Docs / Formats
RSS and Atom feeds
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Prettify reads RSS and Atom feeds. You can load a feed by URL or paste its XML, read it in the Tree and Raw views, and convert it to JSON for free. The Feed view, Refresh, and image loading are Pro. This page explains each part and marks what is free.
Open the editor at /app/editor, or start from the RSS Feed Viewer tool page.
Supported feed types
Prettify reads three feed types:
- RSS 2.0
- Atom 1.0
- RSS 1.0 (RDF)
A feed is XML, so everything on the XML page applies as well. Prettify reads common extensions too: Dublin Core dates and authors, content modules, iTunes podcast tags, and Media RSS images.
Load a feed
You can load a feed two ways:
- Paste the feed XML into the editor.
- Use Load from URL and enter the feed address.
Load from URL is free. Prettify fetches the URL from your device first. When the feed server blocks direct browser requests (CORS), Prettify offers to fetch through a public proxy, api.allorigins.win or corsproxy.io. It asks for your consent once per session before a proxy sees the URL. See Privacy.
Views
A feed document opens on the Feed view when you have Pro. The Tree and Raw views and conversion to JSON are free.
| View | Access | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Feed | Pro | Each item as an article, with title, author, date, and body. |
| Tree | Free | The feed as a collapsible tree of elements. |
| Raw | Free | The feed XML, formatted. |
A free user who opens a feed sees a preview of the Feed view and the upgrade prompt. Switch to the Tree or Raw view, or convert the feed, to work for free. See Views.
Feed view (Pro)
The Feed view (Pro) shows each item as an article. It lists the feed title, description, and item count. Each item shows its title as a link, the author and date, and the item body.
The view builds the first 200 items. A larger feed, such as a podcast archive with every episode, still opens fast; the header then reads "Showing 200 of N items".
Item links open in a new browser tab. On the desktop app, a link opens in your system browser.
Load images (Pro)
Images stay off until you choose Load images in the Feed view toolbar. This is a privacy choice: each image request shows your IP address to the image host. The choice holds for one feed in one tab, and the next feed starts with images off again.
Refresh (Pro)
Refresh from URL (Pro) fetches the latest version of the feed from its source URL. It is in the toolbar and the Command Palette. Open the Command Palette with Cmd+K (Mac) / Ctrl+K (Windows, Linux).
Refresh works only when the document has a source URL and you are online. For a Pro user, a successful refresh adds a new version of the same document, so the earlier version stays in History. A free user gets the upgrade prompt, with one free try per day.
Convert to JSON
Convert turns a feed into JSON, YAML, or CSV, the same way it does for any XML. Each attribute becomes an @attribute key. Conversion is free. See Conversion.
Free and Pro at a glance
| Feature | Access |
|---|---|
| Load from URL, paste feed XML | Free |
| Tree and Raw views | Free |
| Convert to JSON, YAML, CSV | Free |
| Feed view (articles and artwork) | Pro |
| Load images | Pro |
| Refresh from URL | Pro |
Pro is a one-time purchase of US$19.99 with lifetime access and a 30-day money-back guarantee. See Pro.
Try it online
Tool pages for this topic. Each one runs in your browser.