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🤖 robots.txt Viewer

Fetch and parse a site's robots.txt with security analysis — disallowed paths often reveal sensitive admin directories that attackers map first.

Enter any URL or domain — the tool will fetch the root /robots.txt automatically.

📚 robots.txt — security implications

robots.txt instructs search engine crawlers which paths to avoid. But it's a public file — anyone can read it, including attackers.

The security irony: Disallowing /admin/ or /internal/api/ doesn't block humans — it just tells crawlers to skip those paths. Security researchers and attackers check robots.txt to discover interesting directories the site owner might have preferred to keep quiet.

Best practice: Don't rely on robots.txt for security. Sensitive paths must be protected with proper authentication. Think of robots.txt as a signpost — if the path needs hiding, hide it properly, not just from crawlers.

How to use this tool

  1. 1 Enter the domain or full URL of the site you want to check.
  2. 2 Click Fetch.
  3. 3 The tool retrieves and displays the robots.txt file from that domain.
  4. 4 Review allowed and disallowed paths and any sitemap references.

Frequently asked questions

What is robots.txt?
It is a plain text file at the root of a website that tells search engine crawlers which pages to index and which to skip.
Does disallowing a path keep it secret?
No. robots.txt is publicly readable by anyone. Disallowing a path only tells well-behaved bots to skip it; malicious crawlers will ignore the file entirely.
What is a sitemap in robots.txt?
Many robots.txt files include a Sitemap: directive pointing to an XML sitemap. Search engines use this to discover and index pages efficiently.
Can I block a specific bot?
Yes. Use the User-agent: directive followed by the bot's name and Disallow rules specific to that agent.

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