Fetch and parse robots.txt, test specific URLs against crawling rules, and find configuration issues.
Robots.txt Checker/TesterGratisPopularTechnical SEOChecks a live URL
Enter a public URL. We fetch the live page and analyse what search engines and AI crawlers see.
Key features of the robots.txt checker
Fetches and displays the live robots.txt file content
Lists all user-agent rules and their directives
URL tester: enter any URL to see if it's allowed or blocked
Validates syntax for common robots.txt errors
Checks for sitemap declaration in robots.txt
How to use the robots.txt checker
01
Enter your domain
Enter your website domain (e.g., https://example.com) — the tool automatically fetches /robots.txt.
02
View the rules
See all user-agent rules and their Allow/Disallow directives listed clearly.
03
Test a specific URL
Enter any URL in the URL tester to check if Googlebot can access it.
04
Review for issues
Look for overly broad Disallow rules that might accidentally block important pages.
05
Fix misconfigured rules
Edit your robots.txt to allow important pages and re-test before publishing changes.
What is a robots.txt checker?
The Robots.txt Checker fetches and analyses your website's robots.txt file — the text file that tells search engine crawlers which pages and sections of your site they can and cannot access. It validates the syntax, lists all crawl rules, and lets you test whether a specific URL would be allowed or blocked by the current rules.
Robots.txt is one of the most powerful and most dangerous SEO files on your server. A single misconfigured Disallow rule can accidentally block Google from crawling your entire website. This tool gives you full visibility into your crawl rules before they cause indexation problems.
Why use a robots.txt checker?
The most catastrophic SEO mistake — accidentally blocking your entire site from Google — comes from a robots.txt misconfiguration. Every site owner should regularly verify their robots.txt allows search engines to crawl all important content while correctly blocking internal pages, admin areas, and duplicate content.
Robots.txt is a plain text file at the root of your website that uses the Robots Exclusion Protocol to communicate crawling instructions to search engine bots. It tells crawlers which pages to access and which to skip.
Does robots.txt prevent pages from being indexed?
No. Robots.txt controls crawling (bot access), not indexing. A page blocked in robots.txt can still appear in Google's index if other sites link to it — Google knows it exists even if it can't read it.
What is a Disallow rule?
A Disallow directive in robots.txt tells crawlers not to access a specific URL or URL pattern. For example, 'Disallow: /admin/' blocks all URLs starting with /admin/ from being crawled.
Can different crawlers have different rules?
Yes. You can specify rules per user-agent. For example, 'User-agent: Googlebot' applies rules only to Google's crawler, while 'User-agent: *' applies to all bots.
What should I block with robots.txt?
Block admin pages, staging/development paths, search result pages (faceted navigation), login pages, and any URLs that create duplicate content. Never block CSS, JS, or image files that Google needs to render your pages.
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Robots.txt Checker/Tester is one piece of the puzzle. See how ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews actually view your brand, and get a prioritised list of fixes, with a free AEO & GEO audit from AI Rank Lab.
One check is a start. The audit checks the whole site.
