About RSS/Atom Feed Validator

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.