Convert Any YouTube Channel to RSS Feed (No Code, No Zapier)

Every YouTube channel has a free, hidden RSS feed. Take the channel ID, slot it into a fixed URL pattern, paste into your RSS reader. No paid tools, no Zapier, no API key. Here’s the format and how to find the right ID.

The URL pattern

https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UCxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Replace UCxxxxxxxxxxxxx with the channel’s actual ID. The feed contains the channel’s last 15 uploads with title, description, and a link.

How to get the channel ID

YouTube hides the channel ID behind handles like @mkbhd. To find the actual ID:

Method 1: View page source

  1. Open the channel page on youtube.com.
  2. Right-click → “View page source.”
  3. Search for "channelId" or "externalId".
  4. Copy the value — it starts with UC followed by 22 characters.

Method 2: From a video page

  1. Open any video by that creator.
  2. Click the channel name to go to their channel.
  3. The URL might already show /channel/UC.... If yes, that’s your ID.
  4. If it shows /@handle, fall back to method 1.

Method 3: Use a converter

The RSS link generator takes any channel URL or handle and outputs the RSS feed URL.

Subscribe in your reader

The feed works in every RSS reader:

  • Feedly
  • NetNewsWire (Mac/iOS)
  • Inoreader
  • The Old Reader
  • Reeder
  • Thunderbird
  • Self-hosted: FreshRSS, Tiny Tiny RSS, Miniflux

Paste the URL, hit subscribe, done.

Playlist RSS feeds

https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?playlist_id=PLxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Same trick, with playlist_id instead of channel_id. Get the playlist ID from the URL when viewing a playlist (the part after list=).

What about Shorts?

The standard channel feed mixes regular videos and Shorts. There’s no official “Shorts only” or “long-form only” filter at the URL level — you’d need a self-hosted RSS pipeline (RSS-Bridge, for instance) to filter.

What you get in each feed item

  • Video title
  • Video URL
  • Published date
  • Description (first ~500 chars)
  • Thumbnail URL
  • View count and rating (in some readers)

Limitations

  • Last 15 videos only. No way to fetch older uploads via this feed.
  • Public videos only. Unlisted and private videos never show up.
  • No premiere notifications. Premieres usually show up after they go live.
  • Update lag. Most readers poll every 1-6 hours. New videos can take that long to appear.

Power user: combine with email or notifications

Pair the RSS feed with a watcher service to get alerts:

  • RSS to email: Blogtrottr, FeedRabbit. Send new videos to your inbox.
  • RSS to Slack/Discord: Slack RSS app, Discord MonitoRSS bot.
  • RSS to phone: Inoreader has a mobile app with push notifications.

Why bother when you can just subscribe on YouTube?

Three reasons:

  • No algorithm filtering. YouTube subscriptions are heavily curated. RSS shows everything chronologically.
  • Cross-platform aggregation. RSS readers combine feeds from blogs, podcasts, newsletters, and YouTube in one place.
  • No login. RSS readers don’t require a YouTube account. Useful for shared dashboards or browsing without ads.

Common mistakes

  • Using a handle instead of the channel ID. The handle URL (@username) doesn’t work in the feed pattern. You need the UC... ID.
  • Confusing channel ID with channel handle. The handle is @mkbhd. The ID is UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ. Different things.
  • Trying to fetch private videos. Won’t appear in the feed, no matter how you set it up.
  • Expecting real-time updates. RSS polling lag is normal. Don’t use it for time-critical alerts.

FAQ

Does this work for YouTube Music?

No. Music topic channels are auto-generated and don’t expose RSS feeds.

Can I get RSS for live streams?

Live streams appear in the feed when they go live, treated like a regular video. Premieres show up too.

Is this an official YouTube feature?

Yes — Google has provided RSS feeds for YouTube channels for years. They’re undocumented in places but actively maintained.

Are there limits or rate caps?

If you’re polling at a reasonable interval (every 30+ minutes), no. Aggressive scraping might get IP-throttled.

Why doesn’t the feed have full descriptions?

YouTube truncates descriptions in the RSS feed. To get the full description, you’d need to call the YouTube API.

Build your feed in one click

The RSS link generator takes any channel URL, handle, or ID and outputs the RSS feed URL ready to paste into your reader. Pair with the YouTube auto-subscribe link generator if you also want to grow your own channel.