JSON Feed

JSON Feed is a web syndication format that expresses the same content as RSS and Atom, but in JSON instead of XML. Created in 2017 by Brent Simmons and Manton Reece, it describes a feed as a simple JSON object with a list of items, each carrying an id, content, and a handful of well-known fields. The pitch was straightforward: JSON is what most developers already parse every day, so a feed should be readable and producible without an XML toolchain.

• Plain JSON structure - A feed is an object with top-level metadata (title, home_page_url, feed_url) and an items array, so any JSON parser can read it.
• Stable item identity - Every item has a required id, giving readers a reliable way to tell new content from already-seen content.
• HTML and plain-text content - Items can carry content_html, content_text, or both, matching how modern publishing actually works.
• Extensions namespace - Custom keys prefixed with an underscore let publishers add data without breaking conforming readers.

In practice JSON Feed shows up as a JSON alternative alongside the RSS and Atom feeds a site already publishes, letting feed readers and automation consume updates without XML parsing. For API operations it is less a heavyweight standard than a reminder that syndication is just another JSON payload — one that fits the same tooling teams use for the rest of their APIs. That makes it easy for agents and scripts to poll a site for changes and act on new items using the JSON handling they already have.