RSS to JSON

RSS to JSON

Convert any RSS or Atom feed into clean, structured JSON output. This Apify Actor fetches RSS/Atom feeds and transforms them into well-organized JSON, preserving feed metadata, items, and XML attributes.

What does RSS to JSON do?

This Actor takes an RSS or Atom feed URL and returns all feed data as clean JSON. It extracts feed-level metadata (title, description, language, copyright, image) and every item (title, link, publication date, content, categories, author, enclosures, media content, and more). XML attributes on elements like media:thumbnail are preserved in the $ object.

Try it with any RSS feed URL — BBC News, Hacker News, your blog, podcasts, or any sythenticated feed.

Why use RSS to JSON?

• API-ready data — Get RSS data in JSON format ready for APIs, databases, and integrations
• Full attribute preservation — XML attributes on elements (media:thumbnail dimensions, enclosure metadata, etc.) are kept intact
• No browser overhead — Pure HTTP request + XML parse, fast and efficient
• Works with RSS 2.0, RSS 1.0, and Atom — Supports all major feed formats
• Apify platform advantages — Schedule runs, access via API, integrate with Make/Zapier, use Apify proxy

How to use RSS to JSON

1. Go to the RSS to JSON Actor page in Apify Console
2. Enter an RSS/Atom feed URL in the input
3. Click Run
4. Download the results as JSON, CSV, XML, or Excel

Input

Provide a single input:

Field	Type	Description
feedUrl	string (required)	URL of the RSS or Atom feed

Example input:

{
    "feedUrl": "https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/rss.xml"
}

Output

The Actor stores feed metadata in the key-value store and pushes each item as a separate dataset entry.

Feed metadata

{
    "title": "BBC News",
    "description": "BBC News - News Front Page",
    "link": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news",
    "feedUrl": "https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/rss.xml",
    "language": "en-gb",
    "lastBuildDate": "Mon, 04 May 2026 17:00:13 GMT",
    "copyright": "Copyright: (C) British Broadcasting Corporation...",
    "image": {
        "link": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news",
        "url": "https://news.bbcimg.co.uk/nol/shared/img/bbc_news_120x60.gif",
        "title": "BBC News"
    }
}

Item output

{
    "title": "Article Title",
    "link": "https://example.com/article",
    "pubDate": "Mon, 04 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT",
    "isoDate": "2026-05-04T12:00:00.000Z",
    "content": "Full article content...",
    "contentSnippet": "Truncated preview...",
    "categories": ["news", "technology"],
    "creator": "Author Name",
    "guid": "https://example.com/article#0",
    "enclosure": {
        "url": "https://example.com/media.mp3",
        "length": "12345678",
        "type": "audio/mpeg"
    },
    "mediaThumbnail": {
        "$": {
            "width": "240",
            "height": "134",
            "url": "https://example.com/thumb.jpg"
        }
    }
}

You can download the dataset in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel.

Data table

Field	Description
title	Item title
link	URL to the full item
pubDate	Publication date string
isoDate	ISO 8601 publication date
content	Full HTML content
contentSnippet	Plain text snippet
summary	Item summary (Atom)
categories	Array of category strings
creator	Author/creator (dc:creator)
guid	Unique item identifier
enclosure	Enclosure object (url, length, type)
mediaContent	Media content object
mediaThumbnail	Media thumbnail with attributes
contentEncoded	content:encoded value
origLink	Original feedburner link
comments	Comments URL
source	Source feed info
itunes	iTunes podcast extension data

Pricing / Cost estimation

This Actor makes a single HTTP request to fetch the RSS feed and parses the XML. It typically uses minimal compute units (fractions of a CU). Most runs cost less than $0.01. Under the Apify free tier, you get $5 of monthly usage credit — enough for thousands of RSS feed conversions.

Tips

• Atom feeds work identically — the parser handles both RSS and Atom formats
• Podcast RSS feeds with iTunes extensions are supported via the itunes field
• For large feeds (1000+ items), the Actor processes all items in sequence
• The feed metadata is stored under the feed-metadata key in the key-value store

FAQ, disclaimers, and support

Is web scraping legal? This Actor only processes RSS/Atom feeds that the publisher makes publicly available. Always review the feed publisher's Terms of Service before use.

Known limitations: Some non-standard RSS extensions may not be parsed. If your feed uses a custom XML namespace, the data may appear under different property names.

Need help or want a custom solution? Reach out on the Issues tab or contact the Apify team.