RSS by Zapier allows you to trigger Zaps with new RSS feed items, as well as add items to your own RSS feed. An RSS (really simple syndication) feed is a way to get content from a frequently updated source—such as a blog or news site—with just the key information.
This article will explain how to add the Create Item in Feed action to your Zaps.
Limitations
- For the Create Item in Feed action, Zapier can only handle about 10 KB of data. If your data exceeds the 10 KB limit, the action will error. In the Automatically Truncate Messages Over 10KB field, you can set it to automatically truncate the data, or not truncate the data and stop the Zap.
- At this time, there are no RSS actions to edit or remove items from your RSS feed. If you want to start with a fresh feed, change the feed URL. Past entries will clear out if no items are added for 14 days.
- Zapier only stores the 50 most recent items in the feed. If no new items are added for 14 days, all items are removed.
- Craigslist blocks connections to its RSS feed from servers like the ones that Zapier uses, so Zapier cannot access Craigslist RSS feeds in a Zap.
Adding enclosures to RSS items
When setting up a Zap, the Zap editor provides fields for "Media URL", "Media MIME Type", and "Media Length." These fields are used to create an enclosure, so if you want to provide a link to other media types besides audio files or images, you can use these three fields to do so.
1. Add an RSS action
- In the Zap editor, click the Action step. A dialog box will open.
- In the search box, search for and select the RSS by Zapier. The right sidebar will open to the Setup tab.
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Click the Action event field to open the dropdown menu.
- Select the Create Item in Feed that you want the Zap to perform.
- Click Continue.
2. Set up your Zapier RSS feed URL
- In the Configure tab, customize the Feed URL field with a combination of letters, numbers, and hyphens to create a unique private URL for this RRS feed.
3. Add items to your RSS feed
- Add fields to the item that will be added to the RSS feed.
- Required fields:
- Feed URL: this is the URL that you will use to subscribe to the RSS feed.
- Item Title: this is the name of the item added to the RSS feed.
- Source URL: this is the URL for the site where the RSS feed pulls new items.
- Content: this is the body of the item.
- Click Continue.
Once you’ve set up your RSS feed, you’re ready to continue setting up the rest of your Zap.
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