RSS Feed Trigger

Starts a workflow when an RSS feed is updated

Overview

The RSS Feed Trigger node monitors an RSS feed and starts a workflow when new items are detected. It is useful for automating actions based on updates to blogs, news sites, podcasts, or any service that provides an RSS feed. For example, you could use this node to automatically post new blog articles to social media, send notifications about new podcast episodes, or archive news stories as they are published.

Properties

Name Type Meaning
Feed URL String URL of the RSS feed to poll for new updates.

Output

  • The node outputs a JSON object (or array of objects) representing the new RSS feed items since the last check.
  • Each output item contains all fields provided by the RSS feed parser for each entry, such as:
    • title: Title of the feed item
    • link: URL to the full article or resource
    • pubDate / isoDate: Publication date
    • content, contentSnippet, summary: Content or summary of the item
    • Any other standard or custom RSS fields present in the feed

Example output:

[
  {
    "title": "New Blog Post",
    "link": "https://example.com/new-post",
    "pubDate": "Mon, 01 Jan 2024 12:00:00 GMT",
    "isoDate": "2024-01-01T12:00:00.000Z",
    "content": "This is the content of the new post.",
    "contentSnippet": "This is the content...",
    "guid": "12345"
    // ...other RSS fields
  }
]
  • In manual mode, only the most recent item is returned.

Dependencies

  • External Libraries:
    • rss-parser: Used to fetch and parse the RSS feed.
    • moment: Used for date/time handling.
  • n8n Configuration:
    • No special API keys or environment variables required.
    • Internet access is required to reach the specified RSS feed URL.

Troubleshooting

  • Common Issues:

    • Invalid or missing Feed URL: If the "Feed URL" property is empty or invalid, the node will throw an error stating that the parameter must be set.
    • Connection errors: If the node cannot connect to the provided URL (e.g., due to network issues or an incorrect URL), it will display an error indicating it was not possible to connect.
    • No new items: If there are no new items since the last check, the node will not trigger any output.

  • Error Messages:

    • "The parameter \"URL\" has to be set!"
      Resolution: Ensure the "Feed URL" field is filled with a valid RSS feed URL.
    • "It was not possible to connect to the URL. Please make sure the URL \"...\" it is valid!"
      Resolution: Check the feed URL for typos, ensure the feed is accessible, and verify your network connection.

Links and References

Discussion