| name | building-static-site-rss-feeds |
| description | Creates static websites with RSS/Atom/JSON Feed support for content syndication. Use when building static sites with feeds, implementing RSS in Hugo/Jekyll/custom generators, adding feed autodiscovery, or when user mentions RSS, Atom, feeds, or content syndication. |
Building Static Sites with RSS Feeds
Create static websites that support RSS/Atom feeds for content syndication, allowing readers to subscribe via feed readers.
Use this skill when implementing RSS feeds in static sites, choosing feed formats, setting up autodiscovery, or generating feeds from content.
Supporting files: SPECIFICATION.md for feed format details, IMPLEMENTATION.md for code examples.
Quick Start
Add feed support to a static site:
- Choose format: RSS 2.0 (most compatible) or Atom 1.0 (more features)
- Generate feed XML: From content metadata (title, date, description)
- Add autodiscovery: Link tag in HTML head
- Validate: Use W3C Feed Validator
Feed Format Selection
| Format | Best For | Notes |
|---|
| RSS 2.0 | Maximum compatibility, podcasts | Frozen spec, simpler |
| Atom 1.0 | International content, strict validation | RFC 4287, better date handling |
| JSON Feed | Modern APIs, developer preference | Simpler parsing, less support |
Recommendation: Use RSS 2.0 for broad compatibility. Add Atom if you need internationalization.
Minimal RSS 2.0 Structure
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>Site Title</title>
<link>https://example.com</link>
<description>Site description</description>
<lastBuildDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000</lastBuildDate>
<item>
<title>Article Title</title>
<link>https://example.com/article</link>
<description>Article summary or full content</description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://example.com/article</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>
HTML Autodiscovery
Add to <head> of every page:
<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"
title="RSS Feed" href="https://example.com/feed.xml">
For Atom:
<link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml"
title="Atom Feed" href="https://example.com/atom.xml">
Go Implementation
Using gorilla/feeds library:
import "github.com/gorilla/feeds"
feed := &feeds.Feed{
Title: "Site Title",
Link: &feeds.Link{Href: "https://example.com"},
Description: "Site description",
Updated: time.Now(),
}
feed.Items = []*feeds.Item{
{
Title: "Article Title",
Link: &feeds.Link{Href: "https://example.com/article"},
Description: "Article content",
Id: "https://example.com/article",
Created: time.Now(),
},
}
rss, _ := feed.ToRss()
atom, _ := feed.ToAtom()
json, _ := feed.ToJSON()
Best Practices
Content
- Full content: Include complete articles, not just excerpts
- Absolute URLs: All links must be absolute (
https://...)
- Unique GUIDs: Use permalink URLs as identifiers
Performance
- Keep under 150KB: Some readers have size limits
- Limit items: 10-20 recent items is typical
- Support caching: Return
ETag and Last-Modified headers
Dates
- RSS 2.0: RFC 822 format (
Sat, 01 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000)
- Atom: RFC 3339 format (
2026-02-01T12:00:00Z)
Hugo Integration
Hugo generates RSS automatically at /index.xml. Customize:
layouts/_default/rss.xml
Add autodiscovery in layouts/partials/head.html:
{{ with .OutputFormats.Get "RSS" }}
<link rel="alternate" type="{{ .MediaType }}" href="{{ .Permalink }}" title="{{ $.Site.Title }}">
{{ end }}
Validation
Always validate feeds before deployment:
Common errors:
- Relative URLs (must be absolute)
- Invalid date formats
- Missing required elements
- Encoding issues with special characters
Checklist
Resources
