IndexNow Setup#

Overview#

IndexNow is a protocol that lets websites notify search engines about new, updated, or deleted URLs in real time. Instead of waiting for crawlers, you push URLs directly to api.indexnow.org, and participating search engines (Bing, Yandex, Seznam, Naver) pick them up.

Workflow#

Step 1: Generate and place the key file#

Generate a random 32-character hex key:

bash

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(16).toString('hex'))"

Place a .txt file named <key>.txt containing only the key string into the site's public root:

• Next.js App Router -- public/<key>.txt
• Next.js Pages Router -- public/<key>.txt
• Plain static site -- root directory (e.g., dist/ or public/)
• Vite / CRA -- public/<key>.txt
• Nuxt -- public/<key>.txt

After deploy, the file must be accessible at https://<domain>/<key>.txt with a 200 response containing only the key string.

Step 2: Create the submission script#

Copy scripts/submit-indexnow.mjs from this skill into the project (e.g., scripts/submit-indexnow.mjs).

If the project already has package.json, add an npm script:

json

"indexnow": "node scripts/submit-indexnow.mjs"

Or add a site_url and key pair inline:

json

"indexnow": "node scripts/submit-indexnow.mjs https://example.com abcd1234..."

Step 3: Ensure a sitemap exists#

The script reads URLs from /sitemap.xml. Ensure the site generates a valid sitemap at that path. For Next.js App Router, this is typically app/sitemap.ts.

Step 4: Submit URLs#

Run after every deploy or content update:

bash

npm run indexnow

The script:

1. Fetches sitemap.xml from the site
2. Extracts all <loc> URLs
3. POSTs them to https://api.indexnow.org/IndexNow

For non-Node projects, invoke the script directly:

bash

node scripts/submit-indexnow.mjs https://example.com <key>

Step 5: Verify#

Use Bing Webmaster Tools to confirm URLs are being received. Check the URL inspection tool for submission history.

Environment Variables#

The script accepts arguments or environment variables:

PrioritySource1stCLI args: node submit-indexnow.mjs <url> <key>2ndSITE_URL + INDEXNOW_KEY env vars

HTTP Response Codes#

StatusMeaning200URLs submitted successfully400Invalid request format403Key not found or invalid422URLs don't belong to the host429Rate limited (spam protection)