RSS Project

RSS feed style

Updated 10 May 2026 (created 20 March 2023)

Description

RSS feeds consist of XML code. Standard web browsers can use XSLT stylesheets to transform this code into regular web pages based on HTML, which can then be styled with CSS and expanded with JavaScript. What makes this powerful is that the page remains a computer-readable XML file, but in the experience of a human visitor, it looks and functions like a web page.

Implementation

I have made a feed style that makes an RSS feed look like a simple vertically oriented social media feed. It consists of an XSLT stylesheet using CSS and JavaScript.

The feed style shows general information about the RSS channel and then lists all the RSS items. Similar to hashtags, you can click the categories of an item to select only the items with that category within the channel. You can copy the original XML of a single item, which you can use to repost the item elsewhere.

I have tested the feed style for several live RSS feeds in different browsers, primarily Firefox, Safari, and the KaiOS browser. It works for feeds that are not already using HTML markup with CDATA in the description elements of the items.

Here are screenshots of the feed style version 0.16 for the same RSS feed in light and dark mode (Firefox 150):

Screenshot of the feed style version 0.16 used for an RSS feed in light mode Screenshot of the feed style version 0.16 used for an RSS feed in dark mode

Here are several live examples of the RSS feed style in use:

Download

I want to make my feed style implementation available for download, but I am not sure how I should license it. I am looking for an open license with built-in privacy and copyright protection requirements.

Browser support

As of May 2026, XSLT is supported by all standard browsers.

However, there have been developer discussions about whether support for XSLT should be discontinued in future versions of web browsers. There have been security issues in the past because the browser implementation of the XSLT interpretor has been insufficiently updated over the years.

The developers of Chrome, Edge, and Firefox are planning to remove support sometime in 2026 or 2027. I don't believe there will be standard solutions for backwards compatibility with existing implementations, it appears that XSLT will simply stop working.

I started working on the feed style well before the 2025 removal discussions and removing browser support would have a negative impact on this RSS Project that is using styling of RSS feeds as the starting point to imagine an alternative to social media platforms. I will have to find a workaround.