RSS 2.0 (most common) and Atom 1.0. RSS 0.91 and 1.0 are also parsed with deprecation warnings.

Required elements (title, link, description for RSS; title, id, updated for Atom), date formats, URL validity, and iTunes-namespace fields for podcasts.

Does it validate namespaces?

Yes — common ones (Atom, iTunes, Content, Dublin Core) are recognized. Custom namespaces pass through without validation.

Why does my feed fail in Apple Podcasts?

Apple requires strict iTunes namespace compliance — specific tags (itunes:author, itunes:category, itunes:explicit) and artwork rules. The validator checks these explicitly.

RSS/Atom Feed Validator | DevTools Surf

DevTools Surf

Example: RSS/Atom Feed Validator

A worked example, rendered from real sample data. Sign in to run the tool on your own input.

Input

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<rss version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Dev Blog</title>
    <link>https://example.com</link>
    <description>Latest posts</description>
    <item>
      <title>Hello World</title>
      <link>https://example.com/hello</link>
      <description>First post</description>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

Output

═══ Summary ═══
Format: RSS 2.0
Items: 1
Channel title: Dev Blog
Channel link: https://example.com
Last updated: (not declared)
Unique guids: 0 of 1
✓ No spec violations found
⚠ 4 recommendation(s)
═══ Channel recommendations ═══
⚠ No <atom:link rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" href="…"/> — recommended so readers can re-find the feed.
⚠ No channel <language> — aggregators use it to group and filter feeds.
═══ Item findings (2) ═══
⚠ Item #1: no <guid>. Readers then de-duplicate on the link or title, so edited posts reappear as new.
⚠ Item #1: no <pubDate>, so readers cannot sort or date the entry.
═══ Parsed items ═══
   1. Hello World
═══ Notes ═══
ℹ Only the pasted XML was checked. No link, image or enclosure URL was fetched, so broken media and 404s are not covered.
ℹ Turn on podcast mode to also check the iTunes tags and episode enclosures.

About RSS/Atom Feed Validator

RSS/Atom Feed Validator preview - Web / Frontend tool

Validate RSS 2.0 and Atom feed XML structure. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Web / Frontend collection.

Use Cases

Publishers verifying feed validity before submitting to aggregators
Podcast developers validating iTunes-compatible RSS feeds
Blog developers testing auto-generated Atom feed output
Content platforms debugging feed parsing errors from subscribers

Tips

Check for required channel elements like title and link
Validate date formats match RFC 822 for RSS 2.0 feeds
Test Atom feeds for proper xmlns namespace declarations

Fun Facts

RSS was originally created by Ramanathan V. Guha at Netscape in 1999 as 'RDF Site Summary' — the acronym has meant at least three different things over its history.
The RSS vs Atom rivalry split the web syndication community in the early 2000s — Atom 1.0 was published as RFC 4287 in 2005 by the IETF as a more rigorous alternative.
Despite being declared dead multiple times, RSS saw a major resurgence during 2020-2023 as developers and writers moved to newsletters and indie web platforms.

FAQ

Which RSS versions?: RSS 2.0 (most common) and Atom 1.0. RSS 0.91 and 1.0 are also parsed with deprecation warnings.
What's validated?: Required elements (title, link, description for RSS; title, id, updated for Atom), date formats, URL validity, and iTunes-namespace fields for podcasts.
Does it validate namespaces?: Yes — common ones (Atom, iTunes, Content, Dublin Core) are recognized. Custom namespaces pass through without validation.
Why does my feed fail in Apple Podcasts?: Apple requires strict iTunes namespace compliance — specific tags (itunes:author, itunes:category, itunes:explicit) and artwork rules. The validator checks these explicitly.

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