Free Tool

Robots.txt Tester

Test and validate your robots.txt file to ensure search engines can properly crawl your website.

Input Robots.txt Content
Enter your robots.txt content or fetch it from a website
Test URL Against Rules
Check if a specific URL is allowed or disallowed by the robots.txt rules
Robots.txt Generator
Create a robots.txt file by specifying rules for different user agents and paths

User Agent Rules

No allow paths specified

Seconds between requests (leave empty for no delay)

Sitemaps

No sitemaps specified

What is a robots.txt file?

A robots.txt file is a text file that website owners create to instruct web robots (typically search engine crawlers) how to crawl pages on their website. The robots.txt file is part of the Robots Exclusion Protocol (REP), a group of web standards that regulate how robots crawl the web, access and index content, and serve that content up to users.

Security Risks in robots.txt Files

Your robots.txt file can unintentionally expose sensitive paths or weaken security by highlighting critical directories, files, or endpoints to the public. Here's a breakdown of common risky patterns and why they're problematic:

Directly Exposing Sensitive Paths

High Risk

Disallow: /admin

Disallow: /wp-admin

Disallow: /backup

Disallow: /config

Disallow: /includes

Risk:

  • These rules explicitly reveal the existence of sensitive directories
  • Malicious actors can use this information to target attacks
  • Brute-force attempts may focus on exposed paths (e.g., `/admin/login`)

Overly Broad Wildcards

Medium Risk

Disallow: /*.php$

Disallow: /*.sql$

Disallow: /logs/*

Risk:

  • Blocking all `.php` or `.sql` files hints at server-side scripts or databases
  • Wildcards like `/logs/*` could expose debug logs or user activity records

Accidental "Allow" Rules for Sensitive Areas

Medium Risk

Allow: /dashboard

Allow: /api/v1/users

Risk:

  • Overrides like `Allow` in restrictive rules might unintentionally expose internal tools or APIs

Typos or Non-Standard Directives

Warning

Disalow: /secret

Noindex: /private

Risk:

  • Typos render rules ineffective, leaving sensitive paths crawlable
  • Non-standard directives are ignored by crawlers, creating a false sense of security

Blocking Critical SEO Assets

Warning

Disallow: /css/

Disallow: /js/

Disallow: /sitemap.xml

Risk:

  • Blocking CSS/JS breaks how search engines render pages, harming SEO
  • Hiding `sitemap.xml` limits crawlers' ability to discover valid pages

Exposing Development/Test Environments

High Risk

Disallow: /staging

Disallow: /test

Disallow: /dev

Risk:

  • Reveals the existence of non-production environments, which often have weaker security

Version Control or Backup Files

High Risk

Disallow: /.git

Disallow: /.svn

Disallow: /backup.zip

Risk:

  • Exposes version control directories, which can leak source code if not properly secured
  • Filenames like `backup.zip` attract attackers looking to download database dumps

Query Parameters with Sensitive Data

High Risk

Disallow: /*?user_id=

Disallow: /*?token=

Risk:

  • Highlights URLs with parameters that might expose user IDs, session tokens, or API keys

Why This Matters

Security Through Obscurity

Blocking paths in `robots.txt` does not secure them—it only asks crawlers to avoid them. Sensitive paths should be protected via authentication (e.g., `.htaccess`, firewalls, or login systems).

Public Visibility

The `robots.txt` file is publicly accessible (e.g., `yoursite.com/robots.txt`), so attackers can easily view blocked paths.

Best Practices for Security

  • Use proper authentication and authorization for sensitive areas instead of relying on robots.txt

  • Consider using generic paths that don't reveal the technology or purpose (e.g., "/restricted/" instead of "/admin/")

  • Implement proper security headers and access controls on your web server

  • Regularly audit your robots.txt file for security implications