RSS feed as a source

An automation's source can be not only a WordPress site but also an RSS/Atom feed. ParrotPoster checks the feed regularly on its own and publishes new items to your accounts. No plugin on the site is needed: a feed from any site works, including someone else's or one protected by a password.

How it works

• RSS supports Instant mode only: the Mode step in the wizard is skipped. Archive, Hybrid and Digest are not available for a feed.
• Wizard steps: Source → Record selection → Accounts → Template (no schedule).
• The automation reacts to new items that appear in the feed after it was created. What was already in the feed is not published by default.

Creating one

1. Automation → Create automation.
2. On the Content source step, in Source type choose RSS feed.
3. In Feed URL paste the address. It must be an HTTPS address.
4. ParrotPoster checks the feed (Checking the feed…). You cannot continue until the check passes.
5. Adjust the options below if needed and click Next.
6. The rest is like the quick start: record selection, accounts, template. The template fields come from the feed items.

Source options

First check and importing old items

The first successful check only remembers everything that is already in the feed: those items count as seen and are not published.

If Import existing items is set to a window, items whose publication date falls into that window are published, oldest first. Items without a publication date are not imported. After the first successful check this option no longer has any effect and becomes read-only on the automation page.

How many are published at a time

One check creates at most 20 new posts; the rest wait for the next checks and go out in publication-date order. The number of waiting items is shown on the automation page. The waiting queue holds up to 500 items, anything beyond that is lost — for very busy feeds narrow the record selection.

Item changes and deletions

• Update. A post is updated only if the feed item has an explicit modification date, it is newer than before, and the content actually changed. If only fields the template does not use changed, nothing happens. If the feed does not provide a modification date, edits are not noticed.
• Deletion. A post is deleted only if the feed explicitly marks the item as deleted, or the item has an expiry date that has passed. An item that merely vanished from the feed (pushed out by newer ones) does not count as deleted, even though the hint in the interface says otherwise. A deleted item that reappears in the feed is published as new.

Deletion moves the post to the ParrotPoster trash but does not remove it from the social network if it was already published.

Feed status

On the automation's Publishing tab you can see the feed status:

• Last check, Last success, Next check;
• The feed has not been checked yet — before the first check;
• The feed rejected the credentials. Check the authentication settings. — an access error (401/403 responses);
• Push updates (WebSub) are active — the feed supports instant notifications;
• how many new items are waiting to be published.

If the feed server answers "not modified", that counts as a successful check. On network failures ParrotPoster waits longer and longer between attempts (up to 6 hours) and returns to the usual interval after a successful response. A failed check is written to the Journal as a separate run with status Error.

Changing source settings

On the Publishing tab the RSS source block lets you change the feed checks and access. Feed URL is fixed for the automation and cannot be changed; for another feed create a new automation. The switches for updating and deleting items are in the launch block.

The rest (Journal, disabling, deleting) is on the after setup page. If the feed does not work — troubleshooting.