---
title: Hugo RSS and Atom Feeds
url: https://devopstales.github.io/hugo/hugo-rss-and-atom-feeds/
date: 2026-06-03
keywords: Hugo, RSS, Atom, atom.xml, hugo-atom-feed, feeds
---


RSS and Atom are still how a lot of readers and tools discover new posts. Hugo can emit both from the same content tree. On DevOpsTales the site ships classic RSS plus Atom via the [hugo-atom-feed](https://github.com/kaushalmodi/hugo-atom-feed) component theme, with a custom Atom template that skips the `filedir` partial section.

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![Hugo](/img/hugo.webp)

## Enable RSS and Atom outputs

In `config.toml`, assign formats per page kind. Home and section pages get both feeds; individual posts stay on HTML (plus any other formats you add):

```toml
theme = ["hugo-atom-feed", "hugo-dynamic-tabs", "roadster"]

[outputs]
  home    = ["HTML", "RSS", "ATOM", "llms", "WebManifest"]
  section = ["HTML", "RSS", "ATOM"]
  page    = ["HTML", "markdown"]
```

Putting `hugo-atom-feed` in the `theme` list registers the Atom media type and output format. Roadster (or your UI theme) still owns the HTML chrome.

After `hugo`, you typically get:

- Site RSS: `/index.xml` (Hugo’s default RSS basename)
- Site Atom: `/atom.xml`
- Per-section feeds under each section URL

Exact paths follow your `baseURL` and pretty-URL settings. On this site that means URLs under `https://devopstales.github.io/`.

## Why customize Atom

The stock Atom theme is a good start. This blog also keeps HTML fragments under `content/filedir/` for series includes. Those files are not articles. They should not pollute `/atom.xml` or invent a useless section feed.

Two layers handle that:

1. A site param listing sections to treat carefully:

```toml
[Params]
  disable_atom_sections = ["filedir"]
```

2. A site override of `layouts/_default/list.atom.xml` that returns early for that section:

```go-html-template
{{- if eq .Section "filedir" -}}
{{/* Skip atom feed for filedir section */}}
{{- else -}}
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"{{ with site.Language.Locale }} xml:lang="{{ . }}"{{ end }}>
  ...
</feed>
{{- end -}}
```

Inside the feed, entries are limited to types in `mainSections` (or `feedSections` if you set it), and pages with `disable_feed: true` are dropped:

```go-html-template
{{- $feed_sections := site.Params.feedSections | default site.Params.mainSections -}}
{{- $pages := where .Pages "Type" "in" $feed_sections -}}
{{- $pages = where $pages ".Params.disable_feed" "!=" true -}}
```

That keeps Atom aligned with the “real” blog sections (ai, kubernetes, kubernetes, hugo, and so on) instead of every directory under `content/`.

## RSS override

RSS uses Hugo’s familiar channel/item shape. This site overrides `layouts/_default/rss.xml` so summaries prefer the page summary (from the body / `<!--more-->`) and can attach a thumbnail enclosure when `thumbnail` is set in front matter.

Per-post opt-out for RSS:

```yaml
rss_ignore: true
```

Use that sparingly for pages that must exist in HTML but should not show up in feed readers.

## Verify

```bash
hugo

curl -sI https://devopstales.github.io/atom.xml | head
curl -s https://devopstales.github.io/atom.xml | head -n 40

curl -sI https://devopstales.github.io/index.xml | head
curl -s https://devopstales.github.io/kubernetes/atom.xml | head -n 20
```

Confirm `filedir` does not get a useful Atom listing, and that new sections you care about (including `hugo`) appear in `mainsections` so they are eligible for feed entries.

You can also paste the Atom URL into the [W3C Feed Validation Service](https://validator.w3.org/feed/).

## Summary

Enable `RSS` and `ATOM` on home and section outputs, add `hugo-atom-feed` as a component theme, then override Atom (and RSS if needed) so partial content directories like `filedir` stay out of reader inboxes. The result is boring in the best way: stable feed URLs that track your real posts.