RSS to JSON Conversion: A Step-by-Step Guide for Integration with NodeJS

Introduction:

RSS feeds have long been a popular means of delivering content from different sources, including websites, blogs, and news sites. Integrating and consuming RSS feeds can become much easier by converting them into JSON format. You can have a look here, where we discussed the crucial advantages of RSS to JSON Conversion.

Now, let's explore where the RSS to JSON conversion can be utilized.

Media companies and content aggregators can significantly benefit from the process of converting RSS feeds into JSON format. RSS feeds are a common method used by news websites and blogs to distribute their content in a standardized format. This simplifies the process of collecting, curating, and displaying news or articles from multiple sources on their platforms.

Some known platforms that utilize RSS feeds are:

1. Daily.dev: This developer-focused community aggregates content from various sources using RSS.

2. Flipboard: A content curation and magazine app that allows users to flip through news stories from various sources.

3. Feedly: An RSS feed reader that consolidates articles and media from blogs and websites.

   
   

In this post, we look at how to convert RSS feeds to JSON using ApyHub’s API and integrate RSS feeds into your applications using NodeJS in just simple steps. Let’s start 🧑‍💻

1. Install the required libraries:

To install all the required dependencies, run this command on the terminal of your project folder.

npm install axios

Once we run npm install in the terminal, the command triggers the installation of the specified dependencies listed in the project's package.json file. The following dependencies are commonly installed.

Axios: A popular HTTP client library for making HTTP requests in Node.js. It simplifies the process of sending HTTP requests and handling responses. In this case, Axios is used to make a POST request to the RSS to JSON API, sending the RSS URL.

2. Create a new Project:

The next step is to create a new file; for example, create a file convertRSSToJSON.js and add the following code to import the required libraries we installed.:

import axios from "axios";

const axios = require('axios');

3. Define the Conversion Function:

convertRSSToJSON will encapsulate the logic for API requests. This function will convert RSS feeds to JSON, handling URL preparation and error management. We will need apy-token which you can find in the documentation.

async function convertRSSToJSON(rssURL) {
  const apiURL = "https://api.apyhub.com/convert/rss-url/json?detailed=true";
  const requestData = {
    url: rssURL,
  };
  const options = {
    method: "POST",
    url: apiURL,
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/JSON",
      "apy-token": "YOUR_APY_TOKEN", // Replace with your actual APY token
    },
    data: requestData,
  };
  try {
    const response = await axios.request(options);
    console.log("RSS to JSON conversion successful:", response.data);
    return response.data; // Or handle it as you need
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("An error occurred:", error.message);
    throw error; // Or handle the error as needed
  }
}

4. Invoke the conversion function

After invoking the convertRSSToJSON() function, pass the sample .xml RSS feed URL. This function sends a request to the Convert RSS to JSON API, which returns the JSON Response. The successful conversion URL is logged to the console. If there is an error during the conversion process, it is caught, and the error message is logged to the console.

const rssURL = 'https://apyhub.com/api/rss'; // Replace with your desired RSS feed URL
convertRSSToJSON(rssURL)
.then(jsonData => {
console.log('Converted JSON:', jsonData);
})
.catch(error => {
console.error('Error during conversion:', error.message);
});

5. Save the file and execute the script

Save the file, open your terminal, navigate to the project directory, and run the following command to execute the script:

node convertRSStoJSON.js

6. Once the request is sent, the response will be returned in JSON.

{
  "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
  "title": "ApyHub",
  "description": "RSS Feed",
  "home_page_url": "https://apyhub.com/rss",
  "items": [
    {
      "title": "Enable Voice-based Interactions in your Retool Application",
      "summary": "This tutorial demonstrates a real-world use case..."
    }
    // More items...
  ]
}

And that's it! It was easy, right?

Now you can add multiple RSS feeds, simplifying the integration of diverse content sources into your applications.

Also, do not forget to handle the errors in case the URL is malformed or there is no valid RSS feed accessible through the URL - in such cases, the API will return appropriate errors.

Also published here.