually, use the static file , zero config, zero risk. If you want it to stay in sync with your content automatically on every hugo build, use the custom output format . ## Option 1: static file (recommended) Hugo copies everything in the `static/` directory directly to the `public/` build output. Place your `llms.txt` there and it will be served at `/llms.txt` on any hosting platform, no Hugo config changes needed. static/llms.txt, directory structure Copy ``` # Hugo, zero-config static approach # # Place your file at: static/llms.txt # Hugo copies everything in static/ directly to the public/ output directory. # Your file will be served at /llms.txt on any host. # # Project structure: # your-hugo-site/ # ├── static/ # │ └── llms.txt ← add this # ├── content/ # ├── layouts/ # └── hugo.toml # # No config changes needed. Run "hugo" and it appears in public/llms.txt. ``` After running `hugo`, you'll find `public/llms.txt` in your build output. Deploy `public/` to Cloudflare Pages, Vercel, GitHub Pages, or any static host. ## Option 2: custom output format Hugo's output format system lets you generate any file type from your content using Go templates. Define a new `LLMSTXT` format in your config, then create the template, Hugo builds `public/llms.txt` automatically on every `hugo` run. ### Step 1, add the output format to your config hugo.toml Copy ``` # hugo.toml, define the llmstxt custom output format [outputs] home = ["HTML", "RSS", "LLMSTXT"] [outputFormats.LLMSTXT] mediaType = "text/plain" baseName = "llms" isPlainText = true notAlternative = true ``` Using YAML? Same config: hugo.yaml Copy ``` # hugo.yaml, same config in YAML outputs: home: - HTML - RSS - LLMSTXT outputFormats: LLMSTXT: mediaType: text/plain baseName: llms isPlainText: true notAlternative: true ``` The key settings are `mediaType = "text/plain"` (so Hugo writes a plain text file), `baseName = "llms"` (produces `llms.txt`), and `notAlternative = true` (suppresses an unwanted ` ` tag in your HTML). ## Writing the template Create the template at `layouts/index.llmstxt.txt`. Hugo uses the *home* template for the root-level output. Here's a simple version that lists all regular pages: layouts/index.llmstxt.txt, simple Copy ``` {{/* layouts/index.llmstxt.txt */}} {{/* Hugo home template for the llmstxt output format */}} # {{ .Site.Title }} > {{ .Site.Params.description }} {{ with .Site.Params.llmstxtContext }}{{ . }} {{ end -}} ## Pages {{ range .Site.RegularPages -}} - [{{ .Title }}]({{ .Permalink }}): {{ with .Description }}{{ . }}{{ else }}{{ .Summary | plainify | truncate 120 }}{{ end }} {{ end }} ``` For a site with multiple content sections (blog, docs, tutorials), organize by section: layouts/index.llmstxt.txt, by section Copy ``` {{/* layouts/index.llmstxt.txt, organized by section */}} # {{ .Site.Title }} > {{ .Site.Params.description }} {{ range .Site.Sections -}} ## {{ .Title }} {{ range .Pages -}} - [{{ .Title }}]({{ .Permalink }}): {{ with .Description }}{{ . }}{{ else }}{{ .Summary | plainify | truncate 100 }}{{ end }} {{ end }} {{ end -}} ## Optional - [Homepage]({{ .Site.BaseURL }}): site entry point. ``` ✓ Use description frontmatter Hugo's .Summary is auto-extracted from the first paragraph of each page, it's often too long or too generic for a good llms.txt entry. Add a description field to your frontmatter for a precise, hand-crafted summary: content/docs/getting-started.md Copy ``` --- # content/docs/getting-started.md title: "Getting started" description: "Install the CLI, run your first command, and deploy in under 5 minutes." draft: false --- Your content here... ``` ## Deployment - **Cloudflare Pages**, set build command to `hugo` and publish directory to `public`. Cloudflare Pages will serve `public/llms.txt` at `/llms.txt` from their global CDN. See the [Cloudflare Pages guide](/llms-txt-cloudflare/) for cache header recommendations. - **Vercel**, Hugo is detected automatically. Set build command to `hugo` and output directory to `public`. See the [Vercel guide](/llms-txt-vercel/) for edge caching options. - **GitHub Pages**, use a GitHub Actions workflow that runs `hugo` and deploys `public/` to the `gh-pages` branch. The file will be served at `https://your-org.github.io/llms.txt`. - **Any static host**, deploy the `public/` directory. The file will be at the root and served correctly. ## Verify First check locally: Local verification Copy ``` hugo ls public/llms.txt # should exist cat public/llms.txt # check content https_proxy="" hugo server curl http://localhost:1313/llms.txt ``` After deploying: Production verification Copy ``` curl -I https://yoursite.com/llms.txt # Expected: # HTTP/2 200 # content-type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 ``` Then paste the URL into the [validator](/validator/) for a full spec-compliance check. ## Related guides - [How to create llms.txt](/how-to-create/), templates, checklist, and all stacks. - [Cloudflare Pages guide](/llms-txt-cloudflare/), deploying Hugo on CF Pages. - [SvelteKit guide](/llms-txt-sveltekit/), another SSG approach. - [Astro guide](/llms-txt-astro/), content collection endpoint. - [Best practices](/best-practices/), what to include and what to leave out. - [Validator](/validator/) · [Generator](/generator/). ## Sources - [ llmstxt.org, official spec ](https://llmstxt.org/) - [ Hugo docs, custom output formats ](https://gohugo.io/configuration/output-formats/) - [ Hugo docs, template lookup order ](https://gohugo.io/templates/lookup-order/) On this page - [ Option 1: static file (recommended) ](#static) - [ Option 2: custom output format ](#output-format) - [ Writing the template ](#template) - [ Deployment ](#deployment) - [ Verify ](#verify)