How to Add an llms.txt Plugin to Your Website
Add and verify an llms.txt file on WordPress, choose a suitable plugin, and understand what the file can—and can’t—do for AI agents.
Short answer: install an llms.txt generator plugin, select the public content you want agents to find, generate the file, then verify that https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt returns it. The file is a proposed, compact Markdown guide to a website and links to useful pages. It may help agents that choose to read it, but it does not guarantee that ChatGPT or search engines will discover or prioritize your site.
What llms.txt is
The proposal describes /llms.txt as a way to provide information that helps agents use a website. It is plain Markdown, usually served from the site root. It can summarize the site and link agents to more detailed pages. The format is a community proposal, not a ranking signal with guaranteed results. Read the llms.txt proposal.
The only required format element is an H1. A short blockquote summary, explanatory notes, and H2 sections containing Markdown links are recommended. Keep the file focused: point to the pages an agent should consult instead of copying the whole site into one large file.
Choose an installation method
| Method | Best fit | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress plugin | Most self-hosted WordPress sites | Content filters, file-serving method, regeneration, compatibility and maintenance |
| Upload a file manually | Sites where you can manage the web root and prefer editorial control | Whether your host permits root uploads and how you will keep links current |
| Custom generator | Developers who need custom content rules or Markdown routes | Runtime requirements, write permissions, caching and update responsibility |
For WordPress, plugins are usually the simplest route. Examples documented in the research include Website LLMs.txt and Project LLMs.txt. Their requirements and output differ, so check the plugin’s current WordPress.org page and documentation before installing.
Install and configure a WordPress plugin
- Back up the site and confirm your WordPress and PHP versions meet the plugin’s stated requirements.
- In the WordPress dashboard, open Plugins → Add New. Search for a generator such as Website LLMs.txt or Project LLMs.txt, review the publisher, compatibility information, changelog and support status, then install and activate it.
- Open the plugin settings. Website LLMs.txt documents Settings → LLMs.txt; Project LLMs.txt has its own dashboard entry.
- Set a useful site name and description. Select only public post types and pages you want to recommend to agents. Include products or custom post types only if they are public and useful.
- Exclude private, password-protected, access-controlled, noindex or nofollow content. Do not treat llms.txt as an access-control mechanism: anything linked from a public file should be safe to expose publicly.
- Choose how the file is served and regenerated, if those controls are offered. Generate the file, then open
https://yourdomain.com/llms.txtin a private browser window or fetch it with a command-line client. - Review the response body and links. Confirm the page returns the intended Markdown and that every listed URL is public, canonical and useful.
Website LLMs.txt documents immediate, daily and weekly regeneration options, integrations with Yoast SEO, Rank Math, SEOPress and AIOSEO, and rewrite-based serving when the host cannot write to the web root. Its documentation says restricted or non-public content is excluded by default. Verify the installed version’s actual settings; defaults and plugin behavior can change.
Project LLMs.txt can generate /llms.txt, /llms-full.txt and optional per-page /llms/*.md files. Its stated requirements are WordPress 6.4+ and PHP 8.1+, with root write permission for physical-file mode; WooCommerce 7.0+ is optional for product support. Check its current documentation for the requirements that apply to your chosen mode.
What to put in the file
Start with your site name, a concise description and links to high-value material: product or service pages, documentation, About, policies and a small selection of authoritative articles. Prefer clean Markdown versions of pages when your site offers them. Use short descriptions that explain what each link contains.
# Example Site
> A concise description of what the site offers and who it is for.
This file points agents to the site's most useful public resources.
## Documentation
- [Getting started](https://example.com/docs/start): Setup instructions and first steps.
- [API reference](https://example.com/docs/api): Endpoints, parameters, and examples.
## Company
- [About](https://example.com/about): Company background and contact information.Replace the example domain and links with your own canonical URLs. Do not add private URLs on the assumption that the file is hidden or that agents will respect access restrictions.
Verify the published file and Markdown pages
First request the root file and inspect its status, content type and body:
curl -i https://yourdomain.com/llms.txtA successful response should contain the generated Markdown rather than a WordPress error page, login screen, empty response or generic HTML fallback. Check every link manually or with a link checker that respects your site’s access rules.
If the plugin supports Markdown variants, test one representative page using the URL form it documents. For an Accept-header variant, try:
curl -i -H 'Accept: text/markdown' https://yourdomain.com/example-page/Some generators provide a .md URL instead. Use the exact route documented by the plugin and confirm the response contains the page’s Markdown. The llms.txt proposal recommends advertising Markdown alternatives with rel="alternate" type="text/markdown" and the covering llms.txt file with rel="describedby"; these relations can be provided in HTML links or HTTP Link headers where appropriate.
Manual route for WordPress.com
If you use WordPress.com and want to manage the file yourself, identify the important public pages, write full URLs with short descriptions in Markdown, then upload a file named exactly llms.txt to the site root using SFTP. Visit the public /llms.txt URL to verify it. WordPress.com’s guide says this feature is available on Business and Commerce plans; check its current plan documentation before relying on that route.
Plugin considerations for developers
- Serving mode: a plugin may write a physical root file or route the URL through WordPress rewrites. Physical-file mode needs suitable filesystem permissions; rewrite mode depends on correct permalink and server configuration.
- Regeneration: immediate, scheduled or cache-backed generation affects how quickly edits appear. Confirm whether publishing a post updates the file and whether there is a manual regenerate action.
- Content filtering: confirm how the plugin handles private posts, noindex metadata, password-protected pages, custom post types and products. Exclusion rules should be tested with representative content.
- Markdown output: if per-page Markdown matters, test the actual URLs and formatting. A root llms.txt file does not itself make every linked HTML page available as Markdown.
- Integrations and hooks: SEO plugin integration may help determine indexability. For custom behavior, check whether the generator provides documented filters or other extension points.
- Maintenance: check supported WordPress/PHP versions, recent release history, security handling and support activity before choosing a plugin. Requirements stated in plugin documentation can change.
Open-WP-Club’s generator is another developer-oriented option documented as requiring WordPress 6.4+, PHP 8.2+ and Composer. It supports root llms.txt, Markdown URLs and content negotiation with Accept: text/markdown, along with SEO metadata, custom taxonomies, caching and developer filters. Check its current project documentation and maintenance status before adopting it.
Does llms.txt improve ChatGPT visibility?
There is no guarantee. WordPress.com says not all AI systems use llms.txt, and Project LLMs.txt documentation says no major search engine or LLM provider has officially announced that it seeks out these files. Treat llms.txt as an emerging interoperability aid: it gives a system that reads it a concise map of selected public resources. It does not replace clear site content, ordinary crawlability, access controls or search-engine directives.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
/llms.txt returns 404 |
The file was not generated, the rewrite was not registered, or the web server does not route the path. | Regenerate in plugin settings, save permalink settings if the plugin requires it, and check whether the plugin expects a physical root file or a rewrite route. |
| Root-file generation reports a permission error | The PHP/web server process cannot write to the document root. | Use the plugin’s rewrite option if available, or have the hosting administrator set an appropriate deployment method. Avoid broad writable permissions. |
| The URL shows HTML or a WordPress page instead of Markdown | A rewrite, cache, CDN or plugin route is serving a fallback. | Inspect response headers and body with curl -i; purge relevant caches, verify rewrite rules and confirm the exact endpoint in plugin documentation. |
| Private or noindex pages appear | Content selection or SEO integration is not configured as expected. | Remove the entries, correct post-type and visibility settings, then regenerate. Test with a non-public sample and review the result before publishing. |
| New posts are missing | The file is static, scheduled generation has not run, or a cached copy is being served. | Trigger regeneration, check the configured schedule and clear the plugin, page and CDN caches as needed. |
| Markdown page request still returns HTML | The plugin may use a different .md route or may not support Markdown negotiation for that page. |
Follow its documented URL scheme, test the required Accept header, and inspect the response content type. |
| Links work for logged-in admins only | A linked page is restricted or a security/cache rule varies the response by session. | Test in a private window and ensure the file links only to intended public content. |
Performance, reliability and maintenance
A compact file is inexpensive to serve, but a generator that scans many posts on every request can add work to the WordPress request path. Prefer cached or scheduled generation when supported, and check whether cache invalidation occurs after content updates. A physical file can reduce runtime generation work but introduces a write-permission and deployment dependency. A rewrite route avoids writing to the root but depends on WordPress and server routing working correctly.
Keep a copy of important configuration and periodically verify the public response after plugin, WordPress, PHP, permalink or hosting changes. Review the file when high-value URLs change. There is no established llms.txt performance benchmark or guaranteed traffic return in the research; judge it by correctness and whether the agents you care about actually consume it.
Or skip the browser setup
If the job is to capture a page after publishing or verify how its public content renders, ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server. One GET request returns a PNG, JPEG, WebP or PDF. For example, this cURL request captures the published llms.txt URL as an image; see the API documentation for parameters and formats:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt -o shot.webpCookie banners, newsletter popups and chat widgets are removed before the shot. Bot checks, blank pages and failed loads are never billed, and response headers identify the page verdict and billing status. Its MCP server lets AI agents use take_screenshot, get_page_info and capture_pdf. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month, with no card.
FAQ
Where should llms.txt live?
Usually at the site root as /llms.txt. A plugin may serve that URL through a rewrite instead of creating a physical file.
Can I create llms.txt without a plugin?
Yes. Write a Markdown file, upload it to the web root if your host allows it, and verify the public URL. You will need to maintain its links yourself.
Should I include every page?
No. Curate the links to keep the file concise and useful. Link to the pages that best explain your site and its important offerings.
Does llms.txt replace robots.txt or sitemap.xml?
No. It has a different proposed purpose: concise context and pointers for agents. Keep your existing crawl and indexing configuration.
