URL: /guides/ai-agents/llms-txt

---
title: llms.txt
description: Auto-generated `/llms.txt` and `/llms-full.txt`. The standard way to expose docs to coding agents.
icon: "bot-message-square"
---

# `llms.txt`

[`llms.txt`](https://llmstxt.org) is a proposed convention: a Markdown file at the root of your site that lists every page agents can read, with brief descriptions. Think `sitemap.xml` for LLMs.

Tangly emits two variants automatically:

- **`/llms.txt`** — index. Page titles and descriptions, one per line, grouped by navigation section.
- **`/llms-full.txt`** — index + the full Markdown content of every public page.

Both are generated at build time. No configuration. No opt-in.

For per-page raw Markdown — fetched on demand by an agent reading one specific page — see [Markdown for agents](/guides/ai-agents/markdown-for-agents).

## What's in them

### `/llms.txt`

```
# My Docs

> Self-hosted, open-source documentation framework.

## Get Started
- [Introduction](/introduction): One-line description from frontmatter.
- [Installation](/installation): How to install Tangly.
- [Quickstart](/quickstart): 60-second tour.

## Reference
- [docs.json](/reference/schema/docs-json): Configuration reference.
- ...
```

The structure mirrors `docs.json#navigation`. Tabs become `##` headings, groups become sub-sections, page entries link to the rendered page and carry the `description` from frontmatter.

### `/llms-full.txt`

```
# My Docs

[same header as llms.txt]

---

## /introduction

[full Markdown of introduction.mdx]

---

## /installation

[full Markdown of installation.mdx]

...
```

Pages are separated by `---`. Each page's frontmatter is dropped; its body is the source Markdown (before MDX components compile).

The full file can be several MB on large docs sites. Coding agents fetching it once and caching is the expected use.

## What's excluded

- Pages with `noindex: true` in frontmatter.
- Drafts (`draft: true`) when not built with `--include-drafts`.
- Pages whose slug is in `redirects[].source`.

## How agents use it

Coding agents fetch one of two URLs at the start of a session:

- For an overview: `/llms.txt`. Cheap, small, lets the agent know what pages exist.
- For full context: `/llms-full.txt`. Heavier, but eliminates the back-and-forth of fetching individual pages.

Tangly's own [`tanglify` skill](/guides/ai-agents/skills) is what Claude Code uses for guidance. Other agents (Cursor's deep mode, Aider) often consume `llms-full.txt` directly.

## Pointing agents at your llms.txt

Tools that auto-discover (Cursor, Continue, several IDE plugins) fetch from `/llms.txt` automatically when given a base URL.

For tools that don't auto-discover, you tell the agent:

```
This project's docs are at https://docs.example.com.
The llms.txt is at https://docs.example.com/llms.txt.
```

Most coding agents pick this up on the first turn.

## Excluding sensitive pages

Use the `noindex` frontmatter field:

```yaml
---
title: Internal API
noindex: true
---
```

Excludes from `/llms.txt`, `/llms-full.txt`, `sitemap.xml`, and the search index. Page is still routable — just not discoverable.

For server-rendered access controls (login required to view), Tangly isn't the right tool. Static-site limit: anyone who can view the page can read its source.

## Customizing

The current implementation isn't user-configurable. Roadmap:

- Per-page truncation hints (only the first N words of long pages in `llms-full.txt`).
- Section-level inclusion rules (whole tabs marked as "external context").
- Custom front-matter to inject into the header.

If any of those would unblock your team, [open an issue](https://github.com/tanglydocs/tangly/issues).

## Source

The generator lives in `packages/tangly/src/build/llms-txt.ts`.