Tom's IndexNow Submitter – Instructions

1) What this app does

Tom's IndexNow Submitter sends your website URLs directly to search engines using the IndexNow protocol. Instead of waiting for search engine crawlers to discover your changes, you can push notifications instantly — telling Bing, Yandex, Naver, Seznam, and others that pages have been added, updated, or removed.

2) What is IndexNow?

IndexNow is an open protocol supported by multiple search engines. When you submit a URL through IndexNow, all participating search engines are notified simultaneously. This is useful when you publish new content, update existing pages, fix errors, or remove outdated pages — you no longer need to wait days for crawlers to find the changes.

To use IndexNow, you need an API key and a verification file hosted on your website. The key proves you own the site. This app handles the key generation and submission process; you just need to upload one small text file to your web server.

3) System requirements

4) First-time setup

1. Extract the ZIP
   Right-click the downloaded ZIP → Extract All. Do not run the app from inside the ZIP.
2. Keep the folder structure intact
   The app creates a data folder next to the EXE for key storage, settings, and submission logs. Don't move files around after extraction.
3. Run the app
   Double-click TomIndexNowSubmitter.exe. No installer or admin rights needed.

5) Quick start

1. Generate an API key
   Click the Generate button. A random key is created and saved to the data folder automatically.
2. Upload the key file to your website
   Copy the {your-key}.txt file from the data folder to the root of your website. The file must be accessible at https://yoursite.com/{your-key}.txt.
3. Enter your host
   Type your website domain in the Host field (e.g., www.example.com). This is auto-filled when you add your first URL.
4. Add URLs and submit
   Add URLs manually, paste from clipboard, or import a sitemap. Then click Submit to IndexNow.

6) API key setup

IndexNow requires an API key to verify that you own the website you're submitting URLs for. The key is a string of letters and numbers, and a matching text file must be accessible on your web server.

Generating a key

Click Generate to create a new 32-character key. The app automatically saves it as a .txt file in the data folder next to the EXE.

Using an existing key

If you already have an IndexNow API key (from another tool or manual setup), type or paste it directly into the API key field. Keys must be 8–128 characters and contain only letters, digits, and dashes.

Uploading the key file

The key file must be uploaded to the root of your website so search engines can verify ownership. For example, if your key is abc123def456, the file abc123def456.txt (containing just the key text) must be accessible at:

https://www.example.com/abc123def456.txt

Host field

The host tells search engines which website the submitted URLs belong to. Enter your domain without the protocol (e.g., www.example.com, not https://www.example.com). The host is auto-detected from the first URL you add.

7) Adding URLs

There are four ways to add URLs to the submission list:

Use Remove to delete selected URLs, or Clear All to empty the entire list.

8) Endpoints

IndexNow supports multiple search engine endpoints. You can submit to any combination:

Use the Select All / Deselect All button to toggle all endpoints at once. Your endpoint selections are saved between sessions.

9) Submitting

Click Submit to IndexNow to send your URLs to all selected endpoints. The button is enabled when you have at least one URL, a valid API key, a host, and at least one endpoint selected.

What happens during submission

• URLs are sent as a JSON payload to each selected endpoint
• Large lists are automatically split into batches of up to 10,000 URLs
• A brief delay is added between requests to avoid rate limiting
• Each endpoint response appears in the log with ✓ (success) or ✗ (failure)
• A summary line shows total successes and failures when done

Reading the log

The log panel shows the result for each endpoint. A typical successful submission looks like:

IndexNow API (Shared): ✓ 200 OK - Submitted successfully

Use Copy Log to copy the full log text to clipboard, or Clear Log to reset it.

10) Response codes

Search engines respond with standard HTTP status codes. Here's what each one means:

11) Data files

All app data is stored in the data folder next to the executable:

12) Known limitations (current version)

• Single host per session: All URLs in a submission must belong to the same host. To submit URLs for multiple sites, clear the list and change the host between submissions.
• No Google support: Google does not participate in IndexNow. Use Google Search Console for Google-specific indexing requests.
• Sitemap URL import blocks briefly: Fetching a remote sitemap runs on the main thread. Very large sitemaps may cause a brief UI pause during download.
• No submission scheduling: The app submits immediately when you click the button. There is no built-in timer or recurring submission feature.
• URL list is not saved between sessions: The URL list is cleared when you close the app. Your API key, host, and endpoint selections are saved.

13) Troubleshooting & support

If you're running into problems, try the quick fixes below before submitting a support request.

Common issues

How to submit a support request (copy/paste template)

Document: Tom's IndexNow Submitter – Instructions
Keep this file with the app inside the release ZIP (recommended location: docs folder).
Website: tomdahne.com