RSS Feeds

# RSS 2.0
curl https://yourdomain.com/rss.xml

# Atom 1.0
curl https://yourdomain.com/atom.xml

# JSON Feed
curl https://yourdomain.com/feed.json | jq

Feed Content

What's Included

Each feed item contains:

Field	Description
Title	Page title
Description	Page description or excerpt
Link	Full URL to the page
Date	Last modified date
Category	Content category (Features, Guides, etc.)
Author	AI Web Feeds Team

How It Works

Feed Generation

Feeds are generated using the feed package:

lib/rss.ts

import { Feed } from "feed";
import { source } from "@/lib/source";

export function getDocsRSS() {
  const feed = new Feed({
    title: "AI Web Feeds - Documentation",
    id: `${baseUrl}/docs`,
    link: `${baseUrl}/docs`,
    language: "en",
    description: "Documentation updates...",
  });

  for (const page of source.getPages()) {
    feed.addItem({
      id: `${baseUrl}${page.url}`,
      title: page.data.title,
      description: page.data.description,
      link: `${baseUrl}${page.url}`,
      date: new Date(page.data.lastModified),
    });
  }

  return feed;
}

Route Handlers

Next.js route handlers serve the feeds:

app/docs/rss.xml/route.ts

import { getDocsRSS } from "@/lib/rss";

export const revalidate = 3600; // Revalidate every hour

export function GET() {
  const feed = getDocsRSS();

  return new Response(feed.rss2(), {
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/rss+xml; charset=utf-8",
      "Cache-Control": "public, max-age=3600, s-maxage=86400",
    },
  });
}

Metadata Discovery

Feeds are discoverable via metadata:

app/layout.tsx

export const metadata: Metadata = {
  alternates: {
    types: {
      "application/rss+xml": [
        {
          title: "AI Web Feeds - Documentation",
          url: "/docs/rss.xml",
        },
      ],
    },
  },
};

Caching Strategy

Feeds are cached for performance:

Cache Layer	Duration	Purpose
Browser	1 hour	Client-side caching
CDN	24 hours	Edge caching
Revalidation	1 hour	Server regeneration

Feeds are revalidated every hour to ensure fresh content while maintaining performance.

Testing

Test Feed URLs

Visit the feed URLs directly in your browser:

# Test RSS feed
curl http://localhost:3000/rss.xml | head -50

# Test Atom feed
curl http://localhost:3000/atom.xml | head -50

# Test JSON feed
curl http://localhost:3000/feed.json | jq

# Check headers
curl -I http://localhost:3000/rss.xml

Use the W3C Feed Validator:

Visit https://validator.w3.org/feed/
Enter your feed URL
Click "Check"
Review validation results

Verify Feed Discovery

Check that feeds are discoverable:

# View HTML head
curl http://localhost:3000 | grep -i "alternate"

# Expected output:
# <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" ... />

Test Feed Reader

Open your feed reader
Click "Add Feed" or "Subscribe"
Enter feed URL: http://localhost:3000/rss.xml
Verify items appear correctly

Customization

Update Base URL

Set your production URL:

.env.local

NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL=https://yourdomain.com

Modify Feed Metadata

Edit lib/rss.ts:

const feed = new Feed({
  title: "Your Custom Title",
  description: "Your custom description",
  copyright: "All rights reserved 2025, Your Name",
  // Add more fields...
});

Add Custom Fields

Extend feed items with custom data:

feed.addItem({
  id: `${baseUrl}${page.url}`,
  title: page.data.title,
  description: page.data.description,
  link: `${baseUrl}${page.url}`,
  date: new Date(page.data.lastModified),

  // Custom fields
  image: page.data.image,
  content: await getPageContent(page),
  // More custom fields...
});

Filter Content

Control which pages appear in feeds:

const pages = source
  .getPages()
  .filter((page) => !page.data.draft) // Exclude drafts
  .filter((page) => page.url.startsWith("/docs")); // Only docs

Best Practices

1. Set Last Modified Dates

Add lastModified to frontmatter:

---
title: My Page
description: Description
lastModified: 2025-10-14
---

2. Write Good Descriptions

Provide clear, concise descriptions:

---
title: RSS Feeds
description: Subscribe to documentation updates via RSS, Atom, or JSON feeds
---

3. Use Proper Categories

Organize content with meaningful categories:

category: page.url.includes("/api/") ? [{ name: "API Reference" }] : [{ name: "Guides" }];

4. Cache Appropriately

Balance freshness with performance:

export const revalidate = 3600; // 1 hour

Troubleshooting

Feed Not Updating

Clear the Next.js cache: bash rm -rf .next/ pnpm dev

Invalid XML

Ensure special characters are escaped
Validate with W3C Feed Validator
Check for proper UTF-8 encoding

Missing Items

Verify source.getPages() returns all pages
Check filter conditions
Ensure frontmatter is complete

Slow Generation

Reduce number of items
Implement pagination
Increase revalidation time

Future Enhancements

Potential additions:

Blog feed - Separate feed for blog posts
Category feeds - Individual feeds per category
Per-author feeds - Filter by author
Full content - Include complete page content
Media enclosures - Attach images/files
Podcasting support - iTunes RSS extensions

AI Integration - AI/LLM endpoints
Quick Reference - Commands and endpoints
Testing Guide - Verify your setup