llms.txt and agents.md Publish llms.txt and agents.md with Claude Cowork
Publishing llms.txt and agents.md with Claude Cowork means delegating the StoreSEO status checks, generation and version switching to Anthropic's agent for delegated work, and keeping any scheduled run report-only so it never needs a yes you cannot give.
Last updated: October 2026
Set up Claude Cowork for StoreSEO
Skip this if Claude Cowork is already connected. The full guide, with the alternatives, is on the Claude Cowork page.
- 1
Add StoreSEO as a custom connector
In Cowork, open Customize, then Connectors, choose + Add and then Add custom connector. If you already added StoreSEO to your Claude account, look for it in that list first. Use this URL.
URLhttps://mcp.storeseo.com/mcp
- 2
Approve your store and check it
Sign in when the browser opens: pick your Shopify store and approve access. Then start a task and ask this first, so you know the connector works before you delegate real work.
PromptUse StoreSEO to show me my store's SEO score breakdown.
How does this work in Claude Cowork?
You hand Cowork a task in plain words, such as getting llms.txt and agents.md ready for the store, and it works through the connected StoreSEO tools while you do something else. It starts with storeseo_start, reads storeseo_get_llms_txt_status and storeseo_get_agents_md_status, and brings back a short report on the live version, the public URLs and whether a rebuild is due. Reading the state is the delegable part. Generating is not, because storeseo_generate_llms_txt writes into your live theme and storeseo_generate_agents_md publishes live and spends AI Content Optimizer credit, and StoreSEO tells the agent to wait for you on both.
So the useful pattern is two steps. First ask Cowork to check and report, then, with the task open and you present, tell it to run the generation you approved. It will poll storeseo_get_llms_txt_status through the minute or two the run takes and report when the versions list shows the new file active. For agents.md, review the returned text in Cowork before you decide whether to keep it or reset it.
Scheduling is where Cowork is different from a chat tab. Anthropic documents that scheduled tasks run remotely on their cadence, even when the computer is asleep, and that they can use connected apps. A weekly task can read both statuses and tell you when a rebuild is due, which is a good fit for llms.txt because it changes when your catalog does. It is the wrong place for generate, activate, delete or reset, since nobody is present to say yes.
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You: Check both discovery files and list what I could improve. Read only for now.
- storeseo_start read-only
- storeseo_get_llms_txt_status read-only
- storeseo_get_agents_md_status read-only
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Claude Cowork: llms.txt is live at your store's /llms.txt and no rebuild is due. /agents.md is Shopify's default. Generating a custom agents.md would publish live and spend AI credit. Should I do that now?
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You: Yes, generate it.
- storeseo_generate_agents_md needs approval
What to ask Claude Cowork
Use StoreSEO to check my llms.txt and agents.md and give me a short report. Do not generate, activate, delete or reset anything.
Every Monday, read my llms.txt status and agents.md status and tell me if a rebuild is due. Report only.
I am here now. Regenerate llms.txt, wait for it to finish and confirm which version is active.
- Is my llms.txt up to date, and which version is live right now?
- Generate a new llms.txt that includes products and collections but not blog posts. Warn me before it goes live.
- Show me my llms.txt versions and switch back to the one from last week.
- Does my store serve a custom agents.md or Shopify's default?
- Write an agents.md for my store and publish it. Tell me what it costs first.
- Reset agents.md to Shopify's default.
What StoreSEO does: llms.txt and agents.md
llms.txt is a curated map of your store for AI crawlers, and agents.md tells AI shopping agents who you are and how to buy. StoreSEO generates both from your store data and publishes them to your live theme; the agent checks status, generates, switches llms.txt versions and resets agents.md to Shopify's default.
Requires: agents.md generation spends AI Content Optimizer credit and needs at least one published product.
- 1
Check what is live
The agent reads the llms.txt status (settings, latest version, whether a rebuild is due, public URL) and the agents.md status (custom file or Shopify's default, public URL).
- 2
Warn before publishing
Generating llms.txt writes a template to your live theme and uploads a copy to Shopify Files in the same run, with no separate publish step. Generating agents.md publishes it live at once and spends credit. The agent says so and waits for your yes.
- 3
Generate and wait
llms.txt generation takes a minute or two; the agent polls the status until it finishes. agents.md returns the published text and its URL straight away.
- 4
Manage versions
StoreSEO keeps the latest ten llms.txt versions. The live file serves the active version, which is not always the newest, and any version can be made active again.
- 5
Roll back
Deleting a version is permanent. Resetting agents.md drops the custom file so Shopify's default serves again, and there is no history to restore it from.
llms.txt and agents.md reference
| llms.txt | Generated from your products, collections, pages and posts; served at your store's /llms.txt |
|---|---|
| Where it is written | A template in the live theme plus a copy in Shopify Files, in the same run |
| Schedule | llms.txt can regenerate on a saved schedule; settings passed with a run are saved for scheduled runs |
| Versions kept | The latest ten; the live file serves the active one |
| Generation time | About one to two minutes for llms.txt |
| agents.md | AI-written from your brand profile, top products, collections and contact details; served at /agents.md |
| agents.md publish | Live immediately; replaces Shopify's native default |
| agents.md reset | Shopify's default serves again within seconds; the custom text is gone for good |
Rules Claude Cowork follows
- The agent tells you that llms.txt generation writes to your live theme before it starts.
- agents.md generation publishes live and spends credit, so the agent says both and waits for your yes.
- Deleting an llms.txt version and resetting agents.md cannot be undone; the agent confirms each one.
- Deleting the active llms.txt version promotes the next newest automatically, so the agent says which version will go live.
In Claude Cowork
A scheduled Cowork task runs without you in the conversation, so keep any StoreSEO task here to reads and reports and tell it in plain words not to generate, activate, delete or reset. Cowork shares Claude's custom connector rules, so the Free plan allows one custom connector, and on Team and Enterprise an admin toggle and an owner-added connector are both prerequisites. If StoreSEO is missing in Cowork, check Customize, Connectors there.
What runs without asking. Reads such as SEO scores, store listings, settings and Google reports run straight away. Generating a preview spends AI credit but writes nothing, and StoreSEO tells the agent to say what a generation will cost before it runs one. Applying content, optimizing images, changing settings, publishing llms.txt or agents.md, writing a product description and deleting anything wait for your yes in the conversation. That yes is an instruction the agent follows, not a lock on the server, so your client's own tool-approval setting is the hard stop.
Questions
Can a scheduled Cowork task regenerate my llms.txt every week?
It can run, but it should not. Generating llms.txt writes to your live theme, and StoreSEO tells the agent to wait for your yes, which nobody can give to a scheduled run. Use a scheduled task to read the status and report a due rebuild, then approve the generation yourself. StoreSEO can also regenerate llms.txt on its own saved schedule.
What should I put in a Cowork task so it does not publish agents.md by accident?
State the limit in the prompt: read the statuses, report, and do not generate, activate, delete or reset anything. Also keep your client approval mode strict for the task, since the wording in the task is an instruction and the approval mode is the actual stop.
What is the difference between llms.txt and agents.md?
llms.txt is a curated map of your store for AI crawlers and answer engines, served at /llms.txt. agents.md is the file AI shopping agents read to understand your brand and how to shop with you, served at /agents.md. StoreSEO can generate both.
Does generating llms.txt change my theme?
Yes. The same run writes an llms.txt template into your live theme and uploads a copy to Shopify Files. There is no separate publish step, which is why the agent should warn you before it starts.
Can I go back to an older llms.txt?
Yes. StoreSEO keeps the latest ten versions, and any of them can be made the active one, which republishes it to your storefront. Deleting a version is permanent.
Can I undo a generated agents.md?
You can reset it, which makes Shopify's native default serve again within seconds. The custom text is discarded with no history, so keep a copy if you might want it back.
Keep going
llms.txt and agents.md with other agents
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