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A link listed in llms.txt was unavailable to the audit

In the reportLinks in llms.txt were unavailable to the audit

llms_txt_links_broken · Review item

Short answer

Open each recorded link and update or remove the entries that no longer lead anywhere. The result shows that an address was unavailable to this audit at the time. It does not show that the content was permanently removed.

Severity: Low. Update or remove the listed entries when you next edit the file. This is a Low review item because one recorded HTTP 404 or 410, or one DNS lookup that ended with NXDOMAIN, shows unavailability to this audit at the time, not permanent removal.

Why it matters

An llms.txt file lists addresses for further detail. A recorded HTTP 404 or 410, or an original DNS lookup ending with NXDOMAIN, shows that the listed resource was unavailable to this audit at the time. Other readers may receive a different answer.

What to do

  1. Read the recorded address, the recorded response or DNS outcome, and the line of the file that lists it.
  2. Open the address yourself. If the resource moved, put its current address in the file.
  3. For an NXDOMAIN result, check the listed host name and any CNAME record it points to. Correct the address or repair the DNS records.
  4. If the resource no longer exists, remove the entry from its file-list section.
  5. Publish the corrected file at the same address, then run a new full audit.

When to leave it as it is: If the address opens for you and is the resource you mean to list, leave the entry and treat the result as a single recorded response. A site can answer an audit request differently from a browser.

What we read

We read the site's root /llms.txt and take the first Markdown link of each list item in its H2 file-list sections. Links elsewhere in the file are not part of this check.

Up to 20 distinct addresses are evaluated, in the order they are listed. Addresses that differ only by fragment count as one address, because a fragment is not sent; addresses with different query strings are distinct. A link to the file itself is evaluated from the response already recorded for the file when that response qualifies, without a new request, and still counts as one of the 20.

A problem needs one original unconditional GET request whose final response is 404 or 410, with a complete response and a clear challenge check. A redirect that ends at a complete, clear HTTP 200 passes. The result can also rest on the DNS lookup made for the original request, when that lookup ended with NXDOMAIN at the name it finally resolved, which can be the end of a CNAME chain, and no HTTP response contradicts it. A 404 or 410 is not requested again only to confirm it.

All unavailable links from the file are reported as one item for the site.

Example & evidence

Illustrative example: a file with two listed resources and one recorded response; this is not a live audit.

# Example Bakery

## Recipes

- [Bread recipe](https://bakery.example/recipes/bread.md): Ingredients and method
- [Cake recipe](https://bakery.example/recipes/cake.md)
GET https://bakery.example/recipes/cake.md
404 Not Found

If the recorded GET request for the cake recipe ends in HTTP 404 with a complete response and no challenge marker, that entry is reported as unavailable to this audit at the time. The bread recipe is evaluated separately, and both entries count toward the 20 addresses that are evaluated.

A possible correction: restore the resource at that address, list its current address, or remove the entry. The item closes only when a later full audit settles every address recorded before, not this one alone. Each old address needs either a complete, clear HTTP 200 response or a completely read current file that no longer lists it. A qualified HTTP 200 response shows availability to this audit; it does not confirm the content or any fragment anchor.

Confirm & check again

Check for yourself: Open each listed address in a browser without signing in. For an NXDOMAIN result, look up the listed host name with a DNS tool and follow any CNAME record to the name it points to.

Check again: Full audit — Run a new full audit after the corrected file is live. Closing the item needs a completely read list in the current file and a settled result for every address the earlier audit recorded, including addresses it left unconfirmed or did not report. Each of them needs either a complete, clear HTTP 200 response or a completely read file that no longer lists it. A partial list, addresses beyond the 20 that are evaluated, a file or response that could not be read, unsupported parts of the file and unclear responses cannot prove a fix. A clean result from another llms.txt check does not close this item.

Limits & sources

HEAD-only responses, HTTP 401/403/429/451, server errors, other inconclusive statuses, timeouts, unresolved challenges and incomplete responses remain unconfirmed. A known unavailable link is still reported while other links stay unconfirmed.

An NXDOMAIN result describes the name at which the audit's DNS lookup ended, which can be the target of a CNAME record. It does not show that the listed host name itself does not exist. An uncertain or incomplete lookup is left unconfirmed.

Only the first 20 distinct addresses are evaluated. Later entries remain unconfirmed, and an address that could not be evaluated is not replaced by a later one.

A fragment is not checked, so a passing address does not show that the named section exists. A passing address also does not confirm what the resource contains.

Only supported H2 file-list entries are read. Links in other parts of the file, addresses that cannot be resolved, addresses with credentials or a scheme other than http or https, and Markdown that the parser does not support remain unconfirmed.

The check reads the root /llms.txt only. If that file was not read completely and directly, its links are not checked.

The result describes availability to this audit at the time it ran. It makes no claim about permanence, about any tool that reads llms.txt, or about search results.

Confidence: High Each reported link is bound to the response or DNS outcome recorded for it during the audit. An unclear source is left unconfirmed, not reported.

Sources

  • AnswerDotAI/llms-txt contributors, Original llms.txt proposal, fixed publisher commit — Describes H2 file-list sections whose list items each contain a required Markdown hyperlink to a URL where further detail is available. It does not say how an unavailable address is treated. Checked 4 October 2026.
  • llmstxt.org, The /llms.txt file, version 2 — The current proposal describes a small Markdown file linking to detailed resources, at the root or a subpath; this audit retains its documented root-only checks and pinned grammar. Checked 2 November 2026.

Editorial review: 2 November 2026