How to Write an llms.txt File, With Examples
By Vouch7 min read
This is the practical companion to llms.txt: what it is and whether it helps. That guide covers the evidence, and it is worth reading first: in a June 2026 study, Ahrefs found that 97 percent of the llms.txt files it looked at received no requests in May 2026, and Google says its Search ignores the file. If you have weighed that and still want a file, because it costs an afternoon and coding agents and other tools may use it, this guide shows how to write a good one.
Everything below follows the proposal at llmstxt.org. The companies, products and addresses in the examples are invented.
The format in five steps
The proposal keeps the file deliberately small. It is Markdown, served at /llms.txt, and the parts come in a fixed order.
Step 1: An H1 with the name of the site
This is the only part the proposal requires.
# Demo Analytics
Step 2: A one or two sentence summary in a blockquote
Say what the site or product is and who it serves, in the words you would want repeated.
> Demo Analytics is a reporting tool for subscription businesses. It turns billing data into revenue, churn and retention reports for finance teams.
Step 3: Optional detail, without headings
Plain paragraphs or lists can follow, carrying facts a reader needs to use the links well: how pricing works, which platforms are supported, what the product does not do. The proposal allows any Markdown here except headings.
Demo Analytics has three plans and a 14-day trial. It connects to Stripe, Chargebee and Recurly. It does not process payments.
Step 4: Lists of links under H2 headings
Each H2 starts a list of links. Each item needs a link, and can add a colon and a short note. Group the pages by purpose.
## Product
- [Product overview](https://demo-analytics.example/product): what the tool does and the reports it produces
- [Pricing](https://demo-analytics.example/pricing): plans, limits and trial terms
## Documentation
- [Getting started](https://demo-analytics.example/docs/start): connecting a billing system
- [Metric definitions](https://demo-analytics.example/docs/metrics): how churn and retention are calculated
The note is optional, but it is the most useful part: one honest line on what the page answers.
Step 5: An "Optional" section for secondary pages
By convention, links under an H2 called "Optional" can be skipped when a tool needs a shorter context.
## Optional
- [Changelog](https://demo-analytics.example/changelog): release history
- [Terms of service](https://demo-analytics.example/terms)
The proposal also suggests offering a Markdown version of key pages at the same address with .md added. That is a further step; the file works without it.
Three complete examples
A SaaS product
# Demo Desk
> Demo Desk is a customer research tool for product teams. It keeps interview notes, survey results and support tickets in one searchable place.
Demo Desk is used by product managers and researchers at B2B software companies. All customer data is hosted in the EU.
## Product
- [Product overview](https://demodesk.example/product): core features and how teams use them
- [Pricing](https://demodesk.example/pricing): plans, limits and trial terms
- [Security](https://demodesk.example/security): hosting, encryption and certifications
## Documentation
- [Quickstart](https://demodesk.example/docs/quickstart): the first project, step by step
- [Importing data](https://demodesk.example/docs/import): supported sources and formats
## Optional
- [Blog](https://demodesk.example/blog): research methods and product news
- [API reference](https://demodesk.example/docs/api)
An online shop
# Demo Pantry
> Demo Pantry is a UK cookware shop selling copper pans and kitchen tools to home cooks. It ships across the UK.
Every pan carries a lifetime guarantee. Delivery and returns terms are on the delivery page.
## Shop
- [Copper pans](https://demopantry.example/pans): the full range, with sizes and care notes
- [Pan sets](https://demopantry.example/sets): what each set includes
- [Delivery and returns](https://demopantry.example/delivery): costs, times and how to return an item
## Guides
- [Caring for copper](https://demopantry.example/care): cleaning, re-tinning and storage
- [Choosing a pan size](https://demopantry.example/sizes): which size suits which dish
## Optional
- [About the workshop](https://demopantry.example/about)
A publisher
# The Demo Gazette
> The Demo Gazette is an independent magazine about coastal towns: housing, tourism, fishing and local politics.
All articles are free to read. The magazine is funded by its members.
## Sections
- [Housing](https://demogazette.example/housing): planning and housing reporting
- [Fishing](https://demogazette.example/fishing): the industry and the environment
- [Local politics](https://demogazette.example/politics): council decisions explained
## About
- [Editorial standards](https://demogazette.example/standards): sourcing and corrections policy
- [Masthead](https://demogazette.example/masthead): who writes and edits the magazine
## Optional
- [Archive](https://demogazette.example/archive)
Notice what the shop example leaves out: the delivery price. Facts that change often belong on the page the file links to, so the file cannot go stale on its own.
How to test the file
- Serve it at the root. The proposal puts it at
/llms.txt, next to robots.txt. It also allows files at subpaths, such as one for your documentation. - Fetch it. Open the address in a browser and confirm it returns the Markdown with a 200 status, not a redirect or an HTML error page.
- Check every link. Each URL should load directly. A curated map with broken links is worse than none.
- Run the free llms.txt validator. It fetches the live file and checks its structure against the proposal, or checks a pasted draft before you publish it.
- Run the free AI crawler checker. It tells you whether it found an llms.txt, and also checks the robots.txt rules that decide whether crawlers can reach the pages you listed.
- Watch your server logs. Requests for
/llms.txt, and the user agents behind them, are the only reliable sign the file is being read. Do not expect many; the first guide explains why.
Common mistakes
- Pasting in the sitemap. The file is meant to be a short, chosen list. Every page you add dilutes the ones that matter.
- A summary written as a slogan. "The future of analytics" tells a reader nothing. Say what the product is and for whom.
- Letting it go stale. A file listing removed pages or old plans gives tools the wrong picture. Generate it from the same source as your sitemap if you can.
- Expecting it to control anything. llms.txt allows nothing and blocks nothing. Access is set in robots.txt and your firewall, which the AI crawler readiness checklist covers.
Where it sits next to robots.txt and the sitemap
The three files do different jobs. robots.txt sets permissions: which agents may fetch which paths. The XML sitemap lists every URL you want crawled. llms.txt picks out the few pages that explain the site best. Get robots.txt right first, because the other two are no use to a crawler that is shut out; should you block GPTBot? covers those decisions. For a working example, Vouch publishes its own file at vouchgeo.com/llms.txt. The glossary has a one-line definition of llms.txt.
Measure the answers, not the file
An llms.txt file is a small signpost. What counts is what assistants say when a buyer asks about your category, and that is what Vouch measures: it follows six-question buying conversations on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity and shows the stage where your brand drops out. See the methodology for how.
Vouch is currently invite-only; join the waitlist for an invitation with a 14-day free trial.
