Meta Robots Tag Generator

Generate a meta robots tag and the matching X-Robots-Tag header. Choose noindex, nofollow, noarchive, nosnippet, noimageindex, notranslate, unavailable_after and max-snippet, max-image-preview or max-video-preview, with contradiction checks.

Web & SEO Runs client-side Free to use

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About the Meta Robots Tag Generator

Meta Robots Tag Generator builds a <meta name="robots"> tag and the equivalent X-Robots-Tag HTTP header from the directives you choose: index or noindex, follow or nofollow, noarchive, nosnippet, noimageindex, notranslate, unavailable_after and the max-snippet, max-image-preview and max-video-preview limits. You can target all crawlers, Googlebot, or another crawler by name.

The tool blocks settings that contradict each other, such as nosnippet with max-snippet, and warns about combinations that have no effect, like noimageindex with max-image-preview or extra directives alongside noindex. It also explains what these directives are: instructions to well-behaved crawlers, not access control or privacy. A noindex page can still be opened by anyone, and noindex works only if crawlers can fetch the page, which is different from blocking it in robots.txt. Neither guarantees removal from search results.

How to use

Choose which crawler the rules are for.
Pick indexing and link options and any other directives.
Optionally set preview limits and an unavailable_after date in UTC.
Click Generate and review any warnings.
Copy the meta tag or header, or download both as a .txt file.

Key features

All common directives, including preview limits and unavailable_after.
Targets robots, googlebot or a custom crawler token.
Blocks contradictory settings and flags redundant ones.
Outputs both a meta tag and an X-Robots-Tag header.
UTC ISO 8601 date for unavailable_after.
Copy Meta Tag, Copy Header, Download .txt, Reset and Back.

Best practices

Do not block a page in robots.txt if you want crawlers to see its noindex tag.
Use X-Robots-Tag for PDFs, images and other non-HTML files.
Use password protection or server rules, not robots directives, for private content.
Keep one robots meta tag per crawler to avoid confusing combinations.
Check after the next crawl whether the change has taken effect.

Benefits

Correct syntax for both the tag and the header.
Clear explanations of what each directive does and does not do.
Prevents common contradictions before you publish.
Private: nothing is uploaded or stored.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between noindex and blocking in robots.txt?

robots.txt Disallow stops crawlers from fetching a URL, but the URL can still be indexed from links elsewhere. noindex asks search engines to leave the page out of results, but they can only see it if the page is crawlable. Do not use both on the same page.

Does noindex remove my page from Google?

It asks search engines to drop the page after they next crawl it, but timing is not guaranteed and this tool cannot promise removal. For urgent removals, use the search engine’s own removal tools.

Is a meta robots tag a security measure?

No. It is an instruction to well-behaved crawlers. Anyone can still open the page, and some bots ignore it. Protect private content with authentication.

Why can’t I use nosnippet with max-snippet?

They contradict each other: nosnippet forbids a snippet, while max-snippet sets its length. Use one or the other; max-snippet:0 has the same effect as nosnippet.

When should I use the X-Robots-Tag header?

Use it for files that cannot carry a meta tag, such as PDFs and images, or to set rules for many URLs in your server configuration.

Do all search engines support every directive?

No. index, noindex, follow and nofollow are widely supported, while directives such as notranslate and the max- limits are documented mainly by Google. Unsupported directives are ignored.

Is my content uploaded or saved?

No. Everything runs in your browser. What you paste or type is not sent anywhere, no URL is fetched, and nothing is saved in browser storage. Reset clears it from the page.