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Free Robots.txt Tester

Test your robots.txt rules with one input. Paste a domain or full URL and instantly see if the page is crawlable.

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We automatically detect the domain and path, then test with Googlebot.

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What is a Robots.txt File?

A robots.txt file tells search engine crawlers which pages or files the crawler can or can't request from your site. It's used mainly to avoid overloading your site with requests.

Robots.txt Best Practices

  • Place the file in the root directory (e.g., example.com/robots.txt).
  • Include a link to your XML sitemap.
  • Don't use robots.txt to hide pages from Google Search results. Use noindex meta tags instead.

Robots.txt and AI Crawlers

Many AI crawlers respect robots.txt directives. Keep your rules explicit and avoid non-standard patterns so both search engines and LLM crawlers can interpret your policy correctly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does robots.txt do?
The robots.txt file sits at the root of your domain and instructs search engine crawlers which pages or paths they are allowed or not allowed to request. It is a courtesy protocol — well-behaved crawlers respect it.
What is the difference between Disallow and Noindex?
Disallow in robots.txt prevents a crawler from fetching the page. Noindex in a meta tag allows fetching but tells the search engine not to include the page in its index. A disallowed page can still appear in search results if other sites link to it.
Can robots.txt prevent my page from being indexed?
Not reliably. Blocking crawling stops Google from reading the page content, but the URL can still appear in search results based on links pointing to it. To fully de-index a page, use a noindex meta tag on a crawlable page.
What are common robots.txt mistakes?
The most damaging mistake is accidentally disallowing / which blocks the entire site. Others include blocking CSS and JS files (which prevents rendering), syntax errors, and conflicting rules where a broader allow overrides a specific disallow.
How do I test if my robots.txt is working?
Enter your site URL in our robots tester to fetch and parse your robots.txt live. Then enter a path to see whether Googlebot or any other crawler would be allowed or blocked from crawling it.

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