# Feed Discovery Lookup — Find RSS, Atom & JSON Feeds (`accountable_eel/feed-discovery-lookup`) Actor

Find any website's RSS, Atom, or JSON feeds by URL or domain. Reads the site's own autodiscovery tags and probes conventional feed paths, then verifies each candidate is a real, parseable feed. Pay only when a working feed is found.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/accountable\_eel/feed-discovery-lookup.md
- **Developed by:** [Adrian Voss](https://apify.com/accountable_eel) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.50 / 1,000 successful lookups

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Feed Discovery Lookup — Find RSS, Atom & JSON Feeds

Find a website's RSS, Atom, or JSON feeds by URL or domain. This actor reads the page's
own `<link rel="alternate">` autodiscovery tags first, and falls back to probing
conventional feed paths (`/feed`, `/rss.xml`, `/atom.xml`, and similar) when a site
doesn't declare them — then confirms each candidate is a real feed by checking its
content, not just its URL.

### Features

- **Autodiscovery-first.** Reads the homepage's declared `<link rel="alternate">` feed
  tags (RSS, Atom, JSON Feed) — the same signal browsers and feed readers use.
- **Fallback path probing.** If a site declares no feed, checks conventional paths like
  `/feed`, `/feed.xml`, `/rss.xml`, `/rss`, `/atom.xml`, and `/index.xml`.
- **Content-verified, not URL-guessed.** Every candidate is fetched and checked for real
  RSS/Atom XML or JSON Feed structure before being reported as a feed — a dead or
  redirected URL doesn't count.
- **Feed format & title.** Each result reports its format (`rss`, `atom`, or `json`) and
  the feed's own declared title where available.
- **Pay only for hits.** A site with no discoverable feed costs nothing — see
  [Pricing](#pricing).

### How to use Feed Discovery Lookup — Find RSS, Atom & JSON Feeds

1. **In the Apify Console.** Open the actor page and click **Start** — the `items` field is already pre-filled with a working example. Results land in the run's dataset as soon as each item is found.
2. **Via the API.** Call it directly with a POST request — no Console needed once you have an API token:
   ```bash
   curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~feed-discovery-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
     -X POST \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"items":["nytimes.com"]}'
   ```
3. **On a schedule.** Save this actor as an Apify **Task** with the input you want, then add a **Schedule** (hourly, daily, weekly) so it runs on its own — no server of your own required.

### Input

```json
{
  "items": ["theverge.com"],
  "maxConcurrency": 5
}
```

`items` is a list of website URLs or bare domains to check — one per line. A bare domain
like `theverge.com` is resolved to `https://theverge.com`. `maxConcurrency` controls how
many sites are checked in parallel, and `proxyConfiguration` defaults to Apify Proxy.

### Output

One row per site, for example:

```json
{
  "query": "theverge.com",
  "found": true,
  "data": {
    "domain": "theverge.com",
    "feedCount": 1,
    "feeds": [
      { "url": "https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml", "format": "rss", "title": "The Verge" }
    ]
  },
  "scrapedAt": "2026-08-21T10:15:00.000Z"
}
```

A row with `"found": false` means neither the site's own autodiscovery tags nor any of
the conventional fallback paths resolved to a real, parseable feed — these rows are
never charged.

### Use cases

- Build a reading-list or RSS aggregator by feeding in a list of sites you follow.
- Check whether a company blog or newsroom publishes a feed before setting up a content
  monitor.
- Audit a list of competitor or industry sites for which ones are feed-discoverable.
- Feed discovered feed URLs into a separate RSS-polling pipeline.
- Spot-check whether a site migration or redesign broke feed autodiscovery.

### Pricing

$5 per 1,000 results, plus a $0.00005 start fee. Misses (`found:false`) are never charged.

### Use it from Clay, n8n, Make, or an AI agent

This actor runs synchronously over plain HTTP — call it directly from a script, a workflow tool, or an AI agent, no Apify Console needed once you have an API token.

```bash
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~feed-discovery-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"items":["nytimes.com"]}'
```

**n8n.** Add an HTTP Request node: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~feed-discovery-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body Content Type `JSON`, JSON Body `{"items":["nytimes.com"]}` (swap in an expression from an earlier node for a real value).

**Clay.** Add an "HTTP API" column: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~feed-discovery-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body `{"items":["{{value}}"]}`, mapping the row's value into the `items` array.

**MCP.** In Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client with the Apify MCP server, ask for "Feed Discovery Lookup | Apify" — the agent will find and run this actor.

### FAQ

**What counts as "not found"?** A site with no `<link rel="alternate">` feed tag and none
of the fallback paths (`/feed`, `/feed.xml`, `/rss.xml`, `/rss`, `/atom.xml`,
`/index.xml`) returning real feed content. A site can be perfectly reachable and still
come back `found: false` if it simply doesn't publish a feed — this is expected, not an
error.

**How is a "real feed" confirmed?** Each candidate URL is fetched and its content is
checked for actual RSS/Atom XML markup or a JSON Feed `version` field — a URL that
merely looks like a feed path but 404s, redirects to an HTML page, or returns something
else isn't counted.

**Does it check more than one feed per site?** Yes — up to 3 confirmed feeds per site are
reported (checking at most 6 candidate URLs), covering sites that publish separate feeds
for different sections.

**What if I submit a bare domain instead of a full URL?** Both work. A bare domain like
`example.com` is automatically resolved to `https://example.com` before the check runs.

**Does this call any third-party feed-discovery API?** No — it reads the target site's
own HTML and feed endpoints directly, the same signals a browser or feed reader would
use.

**Can I run this against many sites at once?** Yes. Use `maxConcurrency` to control
request rate across a large list of domains.

# Actor input Schema

## `items` (type: `array`):

One item per line — see the item shape and examples below. Only the items we actually find are charged — never per run, and never for a miss.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Parallel requests. Keep conservative — this target has no browser fallback, so getting blocked costs more than slow-and-steady.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Apify Proxy config. Residential recommended for anti-bot-sensitive targets.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "items": [
    "nytimes.com"
  ],
  "maxConcurrency": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "items": [
        "nytimes.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("accountable_eel/feed-discovery-lookup").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "items": ["nytimes.com"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("accountable_eel/feed-discovery-lookup").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "items": [
    "nytimes.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call accountable_eel/feed-discovery-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,accountable_eel/feed-discovery-lookup"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/he4pKmFyx36NiNqRZ/builds/XlBbcJxJiXMtUqJqY/openapi.json