Release notes, 18 October 2026

Summary

If your sitemap lives in a folder, such as /sitemaps/, and lists pages outside it, your results no longer count that as a fault. They show it as a note instead. Scan again to see the change. The command-line tool has it from version 0.3.7.

Fixed

• Sitemaps: a sitemap in a folder that lists pages outside it is now a note, not a fault. The protocol limits a sitemap to its own folder, but Google lifts that limit for any sitemap submitted in Search Console, which most sites of any size do and a scan cannot see.

Why

Google's own words: "unless you submit your sitemap through Search Console, a sitemap affects only descendants of the parent directory." Whether a site submitted one is not something a scan can see, and most sites of any size do. We were failing about a third of all sites with a sitemap for a limit that, for nearly all of them, does not apply. A check we cannot settle from what is published should not fail anyone, so it now says what it saw and leaves the verdict alone.