Does this tool support both RSS and Atom feeds?

Yes. The parser detects whether the XML is RSS 2.0 or Atom and normalizes output into one consistent preview model, including feed title, metadata, and recent items.

Why is feed fetching done server-side?

Most feeds block browser cross-origin requests. We fetch feeds through a guarded server route with strict URL safety checks, timeouts, and size limits so previews still work safely.

What validation issues are reported?

The tool flags missing required fields like feed title, missing entries, and other structural gaps. These warnings help diagnose broken feeds without crashing or exposing raw XML errors.

Can this tool validate both RSS and Atom from the same endpoint?

Yes. Format detection is automatic. The parser checks for RSS channel/item or Atom feed/entry structures, then returns one normalized result model so you can compare outputs and catch schema-specific issues quickly.

Why are descriptions converted to plain text?

Feed descriptions often contain HTML, CDATA wrappers, and encoded entities. This viewer decodes entities and removes tags so summaries are easier to scan, and truncates them to 300 characters for compact diagnostics.

What happens with malformed XML feeds?

The parser is defensive: it never throws raw errors into the UI. Instead, it returns an empty or partial preview plus validation problems so you can identify missing sections and fix the feed without trial-and-error debugging.

RSS Feed Viewer & Validator — RSS and Atom Preview

How to use RSS Feed Viewer & Validator

The RSS Feed Viewer & Validator fetches public feed URLs server-side so you can inspect RSS 2.0 and Atom output without CORS issues. It normalizes feed metadata, extracts the latest 20 entries, and reports structural validation problems such as missing channel title fields. Descriptions are decoded, stripped to plain text, and truncated for clean previews, making this tool useful for publishers, SEO teams, and developers checking whether feed consumers will parse updates correctly.

Paste a public feed URL ending in RSS or Atom XML into the input field.
Run Preview feed to fetch the XML through the server-side validator route.
Review feed metadata including title, description, link, and detected format badge.
Check the validation problems list for missing required fields or malformed structures.
Scan the latest items and copy the URL into your reader or integration once validation passes.

Why RSS and Atom validation still matters

Feed consumers are strict: a missing title, malformed item block, or bad link can break ingestion in readers, podcast apps, and automation platforms. Even when a browser renders XML, clients may reject it if required nodes are absent. This validator converts feed structure into a predictable JSON preview so teams can quickly spot missing channel metadata, empty item titles, or absent entries before distribution. It is especially useful after CMS upgrades where feed templates can change silently.

Safe server-side fetching for external feed URLs

Most feeds cannot be fetched directly in browser JavaScript due to cross-origin restrictions, so this tool uses a guarded server route. The fetch layer rejects private and loopback addresses, blocks unsafe redirect targets, enforces http(s)-only URLs, and applies timeout and response-size caps. That keeps feed previewing practical while reducing SSRF risk. Returned data is normalized and trimmed so the UI presents concise plain-text summaries instead of noisy raw XML markup.

Worked examples

Valid RSS feed check

Inputs: https://example.com/feed.xml

Result: Format: RSS · 20 latest items loaded with clean summaries

Atom feed preview

Inputs: https://example.com/atom.xml

Result: Format: Atom · entry titles, links, and updated dates extracted

Glossary

RSS 2.0: A widely used XML syndication format using channel/item structure for publishing updates.
Atom: An XML feed standard using feed/entry elements, often with explicit updated timestamps and alternate links.
CDATA: XML wrapper syntax that lets feeds include raw HTML or reserved characters without escaping.
SSRF: Server-Side Request Forgery, an attack class where user-supplied URLs try to access internal services.
Feed validator: A tool that checks feed structure and required fields so aggregators can parse content reliably.

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RSS Feed Viewer & Validator

How to use RSS Feed Viewer & Validator

Why RSS and Atom validation still matters

Safe server-side fetching for external feed URLs

Worked examples

Glossary

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