/llms.txt

What it is

/llms.txt is a proposed convention for a markdown file served at the root of a site. It gives large language models a short, curated map of the content you most want them to see. The proposal lives at llmstxt.org and was put forward by Jeremy Howard in 2024.

It is not a ratified standard. No major model vendor has committed to consuming it. Treat it as a low-cost bet that may pay off as agents look for cheap, authoritative summaries of a site.

The file is plain markdown with a defined structure: a top-level heading with the site name, a short blockquote summary, optional context paragraphs, and one or more ## sections containing markdown links.

# Example Corp

> Example Corp builds open-source tools for static-site authors.

We publish documentation, a blog, and reference specifications.

## Docs

- [Getting started](https://example.com/docs/start.md): Install and first build.
- [API reference](https://example.com/docs/api.md): All public functions.

## Optional

- [Changelog](https://example.com/changelog.md): Release notes.

Why it matters

• It is short. A model can read it in one fetch and learn what your site is about without crawling everything.
• It is curated. You decide which pages matter, in which order.
• It is markdown. No parsing of HTML, no JavaScript, no ads to strip.
• It complements sitemap.xml, which is exhaustive and machine-only. llms.txt is selective and human-readable too.

The cost is low: one file, updated when your information architecture changes.

How to implement

• Place the file at https://example.com/llms.txt. Serve as text/markdown or text/plain.
• Start with # Site name on the first line. Follow with a > blockquote summary.
• Use ## headings to group links. Links should point to canonical pages.
• Prefer markdown versions of pages where you have them — many sites publish page.md alongside page.html.
• Keep it under a few hundred lines. If you want full content, see /llms-full.txt.
• Link to it from your homepage or footer so humans can find it too.

Common mistakes

• Treating it like a sitemap and listing every URL. The point is curation.
• Writing marketing copy in the summary. Models will quote it; write plainly.
• Letting it drift. A stale llms.txt is worse than none — it teaches models wrong things.
• Assuming any specific model uses it today. Adoption is uneven and not always disclosed.

Verification

• Fetch https://example.com/llms.txt and confirm a 200 with markdown content.
• Validate the structure against the example on llmstxt.org.
• Re-check after every information-architecture change.