Aggregator channel (handle)
Input URL
https://www.youtube.com/@WPRSSAggregatorExpected feed
https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UCRrmBF3pEXUQCNmq8uALD6gTest in finderRSS by platform
How to Get the RSS Feed for YouTube
The feed is hidden and tied to the channel ID rather than the handle.
Quick answer
Does YouTube have RSS?
- Does YouTube have RSS?
- Yes. but the feed is hidden and tied to the channel ID rather than the handle.
- Feed URL format
https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=[channel-id]- Key limitation
- Handles must resolve to channel IDs before the feed URL is final
Context
What this means for YouTube
YouTube has exposed Atom feeds for channels since the Google Data API era and still publishes them today. The feed URL has never been advertised in the UI, and the switch to @handles in 2022 made it harder to find because handles don't appear in the feed URL. The underlying channel ID, a 24-character identifier starting with UC, is what the feed actually needs.
- Feed URL format
https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=[channel-id]- Working example
https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UCRrmBF3pEXUQCNmq8uALD6g
Supported patterns
- Channel handle URLs (/@handle), resolved to channel ID before the feed URL is built
- Direct channel ID URLs (/channel/UCxxxxx), no resolution needed
- Legacy custom URLs (/c/customName) and user URLs (/user/legacyName)
- Playlist URLs (/playlist?list=PLxxxxx), feed at videos.xml?playlist_id=...
- Direct feed URLs (videos.xml?channel_id=... or videos.xml?playlist_id=...)
Limitations
- Handles must resolve to channel IDs before the feed URL is final
- Feeds expose roughly the most recent 15 uploads, not full channel history
- Private and unlisted videos never appear in the feed
- YouTube Shorts share the channel feed with regular uploads. There is no Shorts-only feed
- YouTube's /feeds/videos.xml endpoint had a stretch of intermittent 404s starting December 2025. As of May 2026 it appears stable in normal use, but the community uptime tracker at stats.uptimerobot.com/v6szxXApfC/802909356 still flags occasional dips. Piped (piped.video) and Invidious instances proxy the same feeds if the endpoint flakes again.
- YouTube can still return 500/404 to server-side requests from datacenter IPs (Vercel, AWS) regardless of channel state. Polling from a WordPress host on normal intervals is far more reliable than a serverless function
RSS finder
Find and preview a YouTube feed
Test a YouTube URL here to get the same feed analysis, import verdict, and live Aggregator-style preview as the main Feed Finder.
Gotchas
Common mistakes
- Watch for this: Pasting an @handle URL and expecting it to work directly, the finder must first resolve it to a UC... channel ID
- Watch for this: Using /c/customName instead of /channel/UC... in the feed URL, which often returns an empty or 404 response
- Watch for this: Expecting livestreams or premieres to appear before they finish, most only show up after the stream ends
- Watch for this: Treating an intermittent 404 as a dead channel: the endpoint had a rough patch in late 2025 and can still flake from datacenter IPs, the same URL often works again from a browser or a polled WordPress host
Examples
Try real YouTube feed patterns
Direct channel ID URL
Input URL
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRrmBF3pEXUQCNmq8uALD6gExpected feed
https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UCRrmBF3pEXUQCNmq8uALD6gTest in finderPlaylist feed
Input URL
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhwNNB2ZOH8WsSiyMbNpAXUw49ViF6V3pExpected feed
https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?playlist_id=PLhwNNB2ZOH8WsSiyMbNpAXUw49ViF6V3pTest in finder
FAQ
YouTube RSS questions
Does YouTube have RSS feeds?
Yes. YouTube exposes Atom feeds for channels at /feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=[id]. The feed URL uses the channel ID, not the handle or custom URL. The endpoint went through a stretch of intermittent 404s starting December 2025; as of May 2026 it is back to normal, though server-side requests from cloud IPs can still flake.
Why does my YouTube feed return 404?
Two common reasons. First, datacenter IPs (Vercel, AWS) get 500/404 responses even when the channel is fine, the same URL works from a browser or a normal WordPress host. Second, the endpoint went through a stretch of recurring 404 windows starting December 2025; the community-maintained uptime monitor at stats.uptimerobot.com/v6szxXApfC/802909356 tracks recent dips. The URL format itself has not changed. If you do hit a flake, point your RSS reader or Aggregator at https://piped.video/feed/[channel_id] until YouTube's endpoint returns.
How do I find the channel ID for a YouTube channel?
Two reliable ways. First, paste the channel URL into Feed Finder, it resolves handles, /c/, and /user/ paths to the underlying UC... channel ID automatically. Second, open the channel page in a browser, view source (Ctrl+U or Cmd+Option+U), and search for `"channelId"`, the value next to it is the 24-character UC... ID. Channel IDs always start with UC and are stable, the channel handle (the @-prefixed name) can change without affecting the feed URL.
What is the YouTube playlist RSS feed URL?
Use https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?playlist_id=[ID] where [ID] is the playlist's PL... or UU... identifier (the value of the list= query parameter in the playlist URL). Like channel feeds, playlist feeds expose the most recent ~15 videos as Atom and update automatically when new videos are added.
How many videos does a YouTube RSS feed include?
YouTube caps channel feeds at roughly the 15 most recent uploads. This is a platform limitation. There is no standard RSS way to request older videos; the YouTube Data API v3 or a third-party bridge is the only path to older content.
Does the YouTube RSS feed include live streams?
Live streams and premieres typically appear in the feed only after they end and become regular videos. Scheduled streams are not in the feed until they go live.
Can Aggregator import YouTube feeds?
Yes. Use the detected channel RSS URL as the source feed. Aggregator's display options can render the video inline in WordPress rather than just linking out.