--- title: Serving Static Files product: vercel url: /docs/platforms/multi-tenant-platforms/serving-static-files canonical_url: "https://vercel.com/docs/platforms/multi-tenant-platforms/serving-static-files" last_updated: 2026-08-11 type: how-to prerequisites: - /docs/platforms/multi-tenant-platforms - /docs/platforms related: - /docs/caching/cdn-cache/purge - /docs/caching/cdn-cache - /docs/vercel-blob summary: Serve tenant-specific static files like robots.txt, sitemap.xml, and llms.txt dynamically using route handlers. install_vercel_plugin: npx plugins add vercel/vercel-plugin --- # Serving Static Files Multi-tenant applications need tenant-specific versions of static files like `robots.txt`, `sitemap.xml`, and agent discovery files like `llms.txt`. You can use route handlers to serve these files dynamically per tenant. ## Related pages > **For AI agents:** Follow these links to understand how this page connects to the rest of the Vercel ecosystem. For the full cross-link map (inbound, outbound, prerequisites, and semantic neighbors), see the .graph.md link below. - [How to serve documentation for agents](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/how-to-serve-documentation-for-agents?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fplatforms%2Fmulti-tenant-platforms%2Fserving-static-files&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Learn how to serve markdown to agents and HTML for humans from the same URL - [Using Vercel as a Standalone CDN](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/using_vercel_as_a_cdn?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fplatforms%2Fmulti-tenant-platforms%2Fserving-static-files&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Use Vercel's external rewrites to proxy and cache content from external websites or APIs through Vercel's global edge ne - [How can I use files in Vercel Functions?](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/how-can-i-use-files-in-serverless-functions?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fplatforms%2Fmulti-tenant-platforms%2Fserving-static-files&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Learn how to import files inside Serverless Functions on Vercel. - [Proxy and Routing](https://vercel.com/docs/platforms/multi-tenant-platforms/middleware-and-routing?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fplatforms%2Fmulti-tenant-platforms%2Fserving-static-files&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Resolve tenants and route requests by subdomain, custom domain, or path using Next.js Proxy on Vercel. - [Concepts](https://vercel.com/docs/platforms/multi-tenant-platforms/concepts?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fplatforms%2Fmulti-tenant-platforms%2Fserving-static-files&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Understand tenants, domains, routing, and architecture for building multi-tenant applications on Vercel for Platforms. - [Custom Subpaths](https://vercel.com/docs/platforms/multi-tenant-platforms/custom-subpaths?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fplatforms%2Fmulti-tenant-platforms%2Fserving-static-files&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Host platform content on custom subpaths of customer domains while maintaining a single Next.js application. - [Overview](https://vercel.com/docs/cdn?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fplatforms%2Fmulti-tenant-platforms%2Fserving-static-files&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Vercel's CDN is a globally distributed platform that handles routing, caching, security, and compression for every deplo - [Features](https://vercel.com/docs/build-output-api/features?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fplatforms%2Fmulti-tenant-platforms%2Fserving-static-files&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Learn how to implement common Vercel platform features through the Build Output API. Full cross-link map for this page: [/docs/platforms/multi-tenant-platforms/serving-static-files.graph.md](/docs/platforms/multi-tenant-platforms/serving-static-files.graph.md?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fplatforms%2Fmulti-tenant-platforms%2Fserving-static-files&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=graph) Next.js provides [built-in metadata file conventions](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/metadata) for `robots.txt`, `sitemap.xml`, and other common files. Use route handlers when you need to serve files not covered by the metadata API, like `llms.txt` or custom discovery files. ## Route handler Create a route handler that resolves the tenant and returns the appropriate content: ```ts filename="app/[domain]/robots.txt/route.ts" import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server'; export async function GET( request: NextRequest, { params }: { params: Promise<{ domain: string }> }, ) { const { domain } = await params; const tenant = await getTenant(domain); if (!tenant) { return new NextResponse('Not found', { status: 404 }); } const content = `User-agent: * Allow: / Sitemap: https://${tenant.domain}/sitemap.xml`; return new NextResponse(content, { headers: { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain', 'Cache-Control': 'public, max-age=3600', }, }); } ``` ## Proxy integration Your [Proxy](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/getting-started/proxy) must allow static file paths to reach route handlers instead of rewriting them: ```ts filename="proxy.ts" const STATIC_FILE_PATHS = [ '/robots.txt', '/sitemap.xml', '/llms.txt', '/.well-known', ]; export function proxy(request: NextRequest) { const { pathname } = request.nextUrl; if (STATIC_FILE_PATHS.some((path) => pathname.startsWith(path))) { return NextResponse.next(); } // Your other logic } ``` > **💡 Note:** In Next.js 16+, the `middleware.ts` file was renamed to `proxy.ts`. See the > [proxy.ts > documentation](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/proxy) > for more details. ## Content types Set the correct `Content-Type` header for each file type: | Extension | Content-Type | | --------- | ----------------- | | `.txt` | `text/plain` | | `.xml` | `application/xml` | | `.html` | `text/html` | ## Caching Use the `Cache-Control` or `CDN-Cache-Control` header to cache responses in the Vercel CDN cache. [Invalidate your resource in the CDN cache](/docs/caching/cdn-cache/purge) when tenant content changes. ```ts return new NextResponse(content, { headers: { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain', 'CDN-Cache-Control': 's-maxage=3600', }, }); ``` The main difference between these headers is that `CDN-Cache-Control` allows you to control cache behavior separately from browser cache behavior. For a more thorough explanation, read more about [cache control options on Vercel](/docs/caching/cdn-cache#cache-control-options). ## When not to use this pattern - **Truly static assets**: Use `/public` for files that don't change per tenant - **Large files or media**: Use dedicated [blob storage](/docs/vercel-blob) --- [View full sitemap](/docs/sitemap)