Robots Meta Generator
Build a <meta name="robots"> tag and the matching X-Robots-Tag HTTP header. Combine noindex, nofollow, noarchive, nosnippet, max-snippet, max-image-preview, max-video-preview, and unavailable_after with per-engine support hints.
Interactive tool
Builder
Output
Pick one or more directives to generate the meta tag.
What is the Robots Meta Generator?
A visual builder for the <meta name="robots"> tag and the matching X-Robots-Tag HTTP header. Mix-and-match boolean directives (noindex, nofollow, noarchive, nosnippet, noimageindex, notranslate) with Google-specific extras (max-snippet, max-image-preview, max-video-preview, unavailable_after) and see at-a-glance which engines honour each combination.
How to Use the Robots Meta Generator
- 1Pick the boolean directives that should apply to the page (noindex, nofollow, ...)
- 2Add Google-only extras (max-snippet, max-image-preview, max-video-preview, unavailable_after) if relevant
- 3Optionally specify a bot-specific tag (googlebot, bingbot, ...) instead of the generic "robots"
- 4Watch the engine-support badges: full / partial / none for Google, Bing, Yandex, Baidu
- 5Copy the <meta> tag for HTML pages or the X-Robots-Tag header for non-HTML resources (PDFs, images, etc.)
Key features
Two outputs
The <meta name="robots"> tag for HTML pages, and the matching X-Robots-Tag header for non-HTML resources (PDFs, JSON, images).
Per-engine compatibility
See at-a-glance which engines support the combination you picked: Google, Bing, Yandex, Baidu.
Google extras
max-snippet, max-image-preview, max-video-preview, unavailable_after: all the directives Google added without breaking other crawlers.
Bot-specific tags
Override the generic "robots" name with "googlebot", "bingbot", etc. when you need a single-engine directive.
X-Robots-Tag for non-HTML
PDFs and images cannot host a meta tag: use the header form to apply the same directives.
When to use meta robots
The robots meta tag is the right way to remove an HTML page from a search engine while keeping it crawlable. Unlike robots.txt disallow (which can leave the URL as a "URL only" result), a noindex directive removes the page entirely once Google re-crawls it.
Common use cases
- Removing a private archive page from Google without blocking crawling
- Limiting snippet length on a paywalled page (max-snippet:0)
- Suppressing image previews on a search-result page (max-image-preview:none)
- Setting an unavailable_after date for a time-limited promo page
- Applying noindex to non-HTML resources (PDFs, JSON exports) via X-Robots-Tag
meta robots vs robots.txt
- robots.txt disallow → prevents crawling. The URL can still appear as a 'URL only' result in Google.
- meta robots noindex → removes the page from the index. Requires the page to be crawlable so Google sees the directive.
- Use meta robots when you want full removal. Use robots.txt when you want to save the crawl budget on never-relevant pages.
Combining directives
- noindex implies follow by default: links on a noindex page are still crawled.
- nofollow blocks PageRank flow on every link on the page: use cautiously.
- noindex + nofollow combined disconnects the page from the rest of your site, which is rarely what you want.
Tips & best practices
Verify with the URL Inspection tool
After deploy, run the page through Google Search Console > URL Inspection. It surfaces the parsed robots directives and any conflicts.
Use X-Robots-Tag for non-HTML
PDFs and CSV exports cannot host a meta tag: the header form is the only option.
Bot-specific tags only when you need them
Most sites should leave the bot name as "robots" so every crawler gets the directive. Use "googlebot" only when you need an engine-specific override.
Privacy & security
This tool runs entirely in your browser. No directive selection is sent to a server.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between robots.txt and meta robots?
robots.txt blocks crawling but leaves the URL eligible for indexing via inbound links. <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> removes the page from the index entirely, but only works if the page is crawlable.
Should I use the X-Robots-Tag header or the meta tag?
Use the meta tag for HTML pages, and X-Robots-Tag for non-HTML resources (PDFs, JSON exports, images) since those cannot host a meta tag.
Which engines support max-snippet and max-image-preview?
Only Google currently honours max-snippet, max-image-preview, max-video-preview, and unavailable_after. Bing supports unavailable_after but ignores the rest. Yandex and Baidu ignore all four.
Does noindex imply nofollow?
No. noindex on its own keeps follow as the default: links on the page are still crawled. Combine noindex,nofollow only if you want to disconnect the page from the rest of your site (rare).
Is the generator client-side?
Yes. Directive selection never leaves your browser. The output is regenerated on every change.