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ToolsRobots.txt Validator
Crawl & IndexingFree Tool

Robots.txt Validator

Check if your robots.txt file is correctly formatted and accessible. Detect syntax errors and see exactly what search engines see.

Check Website

What Is Robots.txt?

A robots.txt file is a plain text file placed at the root of your website (e.g., example.com/robots.txt) that communicates with search engine crawlers. It tells bots which parts of your site they are allowed or forbidden to crawl.

  • User-agent: Specifies which crawler the rules apply to. Use * for all crawlers, or target specific bots like Googlebot.
  • Disallow: Tells crawlers which paths they should NOT access. An empty value means everything is allowed.
  • Allow: Overrides a Disallow rule for specific paths. Useful for allowing a subfolder inside a disallowed directory.
  • Sitemap: Points crawlers to your XML sitemap for faster, more complete discovery of your pages.

Why Robots.txt Matters for SEO

Your robots.txt file is the very first thing search engine crawlers check before crawling your site. A misconfigured file can accidentally block important pages from being indexed.

A single misplaced Disallow rule in robots.txt can de-index your entire website from Google overnight.
Crawl Control
Direct search engines to your most valuable content and prevent them from wasting budget on admin pages or duplicates.
Accidental Blocking
A mistyped Disallow rule can block your entire site. Always validate after making changes.

Best Practices

Follow these guidelines to ensure your robots.txt is working correctly:

  • Always place it in the root directory — it MUST be at example.com/robots.txt. It won't work in a subdirectory.
  • Include your Sitemap URL — always add a Sitemap: directive at the bottom to help bots discover your pages.
  • Don't block CSS/JS resources — allow access so Google can render your page correctly for mobile-first indexing.
  • Test after every change — use this tool or Google Search Console to validate your rules before deploying.

How to Use This Tool

Enter your website URL and click "Check Robots.txt". We'll fetch the file from your server's root directory, display its contents in a code viewer, and verify that it's accessible (returning HTTP 200). If no robots.txt is found, we'll let you know so you can create one.

Frequently Asked Questions

It is a text file that tells search engine crawlers which pages or files the crawler can or cannot request from your site. It is the first thing a bot checks when visiting your site.
Not necessarily. It prevents crawling, but if the page is linked from elsewhere, it can still be indexed (often without a description). To strictly hide a page, use a
If no robots.txt file is found (404), crawlers assume they are allowed to crawl the entire site.
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