What is LLMs.txt?
LLMs.txt is a simple text file that helps AI tools — like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google's AI search — understand your website's content. Think of it like a robots.txt file, but instead of telling search engine crawlers what to index, it tells AI systems what your site is about and what recipes you offer.
When someone asks an AI assistant "What's a good pasta recipe?", the AI can read your llms.txt file to find and recommend your recipes directly.
Why This Matters for Your Recipe Website
- AI visibility — As more people use AI assistants to find recipes, having an
llms.txtfile means your recipes can be discovered and recommended by these tools. - Accurate representation — You control exactly what information AI tools see about your recipes, including ingredients, preparation steps, and nutrition facts.
- Stay ahead — The
llms.txtstandard is being adopted across the web. Having it in place now means your site is ready as AI search grows. - Zero maintenance — Once enabled, JoomRecipe keeps your files up to date automatically whenever you add, edit, or remove recipes.
How It Works
JoomRecipe generates two files:
| File | URL | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| llms.txt | yoursite.com/llms.txt |
A compact index of your site — lists your categories, cuisines, and all recipes with short descriptions and links. |
| llms-full.txt | yoursite.com/llms-full.txt |
The complete version — includes full recipe details like ingredients, preparation steps, nutrition facts, and notes. |
AI tools typically read the index file first. If they need more detail about a specific recipe, they follow the link to llms-full.txt.
Both files are plain text in Markdown format and are served directly from your site — no external services or APIs involved.
How to Enable & Configure
Step 1 — Open the LLMs.txt Manager
In your Joomla administrator panel, go to:
Components → JoomRecipe → LLMs.txt Manager
This opens the LLMs.txt dashboard where you can configure settings, generate files, and preview the output.
Step 2 — Enable the Feature
In the Settings section, toggle Enable LLMs.txt to Yes.
Step 3 — Fill In Your Site Details
- Site Name — Enter your website's name (e.g., "Maria's Italian Kitchen"). This appears at the top of both files.
- Site Description — A short sentence describing your site (e.g., "A collection of authentic Italian recipes passed down through generations"). Keep it brief and clear.
Step 4 — Choose What to Include
Select which content sections to include in your generated files (see the Settings Reference below for details on each option).
Step 5 — Generate Your Files
Click the Generate Files button. JoomRecipe will create both llms.txt and llms-full.txt and save them on your server.
Step 6 — Verify
Visit yoursite.com/llms.txt in your browser. You should see your recipe index in plain text.
Settings Reference
General Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Enable LLMs.txt | Off | Master switch. When turned off, the files won't be served to visitors even if they exist on disk. |
| Auto Update | On | When enabled, JoomRecipe automatically regenerates both files whenever you save, publish, unpublish, or delete a recipe. Turn this off if you prefer to regenerate manually. |
| Site Name | (empty) | The name shown at the top of your LLMs.txt files. Use your website or brand name. |
| Site Description | (empty) | A short description of your site shown below the name. One or two sentences is ideal. |
| Max Recipes | 500 | The maximum number of recipes to include in the generated files. Range: 10–10,000. If you have thousands of recipes, you may want to increase this. |
Content Options — Index File (llms.txt)
These control what appears in the compact index file:
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Include Categories | On | Lists your recipe categories (e.g., Appetizers, Main Course, Desserts) with the number of recipes in each. |
| Include Cuisines | On | Lists your cuisine types (e.g., Italian, Mexican, Japanese) with recipe counts. |
The index file always includes your recipe list with titles, links, and short descriptions. Featured recipes are shown in a separate highlighted section at the top (up to 20).
Content Options — Full File (llms-full.txt)
These control the level of detail in the complete file:
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Include Ingredients | On | Adds the full ingredient list for each recipe, organized by ingredient groups. |
| Include Preparation | On | Adds the step-by-step preparation instructions for each recipe. |
| Include Nutrition | On | Adds nutrition information (calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber) when available. |
| Include Notes | On | Adds any additional notes or tips you've written for the recipe. |
The full file always includes basic recipe details: title, URL, description, prep time, cook time, wait time, servings, and cuisine type.
Generating & Previewing Files
The Actions section of the LLMs.txt Manager provides three buttons:
-
Generate Files — Creates (or recreates) both
llms.txtandllms-full.txt. A progress indicator shows while files are being generated. Once complete, the status cards update with the new file sizes and timestamp. -
Preview Index — Shows you the content of
llms.txtwithout saving it to disk. Useful for checking what the output will look like before generating. -
Preview Full — Shows you the content of
llms-full.txtwithout saving it to disk. Since this file can be large, preview helps you verify the content and level of detail before generating.
After clicking a preview button, the content appears in a text area below the actions. Click the close button to dismiss it.
Understanding the Status Dashboard
At the top of the LLMs.txt Manager, four status cards give you a quick overview:
| Card | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Total Recipes | The number of published recipes on your site that will be included in the files. |
| File Status | A green checkmark if files have been generated, or a yellow warning if no files exist yet. |
| Last Generated | The date and time when the files were last created or updated. Shows "Not generated" if files haven't been created yet. |
| File Sizes | The size of your index file and full file (e.g., "12 KB / 245 KB"). Helps you gauge how much content is being generated. |
Accessing Your Files
Once generated and enabled, your files are available at:
- Index file:
https://yoursite.com/llms.txt - Full file:
https://yoursite.com/llms-full.txt
These URLs work automatically — no need to configure routing or create menu items. The JoomRecipe system plugin intercepts requests to these paths and serves the files directly.
Files are cached by browsers for 1 hour (Cache-Control: public, max-age=3600), so after regenerating, it may take up to an hour for external tools to see the updated version.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to do anything after enabling this? Just click "Generate Files" once. If Auto Update is turned on (the default), the files will stay current automatically as you add or edit recipes.
Will this slow down my website? No. The files are pre-generated and stored as static text files on your server. Serving them adds virtually no load.
What happens if I disable the feature? The files remain on your server but stop being served to visitors. Anyone requesting yoursite.com/llms.txt will get a normal 404 page. You can re-enable at any time without regenerating.
Do I need the system plugin enabled? Yes. The System - JoomRecipe plugin must be enabled for the llms.txt and llms-full.txt URLs to work and for auto-update to trigger on recipe changes.
Can I edit the generated files manually? You could, but any edits would be overwritten the next time files are regenerated (either manually or via auto-update). Instead, use the settings to control what content is included.
How many recipes should I include? The default of 500 works well for most sites. If you have a very large recipe database, you can increase the limit up to 10,000. Keep in mind that the full file grows with each recipe — a site with 1,000 detailed recipes might produce a full file of several megabytes.
Are unpublished or draft recipes included? No. Only recipes that are published, validated, and have public access are included in the generated files.
Does this work with multilingual sites? The files are generated based on your currently published recipes regardless of language. All language versions of recipes that meet the published/validated/public criteria are included.
Is there any risk to sharing my recipes in these files? The content in llms.txt files is the same information already visible on your public recipe pages. No private or draft content is ever included. The files simply make your existing public content easier for AI tools to read.