# RSS Feed Reader (RSS and Atom Items) (`webdatatools/rss-feed-reader`) Actor

Read RSS and Atom feeds from any URL, or find the feed on a web page, and get one row per item: title, link, author, published date, categories, summary and image. Filter by date. Pay per item.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/webdatatools/rss-feed-reader.md
- **Developed by:** [Murat Uzun](https://apify.com/webdatatools) (community)
- **Categories:** News, Automation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.30 / 1,000 items

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?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## RSS Feed Reader (RSS and Atom Items)

### What is RSS Feed Reader?

RSS Feed Reader reads RSS 2.0 and Atom feeds and returns one row per feed item: title, link, author, published date, categories, summary, full content (optional) and image. Give it feed URLs, or give it ordinary web page URLs and it finds the feed each page links to with `<link rel="alternate">`. It filters by publication date and caps the number of items per feed. It makes plain HTTP requests, so it needs no browser, no login and no API key. Pricing is pay per item.

### What data does RSS Feed Reader extract?

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `feedUrl` | string | The feed the item came from (after page discovery) |
| `feedTitle` | string | Feed or site title |
| `feedSiteUrl` | string | Website the feed belongs to |
| `itemTitle` | string | Item title, plain text |
| `link` | string | Item URL |
| `guid` | string | Feed id of the item (falls back to the link) |
| `publishedAt` | string (ISO) | Publication date, from pubDate or the Atom published/updated date |
| `author` | string | Author name when the feed gives one |
| `categories` | array | Feed categories or tags |
| `summary` | string | Item summary or description as plain text, capped at 1,000 characters |
| `content` | string | Full item body as plain text, only when `includeContent` is on, capped at 20,000 characters |
| `imageUrl` | string | Enclosure image, media thumbnail, or the first image in the item HTML |
| `format` | string | `rss` or `atom` |
| `scrapedAt` | string (ISO) | When the Actor read the row |

### How to use RSS Feed Reader

1. Open the Actor in the Apify Console and click **Try for free**.
2. In **Feed or page URLs**, add one URL per entry, e.g. `https://xkcd.com/rss.xml`.
3. Optional: set **Only items published since** to an ISO date, e.g. `2026-10-01`.
4. Optional: set **Max items per feed** (default 50, up to 1,000).
5. Click **Start** and download the rows as JSON, CSV or Excel.

### Example input

```json
{
    "urls": ["https://blog.rust-lang.org/", "https://xkcd.com/rss.xml"],
    "maxItemsPerFeed": 20,
    "sinceDate": "2026-10-01",
    "includeContent": true
}
```

### Example output

```json
{
    "feedUrl": "https://blog.rust-lang.org/feed.xml",
    "feedTitle": "Rust Blog",
    "feedSiteUrl": "https://blog.rust-lang.org/",
    "itemTitle": "Announcing rustup 1.29.2",
    "link": "https://blog.rust-lang.org/2026/10/20/Rustup-1.29.2/",
    "guid": "https://blog.rust-lang.org/2026/10/20/Rustup-1.29.2/",
    "publishedAt": "2026-10-20T00:00:00.000Z",
    "author": "The Rustup Team",
    "categories": null,
    "summary": null,
    "content": null,
    "imageUrl": null,
    "format": "atom",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-10-23T10:13:56.351Z"
}
```

### Input parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `urls` | array | Rust blog feed | Feed or web page URLs (http or https). |
| `sinceDate` | string | empty | Keep items published on or after this ISO date. Items without a date are kept. |
| `maxItemsPerFeed` | integer | 50 | Newest items kept from each feed (1 to 1,000). |
| `includeContent` | boolean | false | Adds the full item body as plain text. |
| `discoverFeeds` | boolean | true | Follow feed links on web pages (up to 5 per page). |

### Pricing

Pay per item. The default price is $0.0005 per item on the FREE tier, with volume tiers down to $0.0003. A run start costs $0.00005. Measured run usage was $0.000 (2 to 4 seconds per run at 512 MB), so platform cost is far below the price.

| Items | Price on FREE tier |
|---|---|
| 100 | $0.05 |
| 1,000 | $0.50 |

### RSS Feed Reader vs. alternatives

This Actor reads any RSS or Atom feed and can find the feed on a web page. Single-site Actors such as the YouTube channel feed reader only read one platform. Use this one when you need a general feed reader across many sites, or when a page gives you a homepage URL and you want its feed.

### Using RSS Feed Reader with AI agents / MCP

Agents can call the Actor with a list of `urls` and a `sinceDate` to get only fresh items. Keep `includeContent` off unless the agent needs the full text, because content adds size to each row.

### FAQ

**Which formats are supported?** RSS 2.0 and Atom. RDF/RSS 1.0 feeds are not parsed; the run reports an error for them.

**Does it read pages that load their feed with JavaScript?** No. Discovery reads the HTML the server sends. If the page has no feed link in that HTML, the run reports it.

**Why is `summary` empty for some items?** Some feeds send only a title and a link. The Actor does not guess text it did not receive.

**What about duplicates?** Items are de-duplicated across all feeds in one run by guid, or by link when an item has no guid.

**Can I use it with n8n, Make or Zapier?** Yes, through the Apify integration with the same input fields.

**What if a URL fails?** The run keeps going with the other URLs and writes the failures to the `ERRORS` record in the key-value store.

### Related Actors

- [YouTube Channel Latest Videos (RSS, no API key)](https://apify.com/webdatatools/youtube-channel-videos): the latest videos of a YouTube channel from its feed.

### Support

Open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab. Include the URL and the `ERRORS` record.

# Actor input Schema

## `urls` (type: `array`):

RSS, Atom or feed-linking web page URLs, one per entry, e.g. `https://xkcd.com/rss.xml`. A normal web page is read for its `<link rel="alternate">` feed.

## `sinceDate` (type: `string`):

ISO date, e.g. `2026-10-01`. Items with an older date are skipped. Items without a date are kept.

## `maxItemsPerFeed` (type: `integer`):

Newest items to keep from each feed, e.g. `50`. Feeds usually hold 10 to 100 items.

## `includeContent` (type: `boolean`):

Adds the full item body as plain text (content:encoded or content). Off keeps rows short.

## `discoverFeeds` (type: `boolean`):

When a URL is an HTML page, follow its `<link rel="alternate">` feed links (up to 5).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://blog.rust-lang.org/feed.xml"
  ],
  "maxItemsPerFeed": 50,
  "includeContent": false,
  "discoverFeeds": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

All feed items from this run.

# 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 = {
    "urls": [
        "https://blog.rust-lang.org/feed.xml"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("webdatatools/rss-feed-reader").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 = { "urls": ["https://blog.rust-lang.org/feed.xml"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("webdatatools/rss-feed-reader").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 '{
  "urls": [
    "https://blog.rust-lang.org/feed.xml"
  ]
}' |
apify call webdatatools/rss-feed-reader --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/G6zpuUHbQaB4hcytd/builds/up8TeOUUaHHMUNoKa/openapi.json