llms.txt: what it is, how it looks, what it cannot do

What llms.txt is

llms.txt is a plain file in Markdown format that you put in the root folder of your website: https://your-site.example/llms.txt. It gives AI assistants a short, chosen overview: what the website is and which pages are worth reading, each with a note. The assistant does not have to work through complete HTML pages. The file is meant mainly for the moment when someone asks a question, not for training.

The file may also sit in a subfolder, such as /docs/llms.txt, and then covers the pages below that path. If several files apply, the most specific one is used.

A proposal, not a standard

The idea comes from Jeremy Howard and was published on 3 September 2024 at llmstxt.org. The site itself calls it a proposal. No standards body stands behind it, and nobody has to read the file. As of 28 October 2026 it is an open, informal specification that anyone may use and that may still change.

What the file looks like

The format is simple. Only the title is required: one heading of level 1 with the name of the site. After it come, all optional, a short summary in a quote block, a few lines of text, and sections with a heading of level 2. Each section holds a list of links. Every entry is a link and may be followed by a colon and a note. A section called Optional holds links that can be skipped.

# Example Bakery
> Small bakery. Order bread and cakes online and pick them up in the shop.

Prices and opening hours are on the linked pages.

## Order
- [Bread and rolls](https://example.com/bread): our daily range and how to order
- [Cakes for events](https://example.com/cakes): sizes, flavours and lead time

## Help
- [Delivery and pickup](https://example.com/delivery): areas, costs and times

## Optional
- [About us](https://example.com/about): history and team

How to build a good one

1. 1Use the name of your website as the title (heading of level 1).
2. 2Write one or two sentences as a summary in a quote block: what you offer and for whom.
3. 3Group your most important pages under a few headings. Each entry is a link with a short note on what the reader finds there.
4. 4Put secondary pages under the heading Optional. According to the proposal, an assistant may skip them when it needs less text.
5. 5Publish the file as plain text at /llms.txt in the root folder of your site and read it once like a stranger: do the links work, is every note true?

What it cannot do

• No promise that it is read. The proposal is open for input from practice; whether an AI service reads the file is up to that service. Google writes that AI Overviews and AI Mode need no special files or markup (page updated 10 December 2025).
• It does not control access. To allow or block crawlers, use robots.txt; llms.txt only points to content.
• It goes out of date. A link to a deleted page or an old price in a note does harm. Check the file whenever you change your site.
• It is public. Do not list private pages, test pages or secrets: anyone can read what is in it.

Build and check yours

The llms.txt generator reads your website and builds a draft: name, short summary and your most important pages, each with one sentence. Read the result, delete what should not be there, and correct every note that does not fit your site. Keep the file short: a list of every page is a sitemap, not an overview.

Do4U builds the draft, you decide what the file says. Update it when your website changes.