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SEO & LLM Indexing

What is SEO & LLM Indexing in Vibe?​

Apps built with Vibe are delivered as fully rendered HTML straight from the server. Search engine crawlers and AI answer engines — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews — read the actual content of your pages rather than an empty JavaScript shell, and crawlers see exactly the same content your visitors do. Your app can rank in search results, be cited by AI assistants, and be found.

Every publish also generates the discovery files that search engines and AI assistants look for, with no configuration required.

Why is it important?​

  • Search engines read real content: Because pages arrive as fully rendered HTML, crawlers index what's actually on the page — not a blank shell waiting for JavaScript.
  • AI assistants can cite you: Answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews read the same content your visitors see, so your app can appear in their answers.
  • Nothing to set up: Discovery files are generated automatically on every publish. They're on by default, and you can override any of them.
  • You stay in control: The SEO section in project settings gives you simple toggles for how your app presents itself to search engines and AI assistants.

What's included?​

Every publish generates three discovery files automatically:

FileWhat it's for
robots.txtTells search engine crawlers which parts of your app they can visit
sitemap.xmlLists your app's pages so crawlers can find and index all of them
llms.txtThe file AI assistants read to understand what your site offers

Each file is on by default and individually overridable — if your project ships its own version of one, yours is used instead.

You also get:

  • Indexing controls: The SEO section in project settings puts indexing under your control, with simple toggles for how the app presents itself to search engines and AI assistants.
  • Identical content for everyone: Crawlers and visitors receive the same fully rendered pages.

How to use it​

Control how your app is indexed​

The SEO section in project settings is available for projects on the server-rendered runtime (node-server, including TanStack/SSR). Older projects on the static runtime use Migrate on the General settings section instead (see below).

  1. Open your project's settings.
  2. Select the SEO section (shown when the project runtime is node-server).
  3. Use the toggles to control how your app presents itself to search engines and AI assistants.

See project settings for the full settings page.

Block search engines from your app​

To keep crawlers out, for example while you share a client mock-up, turn off the robots.txt toggle in the SEO section. When it's off, Vibe publishes a robots.txt that blocks all crawlers and doesn't list a sitemap. If your project ships its own robots.txt, yours is used instead.

Use your own discovery files​

The generated robots.txt, sitemap.xml, and llms.txt are each individually overridable. If your project ships its own version of any of these files, Vibe uses yours instead of the generated one — you can override one file and keep the automatic versions of the others.

Bring an existing project up to date​

Older projects on the static runtime can migrate to the server-rendered (node-server) runtime. Use Migrate in the General section of project settings, or ask Vibe to upgrade the project — pages, styling, and behavior stay intact. You don't have to rebuild anything to benefit. After migration, the SEO settings section becomes available.

Frequently Asked Questions​

What is llms.txt?

llms.txt is the file AI assistants read to understand what a site offers. Vibe generates it automatically on every publish, so AI answer engines can understand and reference your app without any setup on your part.

Do I need to configure anything for my app to be indexed?

No. Pages are delivered as fully rendered HTML, and robots.txt, sitemap.xml, and llms.txt are generated automatically on every publish. If you want to adjust how your app presents itself to search engines and AI assistants, use the toggles in the SEO section of project settings.

Can I use my own robots.txt, sitemap.xml, or llms.txt?

Yes. Each generated file is individually overridable — if your project ships its own version, Vibe uses yours instead. You can override one file and keep the automatic versions of the others.

How do I control whether search engines and AI assistants index my app?

Open your project's settings and select the SEO section. Simple toggles control how the app presents itself to search engines and AI assistants.

Do search engines see different content than my visitors?

No. Crawlers and visitors receive identical content — the same fully rendered HTML pages.

How do I get server-rendered pages on a project I built earlier?

Use Migrate on the General settings section (for runtime === static projects), or ask Vibe to upgrade. It converts the project to the server-rendered (node-server) runtime for you, with pages, styling, and behavior intact — no rebuild required.

Will my Vibe website or landing page be indexed by search engines?

Yes, in typical setups search engines can index Vibe sites. For best results, instruct Vibe to run an SEO pass on the project.

How do I stop crawlers from indexing an internal Vibe dashboard?

Turn off the robots.txt toggle in the SEO section of that project's settings. Vibe then publishes a robots.txt that blocks all crawlers. If your project ships its own robots.txt, yours is used instead.

Is my Vibe site indexed by search engines, and how do I keep a draft site out of search?

A published site is not indexed right away, because search engines do not know about it until you submit your sitemap. To keep a mockup out of search, open the SEO settings and turn off generating the files that tell search engines to index the site. Any public site can still be found, but the odds are low if nothing links to it.

How do I rebuild my website in Vibe without losing my search rankings?

Ask Vibe to clone your existing site so it captures the theme, content, and layout. Vibe generates llms.txt, robots.txt, and sitemap.xml files for you. Keep the same URL paths as your old site so existing links do not break.

Next Steps​