RSS datasource

RSS datasources allow you to fetch and display content from RSS feeds, news sites, blogs, and other syndicated content sources. The system automatically parses RSS and Atom feeds, extracting article titles, descriptions, publication dates, and other feed data for use in your widgets and templates.

Prerequisites

Before creating an RSS datasource, ensure you have:

A valid RSS or Atom feed URL that returns properly formatted XML
Proper network access to the RSS feed source
Understanding of the RSS feed structure and data you want to consume
Authentication credentials if required by the RSS source
Familiarity with RSS feed refresh patterns and update frequencies

Supported RSS Formats

The RSS datasource supports various syndication formats:

RSS 2.0 Standard:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>News Feed</title>
    <description>Latest news updates</description>
    <link>https://example.com</link>
    <item>
      <title>Breaking News Story</title>
      <description>Full article description here</description>
      <link>https://example.com/article1</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2024 10:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://example.com/article1</guid>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

Atom 1.0 Format:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
  <title>Blog Updates</title>
  <link href="https://blog.example.com"/>
  <id>https://blog.example.com</id>
  <updated>2024-01-15T10:30:00Z</updated>
  <entry>
    <title>New Blog Post</title>
    <link href="https://blog.example.com/post1"/>
    <id>https://blog.example.com/post1</id>
    <updated>2024-01-15T10:30:00Z</updated>
    <summary>Blog post summary content</summary>
  </entry>
</feed>

RSS with Namespaces (Media, Dublin Core):

<rss version="2.0" 
     xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"
     xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
  <channel>
    <item>
      <title>Video News Story</title>
      <media:thumbnail url="https://example.com/thumb.jpg"/>
      <media:content url="https://example.com/video.mp4" type="video/mp4"/>
      <dc:creator>Reporter Name</dc:creator>
      <dc:date>2024-01-15T10:30:00Z</dc:date>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

Create datasource

Go to Datasources > Click Add new in the External datasource tab > Choose the RSS type.

Basic Configuration

1. Update Schedule Decide how your datasource updates from the RSS feed source:

Select a Refresh Frequency for regular intervals (every minute, hour, day, etc.)
Specify a Cron Expression for custom scheduling based on the feed's update pattern

Example Cron Expressions for RSS

0 */15 * * * * - Every 15 minutes for news feeds
0 0 */2 * * * - Every 2 hours for blog feeds
0 0 8 * * * - Daily at 8:00 AM for weekly publications

RSS Update Frequency

Most RSS feeds update between 15 minutes to several hours. Check the feed's typical update pattern before setting a high-frequency refresh to avoid unnecessary server load.
For more information about external datasource refresh options, see the External Datasource Refreshing documentation.

2. RSS Feed URL In the URL field, enter the RSS or Atom feed URL. The URL must:

Return valid RSS 2.0, RSS 1.0, or Atom XML content
Be accessible from your server without authentication issues
Use HTTP or HTTPS protocol
Respond with proper Content-Type: application/rss+xml or application/xml headers

Valid RSS URL Examples

https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/rss.xml - BBC News RSS
https://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition.rss - CNN RSS Feed
https://blog.company.com/feed.xml - Company Blog Atom Feed
https://api.example.com/rss?category=tech - Dynamic RSS with parameters

Advanced Configuration Options

3. Datasource Settings Configure datasource behavior:

Active: Enable/disable the datasource without deleting it. Useful for temporarily stopping RSS updates
Ignore Error counter: Continue operation even if errors occur during RSS feed fetching. Recommended for feeds that may have occasional downtime

4. Editor Settings Configure how the system processes RSS feed data:

Cache external resources: Store external content (images, enclosures) referenced in RSS items locally for faster access and offline availability
Remove broken external resource references: Automatically clean up invalid media links found in RSS feed items
Rotate cache on every update: Clear and rebuild cache with each RSS refresh to ensure fresh content from the feed
Exchange internal resource references: Update internal file paths when media content is moved or reorganized
Request settings: Configure HTTP headers, authentication, user agent, timeout, and other request parameters for RSS feed access

5. Array Processing Enable Randomize arrays to shuffle the order of RSS feed items each time the datasource updates. This is useful for:

Rotating through different news articles on each refresh
Creating varied content presentation from blog feeds
Displaying random selections from large RSS feeds
Ensuring different items are highlighted on each update cycle

RSS Feed Authentication

For RSS feeds requiring authentication or special access:

Basic Authentication: Username and password for protected feeds
- Configure in Request settings with basic auth credentials
- Common for internal company news feeds or premium content
API Key Authentication: For feeds requiring API keys
- Header Name: Authorization or custom header like X-API-Key
- Header Value: Your feed provider's API key
User Agent Requirements: Some feeds require specific user agents
- Header Name: User-Agent
- Header Value: Wallboard-RSS-Reader/1.0 or provider-specific agent
Custom Headers: Additional headers for feed access
- Referrer headers for feeds that check source
- Accept headers for content type preferences
- Cookie headers for session-based feeds

Feed Access Best Practices

Use HTTPS RSS feeds when available for security
Respect feed provider's robots.txt and terms of service
Implement reasonable refresh intervals to avoid being blocked
Use proper User-Agent identification

6. Save Configuration Once all settings are configured according to your RSS feed requirements, click Save to create the datasource.

RSS Feed Testing

After saving, check the datasource preview to ensure RSS items are being parsed correctly and verify the data structure matches your widget requirements.

RSS Data Structure

RSS datasources provide access to standard RSS elements and namespaced extensions:

Standard RSS 2.0 Fields

title: Item headline or title
description: Item summary or full content
link: URL to the full article or content
pubDate: Publication date and time
guid: Unique identifier for the item
author: Content author or creator
category: Item categories or tags
enclosure: Media attachments (audio, video, images)

Atom Feed Fields

title: Entry title
summary: Entry summary content
content: Full entry content
link: Entry URL
updated: Last updated timestamp
published: Original publication date
author: Entry author information
category: Entry categories

Extended Namespace Fields

media:thumbnail: Thumbnail image URL
media:content: Media file URLs and metadata
dc:creator: Dublin Core creator field
dc:date: Dublin Core date field
content:encoded: Full HTML content

Using RSS Data in Widgets

After creating the RSS datasource, you can bind RSS feed data to widgets using standard notation:

RSS Item Properties:

Headlines: data.items[0].title, data.items[1].title
Descriptions: data.items[0].description, data.items[0].summary
Links: data.items[0].link, data.items[0].url
Dates: data.items[0].pubDate, data.items[0].published
Authors: data.items[0].author, data.items[0].creator

Feed Metadata:

Feed Title: data.title, data.channel.title
Feed Description: data.description, data.channel.description
Feed URL: data.link, data.channel.link
Last Updated: data.lastBuildDate, data.updated

Media Content:

Images: data.items[0].enclosure.url, data.items[0].media_thumbnail
Media Type: data.items[0].enclosure.type
File Size: data.items[0].enclosure.length

News Ticker Display:

Article titles: Breaking: data.items[0].title
Publication time: Published: data.items[0].pubDate
Source link: Read more: data.items[0].link

Blog Feed Widget:

Post headlines: Display data.items[].title in a list
Post summaries: Show data.items[].description or data.items[].summary
Author information: Present data.items[].author and data.items[].pubDate

Media Feed Display:

Video thumbnails: Show data.items[].media_thumbnail
Media descriptions: Display data.items[].description
Play links: Link to data.items[].enclosure.url

Common RSS Feed Sources

News and Media:

News websites (BBC, CNN, Reuters)
Magazine feeds (TechCrunch, Wired)
Local news and weather services
Press release feeds

Content and Blogs:

Corporate blogs and announcements
Industry publications and journals
Personal blogs and creative content
Educational institution updates

Social and Community:

Forum feeds and discussion updates
Social media RSS exports
Community announcements
Event and calendar feeds

Business Applications:

Internal company news feeds
Product update announcements
Customer support updates
Marketing campaign feeds

RSS Feed Characteristics and Limitations

Update Frequency Considerations:

Most RSS feeds update every 15 minutes to several hours
News feeds typically update more frequently than blog feeds
Some feeds may have inconsistent update schedules
Historical items may be removed as new content is added

Content Limitations:

RSS descriptions may be truncated (often 150-500 characters)
Full content may require following the article link
Media enclosures might have bandwidth or size restrictions
Some feeds provide only partial content to drive traffic

Technical Considerations:

RSS feeds are XML-based and require proper parsing
Invalid XML will cause feed processing to fail
Large feeds may take longer to process
Some feeds use non-standard elements or namespaces

Prerequisites​

Supported RSS Formats​

Create datasource​

Basic Configuration​

Advanced Configuration Options​

RSS Feed Authentication​

RSS Data Structure​

Standard RSS 2.0 Fields​

Atom Feed Fields​

Extended Namespace Fields​

Using RSS Data in Widgets​

Widget Integration Examples​

Common RSS Feed Sources​

RSS Feed Characteristics and Limitations​