RSS Reader

Fetch, parse, and process RSS/Atom feeds to monitor content sources and extract updates.

When to Use

• Monitoring news feeds for specific topics
• Tracking blog updates from multiple sources
• Aggregating content from various RSS sources
• Extracting structured data from feed entries

Feed Fetching

Using the Script

python scripts/fetch_rss.py <feed_url> [--limit N] [--format json|text]

Arguments:

• feed_url: The RSS/Atom feed URL to fetch
• --limit N: Number of entries to return (default: 10)
• --format: Output format - json or text (default: text)

Examples:

# Fetch latest 5 entries as text
python scripts/fetch_rss.py https://example.com/feed.xml --limit 5

# Fetch as JSON for processing
python scripts/fetch_rss.py https://example.com/rss --format json

Feed Entry Structure

Each feed entry typically contains:

• title: Entry headline
• link: URL to full content
• published: Publication date
• summary: Brief description or excerpt
• author: Content author (if available)

Common RSS Sources

Processing Guidelines

1. Check feed validity: Ensure URL returns valid XML
2. Handle encoding: Most feeds use UTF-8
3. Parse dates: Use ISO 8601 format when available
4. Respect rate limits: Cache results when possible
5. Handle errors gracefully: Some feeds may be temporarily unavailable