---
title: robots.txt.liquid
description: >-
  Learn about the robots.txt template, which generates a robots.txt file that
  tells search engines which pages can or can't be crawled on a site.
source_url:
  html: >-
    https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/architecture/templates/robots-txt-liquid
  md: >-
    https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/architecture/templates/robots-txt-liquid.md
api_name: liquid
---

# robots.​txt.​liquid

The `robots.txt.liquid` template renders the `robots.txt` file, which is hosted at the `/robots.txt` URL.

The `robots.txt` file tells search engines which pages can, or can't, be crawled on a site. It contains groups of rules for doing so, and each group has three main components:

* The user agent, which notes which crawler the group of rules applies to. For example, `adsbot-google`.
* The rules themselves, which note specific URLs that crawlers can, or can't, access.
* An optional sitemap URL.

Shopify generates a `robots.txt` file by default, which works for most shops, so this template isn't included in any themes by default.

**Tip:**

If you want to customize the `robots.txt.liquid` template, then refer to [Customize robots.txt](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/seo/robots-txt) for more information.

***

## Location

The `robots.txt.liquid` template is located in the `templates` directory of the theme:

```text
└── theme
  ├── layout
  ├── templates
  |   ...
  |   ├── robots.txt.liquid
  |   ...
  ...
```

If your theme doesn't already contain the `robots.txt.liquid` template, then you can add it with the following steps:

#### Desktop

1. From your Shopify admin, go to **Online Store** > **Themes**.

2. Find the theme that you want to edit, and then click **...** > **Edit code**.

#### Mobile

1. From the [Shopify app](https://www.shopify.com/install/detect), tap **Store**.

2. In the **Sales channels** section, tap **Online Store**.

3. Tap **Manage all themes**.

4. Find the theme that you want to edit, and then tap **...** > **Edit code**.

1) In the left sidebar, locate the **Templates** folder.
2) Right-click on the **Templates** folder.
3) Click **New File** from the context menu.
4) Name the file `robots.txt.liquid`.
5) Press Enter to create the file.

***

## Content

This template can't be a [JSON template](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/architecture/templates/json-templates). It must be `robots.txt.liquid`.

Adding this template replaces Shopify's generated `robots.txt` output. The Liquid [`robots` object](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/liquid/objects/robots) provides default rule groups that you can use as a starting point for customizations, but the rendered template output doesn't always match the generated file exactly.

Before you publish a customization, save a copy of your current `/robots.txt` output and compare it with the rendered template output.

The following example outputs the rule groups from the `robots` object:

## templates/robots.txt.liquid

```liquid
{% for group in robots.default_groups %}
  {{- group.user_agent -}}


  {% for rule in group.rules %}
    {{- rule -}}
  {% endfor %}


  {%- if group.sitemap != blank -%}
    {{ group.sitemap }}
  {%- endif -%}
{% endfor %}
```

While you can replace all the template content with plain text rules, it's strongly recommended to use the provided Liquid objects whenever possible.

***

## Usage

If you want to customize the `robots.txt.liquid` template, then you need to add it with the following steps:

1. In the code editor for the theme you want to edit, locate the **Templates** folder.
2. Right-click on the **Templates** folder.
3. Click **New File** from the context menu.
4. Name the file `robots.txt.liquid`.
5. Press Enter to create the file.

To learn about customizing this template, refer to [Customize robots.txt](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/seo/robots-txt).

***