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RSS Feed Validator

RSS Feed Validator

Check an RSS 2.0 or Atom feed for well-formedness and the spec's required elements.

Feed source

Examples

Missing required channel fields

Input
<channel><title>Only a title</title></channel>
Output
INVALID — missing required <link> and <description>.

RSS 2.0 requires a channel to have title, link, and description. The validator lists each missing required field as an error.

About this tool

The RSS Feed Validator parses your feed with the browser's built-in XML parser and checks it against the RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0 specifications. It first confirms the document is well-formed, then verifies the required elements: an RSS channel needs a title, link, and description, and each item needs a title or description; an Atom feed and every entry need an id, title, and updated.

Softer recommendations (a missing guid or link) surface as warnings. Everything runs client-side — the feed is never uploaded.

How to use

  1. Paste the feed XML

    Load the sample or paste your full <rss> or Atom <feed> document.

  2. Read the verdict

    The result shows Valid/Invalid, the detected type, the feed title, and the item count.

  3. Fix errors and warnings

    Address each listed error (invalid) or warning (recommended) and re-validate.

Use cases

Publishing a new feed

Catch missing required elements before readers or podcast directories reject the feed.

Debugging a broken feed

Confirm well-formedness and spot the exact element that fails a spec check.

Common mistakes

Mistake:Serving invalid XML.

Fix:A single unescaped ampersand or unclosed tag makes the whole feed unparseable — fix well-formedness first.

Mistake:Omitting guid on items.

Fix:guids let readers deduplicate; the validator warns when an item has none.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

Validating RSS and Atom Feeds Before You Publish

The required elements for RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0 feeds, why well-formed XML comes first, and the common mistakes that break feeds for readers.

References & standards

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