How to Create an llms.txt File (with Template)

A step-by-step guide to writing an llms.txt file: the markdown format, what to include, where to put it, and the optional llms-full.txt — plus an honest note on what it does and doesn't do.

By Andrej Ruckij · · 4 min read

How to Create an llms.txt File (with Template)

By Andrej Ruckij · June 16, 2026

TL;DR: Create an llms.txt file by writing a short markdown document — an H1 title, a one-line blockquote summary, then H2 sections linking to your most important pages — and placing it at https://yoursite.com/llms.txt. It takes about 20 minutes. Just know what it is: a comprehension aid for AI, not access control (see glossary/llms-txt).

This is a cluster under our complete guide to llms.txt. Here we cover the mechanics: the exact format, a copy-paste template, where the file goes, and the optional llms-full.txt companion.

What an llms.txt file actually is

llms.txt is a plain markdown file at your site root that gives large language models a curated map of your best content. It was proposed by Jeremy Howard (Answer.AI) in September 2024. Unlike a sitemap, it doesn’t list every URL — it lists what matters, with a short description of each, so an AI can orient quickly instead of inferring structure from messy HTML.

The format

The spec is deliberately simple. A valid llms.txt has:

  1. An H1 — your site or project name (the only required element).
  2. A blockquote summary — one or two sentences on what the site is.
  3. Optional detail paragraphs — context, in plain prose.
  4. H2 sections — grouped lists of links, each as [Title](url): one-line note.

Copy-paste template

# Your Brand

> One-sentence description of what your site offers and who it's for.

A short paragraph of extra context an AI should know — your focus,
your point of view, anything that helps it represent you accurately.

## Core pages
- [Homepage](https://yoursite.com/): what you do
- [About](https://yoursite.com/about): who you are, credentials

## Guides
- [Guide title](https://yoursite.com/guide): what it covers
- [Another guide](https://yoursite.com/guide-2): what it covers

## Optional
- [Pricing](https://yoursite.com/pricing): plans and costs

Where to put it

Place the file at the root of your domain: https://yoursite.com/llms.txt. It must be reachable at that exact path (same convention as robots.txt). If your platform won’t let you add a root-level file directly, most SEO plugins and static-site generators now offer an llms.txt option.

The optional llms-full.txt

llms.txt is the map; llms-full.txt is the territory — a single file containing the full expanded content of your key pages in clean markdown, for AI systems that want the whole text without crawling. It’s optional and larger; add it only if you have a docs-heavy or reference site where full-text ingestion is valuable.

Keep it curated, not exhaustive

The most common mistake is treating llms.txt like a sitemap and dumping every URL into it. Don’t. Its value is curation — pointing AI at your 10–30 best, most representative pages. A bloated llms.txt defeats the purpose.

The honest caveat

Creating the file is the easy part; the hard truth is that adoption by the major AI engines is inconsistent, and it’s advisory — it can’t keep any bot out or guarantee you’ll be cited. See does-llms-txt-work for the straight answer on whether it’s worth your time, and llms-txt-vs-robots-txt for why it’s not an access-control tool.

Key takeaways

  • Minimum viable llms.txt: an H1, a blockquote summary, and H2 link sections — at /llms.txt.
  • Curate (your best 10–30 pages), don’t dump every URL.
  • llms-full.txt is an optional full-text companion for reference-heavy sites.
  • It’s a comprehension aid, not access control or a citation guarantee.

Sources