How to Add an llms.txt File to the Site Root on Shopify

Which files does Shopify serve?

Shopify's documentation calls /agents.md "the canonical, agent-facing description of a store". It is served at the bare primary domain, without a language or Shopify Markets prefix.

What does the default file contain?

Shopify-generated files follow a standard template, titled "Agent Instructions". It describes the store's Universal Commerce Protocol discovery file and MCP endpoint, lists read-only URLs for products, collections and search, links the store's policies, and sets rules such as requiring human approval for checkout. It also recommends Shopify's Shop skill to personal shopping agents. It is written for transactions, not for describing your brand. More on the default is in whether Shopify's default settings improve AI visibility.

How do you add a custom llms.txt?

According to Shopify's developer documentation:

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store, then Themes.
2. Open the code editor for your live theme.
3. Add a new template in the templates folder.
4. Name it llms.txt.liquid. It cannot be a JSON template.
5. Write the content as Markdown and save.
6. Visit yourdomain.com/llms.txt to check it.

Because this template affects /llms.txt only, /agents.md and /llms-full.txt keep Shopify's managed content. That is usually the right balance: agents that want commerce instructions still find them at /agents.md, while /llms.txt can describe your store.

Should you customise it at all?

Shopify's guidance is to leave the default in most cases. Once you add a template, you "take responsibility for keeping its content current", in Shopify's words. Consider customising only if:

• You want a brand description that the default lacks, such as what you sell, who for, and what makes you different.
• You want to point to key pages, such as size guides, care instructions, shipping and returns.
• You sell in several markets and want to list the right regional pages.

Avoid overriding agents.md.liquid unless you have a clear technical need. It controls all three files, and a hand-written version can drop the protocol endpoints and rules Shopify keeps up to date. The content format is covered in how to write an llms.txt file.

What happened to the old workarounds?

Before May 2026, Shopify did not serve /llms.txt, so merchants used URL redirects to a page or file, or apps that answered the path through an app proxy. When Shopify began serving the path itself, those redirects stopped taking effect, and merchants on Shopify's community forum reported their custom files disappearing. The fix, as Shopify later documented, is the theme template. If you use an llms.txt app, check that it now writes a theme template rather than relying on a redirect.

Does it change how AI assistants recommend your store?

There is little evidence that it does. Google says it does not use llms.txt for Search. An Ahrefs study of 2026 server logs found that nearly all published llms.txt files went unrequested. Shopify's reason for serving the files is agent commerce: helping shopping agents find the store's checkout and product endpoints. That may matter more over time, which is why keeping the default intact is sensible. For recommendations today, product data, reviews and third-party coverage matter far more, as covered in how ChatGPT ranks shopping results.

How do you check it works?

1. Open /llms.txt and /agents.md on your domain and read both.
2. Confirm /agents.md still shows the commerce endpoints if you only customised /llms.txt.
3. Check links in your custom file point to live pages.
4. Review after theme changes, since templates live in the theme: switching to a new theme without the file restores the default.

We have not customised these templates on client stores ourselves. This page is based on Shopify's developer documentation and changelog, Shopify community reports, and our own fetches of public store files. Other platforms are covered in llms.txt on Wix and llms.txt on Squarespace.

What might this look like in practice?

Consider an illustrative tea company, Fenwquay Teas, whose llms.txt app had served a brand summary through a redirect. In May 2026 the file was replaced by Shopify's agent instructions, and the summary vanished. The developer added templates/llms.txt.liquid with a short description of the teas, links to the brewing guides and the wholesale page, and left /agents.md untouched. When the store later switched themes, the file reverted to the default until the template was copied into the new theme, which the team added to its theme-change checklist.

What do people ask about llms.txt on Shopify?

Does Shopify create llms.txt automatically?

Yes. Since May 2026, every store serves /llms.txt, mirroring the Shopify-generated /agents.md.

How do I edit llms.txt on Shopify?

Add a templates/llms.txt.liquid file to your theme in the code editor. It overrides /llms.txt only.

Why did my llms.txt redirect stop working?

Shopify now serves the path itself, so redirects no longer apply. Use the theme template instead.

What is agents.md on Shopify?

Shopify's canonical agent-facing file, describing how AI agents can discover and buy from the store.