cloudscribe.Syndication

Overview

cloudscribe.Syndication is a comprehensive RSS and Atom feed generation library for ASP.NET Core applications. It provides a flexible, multi-tenant syndication solution with customisable visual presentation capabilities.

The library integrates seamlessly with the cloudscribe ecosystem whilst remaining flexible enough to be used in any ASP.NET Core application. It transforms your content into standards-compliant RSS and Atom feeds with modern, responsive styling that makes feeds enjoyable to read in browsers.

Features

Feed Generation

• RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0 support
• Standards-compliant XML output
• Customisable feed metadata
• Content formatting and encoding
• Image and enclosure support

Multi-Tenant Architecture

• Provider pattern for content sourcing
• Site-specific feed configuration
• Tenant-aware feed resolution
• Scalable provider system

Visual Presentation

• XSL transformation for HTML styling (from version 8.5 onwards)
• Responsive CSS design (from version 8.5 onwards)

Developer Experience

• NuGet package installation
• Automatic configuration
• Extensible provider system
• Built-in caching support

Getting Started

Installation

Install the cloudscribe.Syndication.Web package via NuGet:

Basic Setup

Add syndication services to your ASP.NET Core application:

// In Startup.cs or Program.cs
public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    // Add your channel provider
    services.AddScoped<IChannelProvider, MyChannelProvider>();
    
    // Add syndication services
    services.AddScoped<IChannelProviderResolver, DefaultChannelProviderResolver>();
    services.AddScoped<IXmlFormatter, DefaultXmlFormatter>();
}

Create a Channel Provider

Implement IChannelProvider to supply content for your RSS feed:

public class MyChannelProvider : IChannelProvider
{
    public async Task<RssChannel> GetChannel()
    {
        var channel = new RssChannel
        {
            Title = "My Blog",
            Description = "Latest blog posts and updates",
            Link = "https://myblog.com",
            PubDate = DateTime.UtcNow
        };

        // Add items to your channel
        channel.Items = await GetRecentPosts();
        
        return channel;
    }
}

Access Your Feed

Your RSS feed will be available at:

RSS Styling

cloudscribe.Syndication includes a styling system that transforms raw XML feeds into visually appealing HTML presentations when viewed in browsers.

Automatic Styling

The RSS styling system works automatically. When you install the NuGet package, it includes:

• XSL Stylesheet - Transforms RSS XML to semantic HTML
• CSS Styling - Provides modern, responsive design
• Build Integration - Automatically deploys assets to your wwwroot folder

What Users See

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<rss version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>My Blog</title>
    ...

Technical Implementation

The styling system uses:

• XML Processing Instruction - Added automatically to RSS feeds
• Graceful Degradation - Feeds work perfectly without styling files

Multi-Tenant Support

cloudscribe.Syndication provides full multi-tenant support through its provider architecture. Different sites or tenants can have completely different RSS feeds and content sources.

Multiple Providers

You can register multiple providers for different tenants or content types:

services.AddScoped<IChannelProvider, BlogChannelProvider>();
services.AddScoped<IChannelProvider, NewsChannelProvider>();
services.AddScoped<IChannelProvider, ProductChannelProvider>();

Customisation

Custom Styling

Customise the RSS feed appearance by providing your own styling files. The build system only copies default files if they don't exist, so you can override them:

1. Create wwwroot/rss-style.xsl with your custom XSL transformation
2. Create wwwroot/rss.css with your custom styling
3. Rebuild your application - your files will be preserved

Custom XML Formatting

Implement IXmlFormatter for complete control over XML generation:

public class CustomXmlFormatter : IXmlFormatter
{
    public XDocument BuildXml(RssChannel channel)
    {
        // Custom XML generation logic
        return new XDocument(/* your XML structure */);
    }
}

Advanced Configuration

Configure caching, custom endpoints, and other advanced options:

services.Configure<RssOptions>(options =>
{
    options.CacheProfile = "RssCacheProfile";
    options.DefaultChannel = "main";
    options.EnableStyling = true;
});

API Reference

Core Interfaces

IChannelProvider

Provides RSS channel content for feeds. Implement this interface to supply your content.

IChannelProviderResolver

Resolves which channel provider to use for the current request context.

IXmlFormatter

Formats RSS channel data into XML. Customise for advanced XML generation scenarios.

Key Classes

RssChannel

Represents an RSS channel with metadata and items.

RssItem

Represents an individual item within an RSS feed.

AtomFeed

Represents an Atom 1.0 feed with entries.

AtomEntry

Represents an individual entry within an Atom feed.

Controllers

RssController

Provides RSS feed endpoint at /api/rss. Handles provider resolution, XML generation, and styling.

AtomController

Provides Atom feed endpoint at /api/atom. Similar functionality to RSS controller but for Atom format.