Astro Sitemap Not Working? Here Is the Fix

The One Setting Everyone Misses

If @astrojs/sitemap runs but produces no sitemap-index.xml, or an empty one, the cause is almost always the same: the site option is missing from astro.config.mjs. The integration needs your production URL to build absolute links, and without it, it silently generates nothing.

import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
import sitemap from '@astrojs/sitemap';

export default defineConfig({
  site: 'https://example.com', // required — the sitemap is empty without it
  integrations: [sitemap()],
});

Then build with astro build and check dist/sitemap-index.xml and dist/sitemap-0.xml. The sitemap is generated at build time, not on the dev server.

Why It's Empty or Missing

• No site option — the number-one cause, above.
• You checked astro dev — the sitemap only exists after astro build. It will not appear on the dev server.
• Pages excluded by filter — a filter function returning false too broadly.
• Dynamic routes not pre-rendered — in SSR mode, only pre-rendered pages land in the sitemap. On-demand routes won't appear unless you output them at build.

Excluding Pages

Use the filter option to keep specific pages out:

sitemap({
  filter: (page) => !page.includes('/thank-you'),
})

Then Tell Google

The sitemap lives at https://example.com/sitemap-index.xml. Reference it in robots.txt and submit it in Search Console. Validate the output first with the XML sitemap generator or the SEO analyzer.

FAQ

Q: Why is my Astro sitemap empty? Almost always because site is missing from astro.config.mjs. The integration needs your production URL to build the sitemap; without it the file is empty or absent.

Q: I don't see a sitemap on the dev server. That's expected. @astrojs/sitemap generates the file during astro build, not in astro dev. Build and check the dist folder.

Q: My dynamic pages aren't in the sitemap. In SSR mode, only pre-rendered pages are included. Pre-render the routes you want indexed, or generate their URLs at build time.