Overview
Robots.txt is a small text file placed in the root of a website. It gives crawling instructions to search engine bots and can point them to the sitemap.
The file usually includes a user-agent line, allow or disallow rules, and a sitemap URL. Simple public websites often allow all pages and include the sitemap location.
Robots.txt is not a security tool. Private files should be protected by authentication or server rules, not only hidden through crawler instructions.
Before publishing, test that important pages are not accidentally blocked. A wrong disallow rule can keep useful pages out of search results.


