# Create Custom RSS Feeds in Ghost

Create custom RSS feeds for your publication using the flexible dynamic routing layer in Ghost and Handlebars templates.

Adding `/rss/` to most URLs in Ghost produces an automatically generated `rss` feed, for example:

- **Main post index** - [https://demo.ghost.io/rss/](https://demo.ghost.io/rss/)
- **Author archive** - [https://demo.ghost.io/author/lewis/rss/](https://demo.ghost.io/author/lewis/rss/)
- **Tag archive** - [https://demo.ghost.io/tag/fiction/rss/](https://demo.ghost.io/tag/fiction/rss/)

Automatic `rss` feeds save time and allow external applications to access an up-to-date feed of your content. However, when the default implementation of `rss` feeds in Ghost doesn’t suit your requirements, you can create custom feeds using the dynamic routing layer and a Handlebars template.

## Add an `rss` route in `routes.yaml`

In order to create a custom `rss` feed you’ll need to add a new route, which is the URL where your feed will appear.

Download the latest version of the `routes.yaml` file from Ghost Admin and open it in any code editor:

Under routes add the URL where your new custom `rss` feed will exist, for example:

```yaml
routes:
  /news/rss/:
    template: news/rss
    content_type: text/xml
```

Custom `rss` feeds need to be defined with the `content_type` property and mapped to a template as shown in the example above.

## Create a new template

The next step is to create a custom template in your theme. Following the example above, create a new template with the file name: `news/rss.hbs`. Here’s a code example of what a custom `rss` template can look like:

```html
<rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" version="2.0">
<channel>
<title><![CDATA[ {{@site.title}} ]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[ {{@site.description}} ]]></description>
<link>{{@site.url}}</link>
<image>
    <url>{{@site.url}}/favicon.png</url>
    <title>{{@site.title}}</title>
    <link>{{@site.url}}</link>
</image>
<lastBuildDate>{{date format="ddd, DD MMM YYYY HH:mm:ss ZZ"}}</lastBuildDate>
<atom:link href="{{@site.url}}" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/>
<ttl>60</ttl>

{{#get "posts" limit="all" include="authors,tags"}}
    {{#foreach posts}}
    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[ {{title}} ]]></title>
        <description><![CDATA[ {{excerpt}} ]]></description>
        <link>{{url absolute="true"}}</link>
        <guid isPermaLink="false">{{id}}</guid>
        <category><![CDATA[ {{primary_tag.name}} ]]></category>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[ {{primary_author.name}} ]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>{{date format="ddd, DD MMM YYYY HH:mm:ss ZZ"}}</pubDate>
        <media:content url="{{feature_image}}" medium="image"/>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[ {{content}} ]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
    {{/foreach}}
{{/get}}

</channel>
</rss>
```

You can copy and paste this exact implementation for your site, then go ahead and customize it to suit your needs!

## Update your active theme and `routes.yaml`

Once you’ve saved your changes, upload your updated theme in Ghost Admin as a `.zip` file and upload your new `routes.yaml` file. That’s it, you’ve successfully created a custom RSS feed - you can test it out for yourself using the feed’s URL!

## Advanced RSS Feeds for Podcasting

If you’re looking for more detailed examples specifically for generating an iTunes compatible podcast RSS feed, make sure you check out our [in-depth podcast feed tutorial](/content/tutorials/custom-rss-feed/index.html) for Ghost, which builds on the things covered here!

## Do More with Zapier

As always, you can power up your site even further using [Zapier](https://zapier.com/). Check out some of these powerful RSS automations:

### [Create new Ghost posts from fresh items in RSS by Zapier feeds](https://zapier.com/webintent/create-zap?template=1214941&utm_source=partner&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=wfe_fze&provider=ghost&entry-point-location=partner_embed&referer=https%3A%2F%2Fghost.org%2Fintegrations%2Fcustom-rss%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpartner%26utm_medium%3Dembed%26utm_campaign%3Dwfe_fze%26referer%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fghost.org%252Fintegrations%252Fcustom-rss%252F&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fghost.org%2Fintegrations%2Fcustom-rss%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpartner%26utm_medium%3Dembed%26utm_campaign%3Dwfe_fze%26referer%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fghost.org%252Fintegrations%252Fcustom-rss%252F)

### [Generate rss items for every new post published in Ghost](https://zapier.com/webintent/create-zap?template=1592628&utm_source=partner&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=wfe_fze&provider=ghost&entry-point-location=partner_embed&referer=https%3A%2F%2Fghost.org%2Fintegrations%2Fcustom-rss%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpartner%26utm_medium%3Dembed%26utm_campaign%3Dwfe_fze%26referer%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fghost.org%252Fintegrations%252Fcustom-rss%252F&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fghost.org%2Fintegrations%2Fcustom-rss%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpartner%26utm_medium%3Dembed%26utm_campaign%3Dwfe_fze%26referer%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fghost.org%252Fintegrations%252Fcustom-rss%252F)

### [Create posts in Ghost from new items in multiple feeds with RSS by Zapier](https://zapier.com/webintent/create-zap?template=1706600&utm_source=partner&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=wfe_fze&provider=ghost&entry-point-location=partner_embed&referer=https%3A%2F%2Fghost.org%2Fintegrations%2Fcustom-rss%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpartner%26utm_medium%3Dembed%26utm_campaign%3Dwfe_fze%26referer%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fghost.org%252Fintegrations%252Fcustom-rss%252F&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fghost.org%2Fintegrations%2Fcustom-rss%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpartner%26utm_medium%3Dembed%26utm_campaign%3Dwfe_fze%26referer%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fghost.org%252Fintegrations%252Fcustom-rss%252F)

## Launch Your Big Idea

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