--- title: 'sitemap' description: 'Generate /sitemap.xml automatically, with per-language sitemaps and an index for multilingual sites. Any page can opt out from its front matter.' slug: 'sitemap' type: 'article' date: 2026-04-15T00:00:00.000Z lang: 'en' url: 'https://www.eleventy-baseline.dev/docs/modules/sitemap/' --- `INTERNAL_KEY`: '\_sitemap' --- ## What it does The sitemap module emits `/sitemap.xml` from your built pages. In single-language mode, one flat sitemap. With multilang active, one sitemap per language at `//sitemap.xml` plus a sitemap index at `/sitemap.xml` that points at each. Any page can opt out from its front matter, and the module also adds a computed `page.sitemap` to every page as a readable summary of where it stands. The sitemap is rendered through virtual templates: synthetic templates Baseline injects into the build, not files you write. They use Eleventy's normal collection access (`collections.all`) and the same data cascade your pages do. --- ### Active when `options.sitemap` is truthy. Defaults to `true`. Set `sitemap: false` to skip the module entirely. --- ### Lifecycle - **Build-time.** Registers virtual templates: a single `/sitemap.xml`, or per-language sitemaps plus an index if multilang is active. - **Cascade-time.** Computed `page.sitemap` resolves on every page from the cascade (its `ignore`, `changefreq`, `priority` fields). The sitemap virtual templates set `_internal: true` so they do not get a page context. They are emitted as XML, not HTML, and the head module skips them. --- ## How it works 1. **Compute `page.sitemap`.** Registered as `eleventyComputed.page.sitemap`. Resolves `ignore`, `changefreq`, `priority` from cascade data. 2. **Resolve language config.** Reads `settings.languages` through [`normalizeLanguageMap`](https://github.com/apleasantview/eleventy-plugin-baseline/blob/main/_baseline/core/utils/normalize-language-map.js), the same helper the multilang module uses. 3. **Register virtual templates.** - Single-language: one template at `/sitemap.xml`. Loops `collections.all`, filters excluded pages, emits `` with ``, optional ``, optional ``, optional ``. - Multilingual: one template per language at `/sitemap.xml`, plus a sitemap index template at `/sitemap.xml`. Per-language sitemaps include `` alternates for every translation sibling, sourced from the translation map. Each virtual template sets `_internal: true` so the page-context registry skips it (it is not a real page). It also sets `eleventyExcludeFromCollections: true` so the sitemap does not list itself. --- ## Defaults - **Sitemap output.** `/sitemap.xml` in single-language mode, or `//sitemap.xml` plus `/sitemap.xml` (the index) when multilang is active. - **Computed `page.sitemap`.** Every page receives `{ ignore, changefreq, priority }`, with `ignore` resolved from `data.noindex`, `data.page.noindex` or `data.settings.noindex`, `changefreq` an empty string and `priority` `-1`. This is a readable summary rather than the mechanism: the template does its own filtering off the front matter, so changing `page.sitemap` from a template does not change the output. - **Exclusion rules.** The template drops a page when any of these is true, each read straight from the page's data: `noindex: true`, `sitemap.ignore: true`, `eleventyExcludeFromCollections: true`, or no `url` (a `permalink: false` record). `settings.noindex` empties the whole file in one go. - **`changefreq` and `priority`** are emitted only when the page's own front matter carries them under `sitemap`. The computed defaults never reach the XML. --- ### Settings The sitemap module reads three keys on the `settings` argument. Full shape on [[site-settings | Site settings]]. {% tableBlock true %} | Key | Type | Used for | | -------------------- | --------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `settings.url` | `string` | Building absolute `` entries. | | `settings.noindex` | `boolean` | When `true`, the sitemap file is still written but lists nothing. | | `settings.languages` | `object` | Drives per-language partitioning when multilang is active. Read through the same normalisation as the multilang module. | {% endtableBlock %} --- ### Options {% tableBlock true %} | Option | Type | Default | Meaning | | --------- | --------- | ------- | -------------------------------------------- | | `sitemap` | `boolean` | `true` | Activate the module. Set `false` to skip it. | {% endtableBlock %} --- ### Per-page sitemap controls Set these in front matter: ```yaml sitemap: ignore: true # exclude from sitemap (page still renders) changefreq: weekly priority: 0.8 lastmod: 2026-01-15 ``` - **`noindex: true`** in front matter excludes the page from the sitemap and (because the head module reads the same field) emits a `robots` meta tag. - **`sitemap.ignore: true`** is sitemap-only exclusion. The page still renders and search engines can still index it. - **`eleventyExcludeFromCollections: true`** keeps the page out of all collections, including `collections.all`, so the sitemap never sees it. `lastmod` uses `sitemap.lastmod` if you set it; otherwise the page date. --- ## Multilingual mode When the multilang module is active and `settings.languages` has more than one entry, the layout switches automatically: - `/en/sitemap.xml`, `/nl/sitemap.xml`, etc.: one per language, listing only that language's pages plus hreflang alternates. - `/sitemap.xml`: a sitemap index pointing at each per-language sitemap. --- ## Tips - Set `settings.noindex: true` to empty the sitemap (useful for staging environments). The file is still written; it just lists no pages. - Search engines treat `changefreq` and `priority` as hints. Set them sparingly, only where you actually have a useful answer. - Provide `lastmod` in front matter when you care about freshness signals. Without one, the page date is used. - URLs are absolutized via Eleventy's `HtmlBasePlugin` using `settings.url` and `pathPrefix`. Keep `settings.url` origin-only (no trailing path), and use `pathPrefix` for sub-path deployments. --- ## Peer deps None. --- ## See also - [[site-settings | Site settings]] for `url`, `noindex`, `languages`. - [[multilang | multilang module]] for the language normalisation and translation map shared with this module. - [[page-context | Page context]] for `_internal: true`, the opt-out the virtual templates use. - [[sitemaps-and-drafts | Tutorial: sitemaps and drafts]]