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
0 */15 * * * *
- Every 15 minutes for news feeds0 0 */2 * * *
- Every 2 hours for blog feeds0 0 8 * * *
- Daily at 8:00 AM for weekly publications
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
orapplication/xml
headers
https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/rss.xml
- BBC News RSShttps://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition.rss
- CNN RSS Feedhttps://blog.company.com/feed.xml
- Company Blog Atom Feedhttps://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
- Configure in
-
API Key Authentication: For feeds requiring API keys
- Header Name:
Authorization
or custom header likeX-API-Key
- Header Value: Your feed provider's API key
- Header Name:
-
User Agent Requirements: Some feeds require specific user agents
- Header Name:
User-Agent
- Header Value:
Wallboard-RSS-Reader/1.0
or provider-specific agent
- Header Name:
-
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
- 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.
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
Widget Integration Examples
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
ordata.items[].summary
- Author information: Present
data.items[].author
anddata.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