If you've ever poked around a website's source code or typed random URLs, you've probably seen robots.txt. That's the file telling search engine bots what they can and can't crawl. But there's another file most people have never heard of: humans.txt.
It's basically robots.txt's friendlier cousin. Instead of talking to bots, it talks to anyone curious enough to look. Maybe you never saw one, but crawlers will surely see it.
What is humans.txt?
It's a text file that lives at yoursite.com/humans.txt. That's it. No fancy format, no technical requirements beyond being plain text. The idea is simple: give credit to the people who built your site and explain what tools you used.
The concept comes from humanstxt.org, a loose standard that started around 2011. It never became an official internet standard like robots.txt, but enough people liked the idea that it stuck around.
Think of it as the credits at the end of a movie, except anyone can read it anytime by just adding /humans.txt to your domain.
Why would anyone bother with this?
Good question. Most visitors will never know it exists. But there are a few reasons it's worth the five minutes to create one.
Transparency builds trust
If you run an affiliate site or any business where people need to trust your recommendations, showing there are actual humans behind the operation helps. Even if only a handful of people ever check, those people might be the ones doing their homework before making a purchase.
It's the same reason network pages matter. You're saying "we're not hiding who we are or how this site was built."
Developers and designers appreciate it
When someone lands on a site they like, they often want to know what it's built with. Is that Next.js? Tailwind? Some custom framework? Instead of digging through page source or network requests, they can just check /humans.txt.
It's also a nice way to credit your team or freelancers who contributed. Most people never get public recognition for the work they do on websites. This is a simple way to change that.
SEO? Maybe
Google doesn't officially acknowledge humans.txt as a ranking factor. But here's the thing: Google cares about authoritativeness and transparency. Having a humans.txt file is one more tiny signal that you're a legitimate operation.
Will it move the needle on its own? Probably not. But SEO is about stacking small advantages. This is an easy one to knock out.
What goes in a humans.txt file?
Whatever you want, honestly. The humanstxt.org site suggests a loose structure with sections like TEAM, SITE, and THANKS, but you can do your own thing.
Here's what people typically include:
Team section: Names, roles, contact info, location. If you're a solo operation, that's fine too. Just list yourself.
Site section: What the site was built with. Frameworks, hosting, any tools worth mentioning. This is useful for developers who want to know your stack.
Thanks section: Optional, but nice. Credit inspiration sources, open source projects you used, or just thank your visitors.
Keep it concise. This isn't your life story, just a quick behind-the-scenes look.
How to create one
Open a text editor. Save it as humans.txt. Upload it to your site's root directory (not in a subfolder, just at yoursite.com/humans.txt).
That's the whole process.
If you're using a framework like Next.js, drop it in your public folder and it'll be accessible at the root automatically. Same with most static site generators.
A real example
Elyvora US has a clean, straightforward humans.txt file at elyvora.us/humans.txt. It covers the basics without overcomplicating things:
/* TEAM */
Site: Elyvora.us
Contact: elyvora.us@outlook.com
Location: Romania
/* SITE */
Built with: Next.js 14, TailwindCSS, TypeScript
Powered by: Amazon Associates Program
Hosted on: Hostinger
/* THANKS */
Readers: Thank you for trusting our reviews!
It tells you what you need to know: who's running it, what it's built with, where it's hosted. Takes maybe 10 seconds to read. That's the sweet spot.
Things to avoid
- Don't dump your entire company history in there. Nobody's reading a novel.
- Don't put sensitive information like API keys or internal tools that could expose security issues.
- Don't use it as a marketing page. It's not a landing page, it's a credits file.
Keep it factual and useful. That's the whole point.
Should you add one to your site?
If you're running a business site, affiliate site, or portfolio, yeah, probably. It takes no time to set up and adds a small layer of professionalism.
If you're a developer or designer who cares about the craft, it's a nice way to subtly show that. Other developers who check your humans.txt file will recognize you're paying attention to details most people ignore.
And if you're building in public or trying to establish credibility in your niche, it's one more piece of evidence that you're legit.
The bottom line
The file humans.txt won't make or break your website. But it's one of those tiny details that separates people who just throw a site together from people who care about how things are built.
Most visitors will never see it. The ones who do will appreciate it. And that's enough reason to spend five minutes creating one.
Thanks for reading. I hope this gave you a new idea to try out on your own site. If you end up adding a humans.txt file, I'd genuinely be curious to see what you put in it.
Got questions about implementation or want to talk about other under-the-radar web standards? Drop a comment. Maybe I will even make an article if anyone has ideas. Always happy to chat about this stuff.
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