Insights · Checklist
llms.txt specification checklist
llms.txt is cheap to publish and easy to get wrong: stale links, pages that no longer exist, descriptions that disagree with the pages. This checklist produces both files from the build, validates them and keeps them current.
How to use it
Before the first step.
- The files live at the site root: /llms.txt and /llms-full.txt.
- Generate them from the content source rather than writing them by hand.
Steps
Each one owned and evidenced.
| # | Step | Owner | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Write the one-paragraph organization description that opens llms.txt, consistent with the Organization schema. | Marketing lead | Approved description text |
| 02 | Select the pages llms.txt should feature: hubs, key services, plans, glossary, research and editorial standards. | Marketing lead | Featured page list |
| 03 | Generate llms.txt from the build with Markdown headings and absolute links. | Technical owner | Generated file in the build output |
| 04 | Generate llms-full.txt listing every indexable page with its title and one-line description. | Technical owner | Generated file, line count equal to indexable pages |
| 05 | Exclude drafts, noindex pages and redirects from both files automatically. | Technical owner | Build rule and test |
| 06 | Validate that every link in both files returns 200 and matches the sitemap set. | Technical owner | Link check report |
| 07 | Serve both files as text/plain with the correct cache headers. | Technical owner | Response header capture |
| 08 | Reference the full index from llms.txt and confirm neither file is blocked by robots or bot protection. | Technical owner | Fetch transcript as each crawler |
| 09 | Add the files to the release checklist so they regenerate on every publish. | Technical owner | Release checklist entry |
| 10 | Review quarterly for description accuracy against the live pages. | Marketing lead | Quarterly review note |
By David Selakovic · Published 2026-10-16 · Revised 2026-10-16 · Reviewed every 180 days