How to create Magento2 sitemap programmatically

I need to write a filter function for the sitemap for one of my clients. They are using a “private catalog” extension that hides certain parts of a store for certain customer groups. Unfortunately, that extension does not adapt Magento’s sitemap-creation functionality. All products are in the sitemap regardless of visibility.

To properly test any changes I do the sitemap creation, I need something to conveniently trigger it. For this I use this little script

<?php
// file: create-sitemap.php 
use Magento\Framework\App\Bootstrap;
include('app/bootstrap.php');

$bootstrap = Bootstrap::create(BP, $_SERVER);

$objectManager = $bootstrap->getObjectManager();
$state = $objectManager->get('Magento\Framework\App\State');
$state->setAreaCode('frontend');

$sitemap = $objectManager->create('Magento\Sitemap\Model\Sitemap');
$sitemap->setSitemapPath('.');
$sitemap->setSitemapFilename('debug_sitemap.xml');
$sitemap->generateXml();

Put this script inside the Magento root folder and run it like this:

php create-sitemap.php

This will trigger the sitemap generation immediately.

Trigger sitemap generation via AdminHTML

You can also trigger sitemap generation via Magento backend under Marketing > SEO & Search > Site Map. Use “Add Sitemap” to create a new sitemap and then hit “Generate” whenever you need a new version.

Happy coding, Manuel