Initialize Your Project →

Set up your Sitemap.xml workspace in under 2 minutes. Follow this guide to install the CLI, generate your configuration, and verify your first crawl.

Prerequisites

Before initializing your project, ensure your environment meets the following requirements:

• Node.js v18.0 or higher
• Package Manager: npm, pnpm, or yarn
• Terminal Access with execution permissions
• Active Internet Connection for CLI installation & API validation

Step 1: Install the CLI

Install the Sitemap.xml command-line interface globally or as a dev dependency in your project:

npm install -D @sitemap/cli
# or
pnpm add -D @sitemap/cli
# or
yarn add -D @sitemap/cli

Verify the installation by checking the version:

npx sitemap --version
# Output: 2.4.0

Step 2: Run the Init Command

Navigate to your project root and execute the initialization command. The CLI will scaffold the necessary configuration files:

npx sitemap init
# ? Select your platform: [Use arrows]
#   > Generic / Custom
#     Next.js
#     Shopify
#     WordPress
# ? Enter base URL: https://example.com
# ✔ Configuration written to sitemap.config.js

Step 3: Review & Configure

The CLI generates a sitemap.config.js file in your project root. Open it to customize crawl rules, frequency tags, and indexing priorities:

export default {
  baseURL: 'https://example.com',
  crawl: {
    depth: 5,
    concurrency: 10,
    ignore: ['/**/*.pdf', '/admin/**']
  },
  output: {
    format: 'xml',
    compression: true,
    gzip: true
  },
  indexing: {
    autoSubmit: true,
    engines: ['google', 'bing', 'yandex']
  }
};

Step 4: Run & Verify

Trigger your first crawl and submission pipeline:

npx sitemap crawl && npx sitemap submit
# 🔍 Discovering URLs...
# ✔ Found 142 public pages
# 📦 Generating sitemap.xml.gz...
# 🚀 Submitted to 3 search engines
# ✅ All requests queued successfully

Troubleshooting

• Permission denied: Run with elevated privileges or check directory write permissions.
• Invalid baseURL: Ensure the URL includes a protocol (https://) and matches your production domain.
• API rate limits: Configure throttle: { delay: 200 } in your config for strict CORS environments.