robots.txt

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Definition

What is it: robots.txt is a configuration file based on the Robots Exclusion Standard Protocol, originally published in 1994. It serves as a set of instructions for web crawlers, determining which parts of a website should be analyzed and indexed.

What is it used for: It is used to protect sensitive data, exclude non-public directories from search results, and temporarily hide test environments. It can also be used to direct bots to specific relevant content or the website's sitemap.

What it is not: It is not a security tool and does not stop hackers or malicious scrapers, nor is it a guaranteed method to prevent indexing if a page is heavily linked externally.

Coverage

  • Attributes: 7
  • Synonyms: 2
  • Related entities: 4
  • Sources: 1

Identity

Entity ID
https://llms.internetwarriors.de/en/robots-txt-guide/facts/#entity
Entity type
DefinedTerm
Canonical name
robots.txt
Language
en
Topic
Robots Txt Guide

Attributes

Key Facts
The Robots Exclusion Standard Protocol was first published in 1994 and regulates the behavior of search engine bots on websites. [1]
Key Facts
Instructions in robots.txt are guidelines and do not guarantee that crawlers will comply with prohibitions. [1]
Key Facts
The robots.txt file must always be located in the root directory of the website. [1]
Key Facts
The Google Search Console provides a robots.txt tester to verify the correct creation and syntax of the file. [1]
Key Facts
Every record in robots.txt consists of two parts: the User-Agent to address the crawler and the Disallow directive to set rules. [1]
Capability
A robots.txt file can help protect specific pages or individual elements from being accessed by web spiders. [1]
Requirement
Case sensitivity must be observed when creating rules for the robots.txt file. [1]

Synonyms & Alternate Names

  • Robots Exclusion Standard Protocol
  • Robots.txt file

Disambiguation

  • Not to be confused with the Meta Robots Tag 'noindex'

Related Entities

  • Interacts with:
  • Interacts with:
  • Testing Tool:
  • Alternative for Indexing Prevention:

Provenance

Sources

  1. https://internetwarriors.de/blog/robots-txt-stoppschild-fur-suchmaschinen-bots (robots.txt)

Machine metadata