Sitemaps

Total CMS generates XML sitemaps for collections and builder pages, with a sitemap index that crawlers can discover via robots.txt.

Sitemap Index

The index lists every sitemap available on the site and is served at two paths:

/sitemap.xml
/sitemap

The .xml form is what crawlers conventionally expect to find declared in robots.txt. Both URLs return the same XML.

The index automatically includes:

• The pages sitemap (/sitemap/-pages) when the builder pages collection exists
• One entry per collection that has been opted in via the Sitemap card on the collection edit form

Collections that haven’t been opted in are silently omitted, and /sitemap/{collection} returns 404 for them. This keeps disabled or unconfigured collections completely off the public surface — useful for collections that hold sensitive data.

Example robots.txt

Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

Configuring a Collection

Each collection has a Sitemap card on its edit form (/admin/collections/{collection}/edit). The card persists the following settings:

Setting	What it does
Include in Sitemap	Master toggle. Off → /sitemap/{collection} returns 404 and the collection is omitted from the index.
Date Property	Object property used for <lastmod>. Pulled from the collection’s object schema. Defaults to updated.
Change Frequency	Hint for crawlers (always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, never). Most search engines treat this as advisory.
Priority	Default crawl priority for objects (0.0 to 1.0).
Include Filter	Only include objects matching this expression (e.g. published:true).
Exclude Filter	Skip objects matching this expression (e.g. draft:true).

Saving the collection writes these into the collection’s .meta.json under a sitemap block. The /sitemap/{collection} route reads them as defaults — no query string required for routine use.

Pages Sitemap

When the builder pages collection exists, the pages sitemap is served at:

/sitemap/-pages

The leading - keeps it from colliding with a user collection literally named pages. The index references this path automatically.

Each builder page has its own sitemap controls in the page form: an Include in Sitemap toggle, a Change Frequency select, and a Priority number — analogous to the collection-level card but per page. Dynamic routes (containing { placeholders, e.g. /blog/{id}) are skipped automatically since they can’t be enumerated from the route alone.

Per-Object Sitemap

Generate a sitemap for the objects in any opted-in collection:

/sitemap/{collection}

For example:

/sitemap/blog
/sitemap/products

URLs of disabled collections return 404 — this is intentional so that the existence of a sitemap-disabled collection is not exposed to crawlers or attackers.

URL Parameter Overrides

The collection’s saved Sitemap card settings act as defaults. URL parameters still work for one-off tweaks and override the saved values:

# Override the date property for one request
/sitemap/blog?date=created

# Override the saved exclude filter
/sitemap/blog?exclude=draft,archived

# Override frequency and priority
/sitemap/blog?frequency=daily&priority=0.8

This preserves backward compatibility with workflows that built sitemap URLs by hand. The saved settings reduce the need for query strings, but they don’t remove the ability to use them.

Security note: URL parameters cannot bypass the Include in Sitemap toggle. A disabled collection always returns 404 regardless of query string.

Filtering Objects

The include and exclude settings — whether saved on the collection or passed as URL parameters — control which objects appear in the sitemap.

📖 See Index Filter Documentation for complete filtering syntax and examples.

Quick Examples

# Exclude draft posts
/sitemap/blog?exclude=draft

# Only featured posts
/sitemap/blog?include=featured

# Only published, non-private posts
/sitemap/blog?include=published&exclude=draft,private

# Only in-stock products
/sitemap/products?include=instock&exclude=discontinued

Filter Syntax Overview

• Include: ?include=property:value — Object must match ALL criteria
• Exclude: ?exclude=property:value — Object excluded if it matches ANY criteria
• Shorthand: ?include=featured — Defaults to featured:true
• Multiple: Use commas to separate multiple filters

For complete filtering documentation including boolean/string handling, multi-criteria, precedence, and PHP usage examples, see the Index Filter Documentation.

Backward Compatibility

• Existing sitemap URLs continue to work — once a collection is opted in via the Sitemap card, /sitemap/{collection} behaves the same as before.
• The legacy filter URL parameter is still supported and automatically mapped to include.
• Saved Sitemap card settings act as defaults; URL parameters override them on a per-request basis.

Security Model

• A collection without an enabled Sitemap card returns 404 — both at the per-collection URL and absent from the index.
• The 404 response is identical to a missing-resource 404, so the existence of a disabled-but-present sitemap configuration is not leaked.
• The Include in Sitemap toggle is the single source of truth — URL parameters cannot bypass it.