CURL to RSS

FeedCraft includes a CURL to RSS tool that allows you to fetch data from JSON APIs and transform it into an RSS feed using jq selectors.

Overview

The CURL to RSS tool helps you:

1. Fetch JSON data from an API endpoint (supporting custom headers and methods).
2. Parse the JSON structure using jq syntax to map fields to RSS items.
3. Preview the generated feed to verify your selectors.

How to use

Navigate to Tools > CURL to RSS in the admin dashboard.

Step 1: Request Configuration

You need to define how to fetch the JSON data.

• Import from Curl: You can paste a curl command to automatically populate the URL, method, headers, and body. This is useful if you copy the request from your browser’s Developer Tools.
• Method: Select GET or POST.
• URL: The API endpoint URL.
• Headers: Add any necessary headers (e.g., Authorization, Content-Type).
• Request Body: For POST requests, provide the JSON body.

Click Fetch JSON to retrieve the data.

Step 2: JQ Parsing Rules

Once the JSON is fetched, you will see the raw response in the left panel. You can now define selectors to extract feed items.

The tool uses jq syntax for querying JSON.

• List Selector: The path to the array of items.
  • Example: .items[] or .data.posts[] or just . if the root is an array.
• Title Selector: The path to the item’s title relative to the item object.
  • Example: .title or .attributes.name.
• Link Selector: The path to the item’s URL.
  • Example: .url or .permalink.
• Date Selector: (Optional) Path to the publication date.
• Content Selector: (Optional) Path to the full content or summary.

Step 3: Preview

Click Preview RSS to see how your selectors work. The parsed items will appear in the list below.

Saving Your Recipe

Currently, the CURL to RSS is a tool for finding and testing the correct selectors.

To save your configuration as a permanent feed:

1. Copy your URL and Selector values.
2. Go to Custom Recipes > Create.
3. Select Source Type: JSON.
4. Paste your configuration into the Source Config JSON format:

{
  "http_fetcher": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/posts",
    "method": "GET",
    "headers": {
      "Authorization": "Bearer token"
    }
  },
  "json_parser": {
    "list_selector": ".data[]",
    "title_selector": ".title",
    "link_selector": ".url",
    "content_selector": ".body"
  }
}