Adding llms.txt to Shopify

Standard Shopify cannot serve a file at /llms.txt, so you need a workaround. The common one is a plain template behind a URL redirect; the only clean one is a proxy such as a Cloudflare Worker in front of the store.

Why is Shopify different?

On Shopify you cannot upload a file that serves at https://yourstore.com/llms.txt. Theme assets are served from cdn.shopify.com, and the Files section in the admin puts uploads on a CDN path too. Neither is the root. That rules out the simple approach and leaves three real options. It is also why a Shopify app cannot simply drop an llms.txt at your root: if you try an llms.txt app, check the address it actually serves the file from (see the FAQ below).

Option 1: a theme template with a redirect (most common)

Shopify lets you create alternate templates and URL redirects. Combined, they get close to the right behaviour.

1. In your theme code editor, add a new template, for example templates/page.llms-txt.liquid.
2. Strip it to output plain content with no theme wrapper:

   templates/page.llms-txt.liquid

   {% layout none %}# {{ shop.name }}
   
   > {{ shop.description }}
   
   ## Collections
   {% for collection in collections %}- [{{ collection.title }}]({{ shop.url }}{{ collection.url }}): {{ collection.description | strip_html | truncatewords: 22 }}
   {% endfor %}
   ## Policies
   - [Shipping]({{ shop.url }}/policies/shipping-policy): Shipping regions, costs and delivery times.
   - [Returns]({{ shop.url }}/policies/refund-policy): Return window and conditions.

3. Create a page in the admin, assign it that template, and note its URL, something like /pages/llms-txt.
4. Under Online Store › Navigation › URL Redirects, redirect /llms.txt to that page.

Option 2: a reverse proxy in front of the store

If your domain runs through Cloudflare, a Worker can serve /llms.txt directly with the correct content type and pass everything else to Shopify. This is the only approach that gets you a genuine root-level plain-text file, and it is straightforward if Cloudflare is already in front of your domain.

Option 3: Shopify Hydrogen

On a Hydrogen storefront you control routing, so you can add a route that returns the file properly, the same pattern as the Next.js approach.

What should a store list?

The main discipline is resisting the catalogue. Do not list products; list collections, and let the descriptions carry the specifics.

llms.txt

# Fern & Fold

> Independent stationery shop in Melbourne. Notebooks, fountain pens and
> paper goods. Ships within Australia and New Zealand only.

## Shop
- [Notebooks](https://example.com/collections/notebooks): 60 titles, A6 to A4, dot grid, lined and blank. AUD 12-45.
- [Fountain pens](https://example.com/collections/pens): Entry-level to enthusiast, AUD 25-480.

## Help
- [Shipping](https://example.com/policies/shipping-policy): Free over AUD 90, 2-5 business days domestic.
- [Returns](https://example.com/policies/refund-policy): 30 days, unused, return postage paid on faulty goods.

Shipping regions, price ranges and return terms are what models most often get wrong about a store, so put them in descriptions rather than leaving them to be inferred. Policy pages are worth listing explicitly for the same reason.