# llms.txt and llms-full.txt: what they are and whether you need them

> What llms.txt and llms-full.txt are, how to format them, and whether they are worth the time. The llmstxt.org format, real usage data and examples from Russian websites.

Источник: https://pachca.com/en/agent-ready/guide/llms-txt

llms.txt is a Markdown file at the site root: a name, a short description and a list of key pages with links. Jeremy Howard proposed it in September 2024. The file is cheap, but do not expect much from it.

## Why it matters

- A short list of what matters is easier for an agent than crawling menus and footers.
- Real requests are rare. According to Ahrefs, 97% of sites with a valid llms.txt got zero requests to it in a month, and Google Search does not use it. That is why llms.txt weighs 3 out of 100 in our score.
- For API documentation the file is more useful: coding agents read it noticeably more often.

## What to do

1.  1

    ### Follow the format

    An H1 with the name, a quote with a one- or two-sentence description, H2 sections with links and notes. Link to .md versions of pages if you have them.

    ```
    # Product name

    > What it is and who it is for, in one or two sentences.

    ## Product
    - [Features](https://example.com/features.md): what it does
    - [Pricing](https://example.com/prices.md): prices and limits

    ## Developers
    - [API](https://dev.example.com/): REST API, token auth
    ```

2.  2

    ### llms-full.txt depends on the site

    Documentation benefits from the full text in one file. For a marketing site, redirecting /llms-full.txt to the Markdown version of the homepage is enough, and we count that as a pass.

3.  3

    ### Serve a file, not HTML

    A common mistake: an SPA returns its HTML shell with a 200 on /llms.txt. For an agent that is not a file.

    ```
    curl -sI https://example.com/llms.txt | grep -i content-type
    ```

## What the scanner checks

- llms.txt exists

    A short file for language models: what the product is and where the key pages are.

- llms-full.txt exists

    The full text of the site or docs in one file. An agent reads it in a single request.

- llms.txt is structured well enough to navigate

    A heading, sections and at least five links. A one-line file does nothing for an agent.

Check your own site

Paste the address and get the same breakdown in half a minute.

[Check a site →](https://pachca.com/en/agent-ready)

## Sources

- [llmstxt.org — the format](https://llmstxt.org/)
- [Evil Martians: llms.txt request data](https://evilmartians.com/chronicles/how-to-make-your-website-visible-to-llms)

## Other guides

- [An agent can open your site: no CAPTCHA, no JavaScript wall, an honest 404](https://pachca.com/en/agent-ready/guide/site-access)
- [robots.txt for AI: YandexAdditional, GPTBot, ClaudeBot and Content-Signal](https://pachca.com/en/agent-ready/guide/robots-txt)
- [Markdown for AI agents: .md page versions and Accept: text/markdown](https://pachca.com/en/agent-ready/guide/markdown)
- [sitemap, metadata and JSON-LD: how an agent learns who you are](https://pachca.com/en/agent-ready/guide/structured-data)
- [API and MCP for agents: OpenAPI, MCP Server Card, OAuth discovery](https://pachca.com/en/agent-ready/guide/api-mcp)