Publish llms.txt and agents.md with Windsurf
Publishing llms.txt and agents.md with Windsurf means asking the Cascade agent in your editor to check which AI discovery files your Shopify store serves and to have StoreSEO generate them, with the live-theme write and the credit cost spelled out before anything runs.
Last updated: October 2026
Set up Windsurf for StoreSEO
Skip this if Windsurf is already connected. The full guide, with the alternatives, is on the Windsurf page.
- 1
Add StoreSEO to mcp_config.json
In the Cascade panel, open the ... menu and click the Open MCP config file icon in the MCPs section. Add the entry under mcpServers and save. Remote servers use serverUrl.
JSON{ "mcpServers": { "storeseo": { "serverUrl": "https://mcp.storeseo.com/mcp" } } } - 2
Sign in to your store
Windsurf supports OAuth for remote servers. When it asks you to sign in to storeseo, a browser window opens: pick your Shopify store and approve access. Then ask this to confirm the connection.
PromptUse StoreSEO to show me my store's SEO score breakdown.
How does this work in Windsurf?
You are in Windsurf with the Cascade panel open, usually in the theme repository, and you type something like: is my llms.txt current, and does the store serve a custom agents.md. Cascade calls storeseo_start first, then storeseo_get_llms_txt_status and storeseo_get_agents_md_status. Those are reads, so they run straight away and come back with the saved generation settings, the latest llms.txt version, whether a rebuild is due, and whether /agents.md is a StoreSEO file or Shopify's default. The status calls also return the public URLs, so Cascade can fetch the live text and show you what an answer engine would read.
Generation is where the conversation slows down on purpose. storeseo_generate_llms_txt writes a template into your live theme and uploads a copy to Shopify Files in the same run, so StoreSEO tells the agent to say that and wait for your yes in the Cascade chat. If you want a different shape, say it in the same message: products and collections but not blog posts, or a weekly schedule. The settings you pass are saved and reused by scheduled runs. After the yes, Cascade polls storeseo_get_llms_txt_status until generation_ongoing is false, which takes a minute or two. storeseo_generate_agents_md is the other write: it publishes at once, replaces Shopify's default and spends AI credit.
Because Windsurf is an editor, the follow-up work stays next to your code. When the file is live you can ask Cascade to open the theme's llms.txt template and compare it with what StoreSEO wrote, or to list the stored versions with storeseo_list_llms_txt_versions and switch back to an older one. Deleting a version and resetting agents.md are permanent, so ask for those one at a time and read the confirmation before you answer.
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You: Is my llms.txt up to date? If not, rebuild it without blog posts.
- storeseo_start read-only
- storeseo_get_llms_txt_status read-only
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Windsurf: A rebuild is due: your settings changed after the last version. Generating writes an llms.txt template into your live theme and a copy to Shopify Files, with blog posts switched off. Generate it now?
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You: Yes, go ahead.
- storeseo_generate_llms_txt needs approval
- storeseo_get_llms_txt_status read-only
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Windsurf: Generation finished and the new version is active at your /llms.txt. Want me to check agents.md next?
What to ask Windsurf
Use StoreSEO to check my llms.txt and agents.md status. Which version is live and is a rebuild due? Change nothing.
Generate a new llms.txt with products and collections but no blog posts. Tell me what it writes to my theme before you run it.
List my llms.txt versions, then open the live template in the theme folder and tell me whether it matches the active version.
- 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 Windsurf 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 Windsurf
Windsurf's MCP page says its mcp_config.json setup applies to the legacy Cascade agent, while the Devin Local agent, the default for new tabs, reads Devin CLI configuration files. If storeseo tools are missing when you ask for the llms.txt status, check which agent the tab is using before you debug the file. The MCP page also does not describe Cascade's tool-approval behavior, so for a job that writes to your live theme and publishes agents.md, treat the confirmation StoreSEO asks the agent for as an instruction Cascade follows and read each proposed write in the chat before you accept it.
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
Does Windsurf write the llms.txt file into my theme itself?
No. The write is done by StoreSEO when Cascade calls storeseo_generate_llms_txt, which puts a template in your live theme and a copy in Shopify Files. Cascade can open the theme folder to compare, but the generation runs on the StoreSEO side.
Can Cascade check agents.md without generating anything?
Yes. storeseo_get_agents_md_status is a read. It tells Cascade whether a custom StoreSEO file is live or Shopify's default is serving, and gives the public URL to read the current text.
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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