RSS Feed Validator
Comprehensive validation against RSS 2.0, iTunes, and Podcast namespace specs
Free & unlimited
Your browser fetches RSS feeds via allorigins.win CORS proxy. No data passes through our servers.
About this tool
- 1
Enter the feed URL
Paste the URL of the RSS or Atom feed you want to validate.
- 2
Run validation
Click Validate to fetch the feed and check it against the RSS 2.0 or Atom 1.0 specification.
- 3
Review issues
Errors and warnings are listed with the element name, line number, and a description of the problem.
- 4
Fix and re-validate
Correct the issues in your feed source, then paste the URL again to confirm all problems are resolved.
- Run validation after every feed template change - a single unclosed tag can break all subscribers' readers.
- Pay attention to warnings, not just errors. Missing recommended elements like <language> or <lastBuildDate> can hurt discoverability.
- For podcast feeds, ensure you include the iTunes namespace tags required by Apple Podcasts.
- Validate both the XML structure and content encoding - special characters must be properly escaped.
- RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0 specification validation
- iTunes/Apple Podcasts namespace checks for podcast feeds
- Line-number references for every error and warning
- Detects encoding issues, missing required elements, and malformed XML
- Validates directly from a URL - no need to download the feed first
- Podcast publishers verifying their feed before submitting to Apple Podcasts or Spotify
- Blog developers testing RSS output after a CMS or theme update
- News aggregators validating incoming feeds before adding them to their directory
- Debugging feed parsing errors reported by subscribers
Both are XML-based feed formats. RSS 2.0 is simpler and more widely used for podcasts. Atom 1.0 is an IETF standard with stricter requirements and better support for content types. Most readers support both.
Feed readers are forgiving and often work around minor issues. Validation catches problems that may cause failures in stricter parsers or when submitting to directories like Apple Podcasts.
Yes. It flags media URLs served over HTTP when the feed itself uses HTTPS, which can cause playback failures in some podcast apps.