Network & Web Tools
Robots.txt Tester Online Free
Test common robots.txt Allow and Disallow rules against a crawler and URL path without contacting a website.
Test a robots.txt rule locally
Paste robots.txt content, choose a crawler and test a URL path. No website is contacted.
Test result
Allowed
- Path
- /admin/help/article
- Matching rule
- allow: /admin/help/
- Parsed groups
- 1
- Matching rules
- 2
This is a practical tester for common Allow and Disallow patterns. Search engines can apply additional interpretation rules, so verify important changes in the relevant search engine console.
About this tool
This local tester helps website owners and developers review crawler directives before publishing them. It parses user-agent groups, compares matching path rules and reports whether the tested URL is allowed or blocked.
Common use cases
- ✓ Check a planned robots.txt update before deployment.
- ✓ Troubleshoot why a crawler may avoid a URL path.
- ✓ Compare Googlebot-style and wildcard user-agent groups.
- ✓ Teach robots.txt rule precedence with practical examples.
How to use it
- Paste the robots.txt content.
- Enter the crawler user-agent name.
- Enter a full URL or URL path.
- Review the winning rule and result.
Important interpretation notes
- • robots.txt is not a security control and cannot protect private content.
- • A blocked URL can still appear in search results when discovered through links.
- • Confirm production behavior with the relevant search engine's inspection tools.
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Frequently asked questions
What is robots.txt?
robots.txt is a public text file that gives crawl instructions to search-engine and other automated user agents.
Does robots.txt block people from opening a page?
No. It is a crawler directive, not an access-control or security mechanism.
Does this tool fetch my live robots.txt file?
No. You paste the content and the tester evaluates it locally in your browser.
What happens when Allow and Disallow both match?
The most specific matching path normally wins; this tester also prefers Allow when matching rules have equal length.
Can every crawler interpret rules differently?
Yes. Major crawlers follow broadly similar rules, but implementation details can differ.
Should blocked URLs be removed from a sitemap?
Usually a sitemap should list canonical URLs that you want search engines to crawl and consider for indexing.