What is an OPML file? How to move your RSS feeds

Updated September 27, 2026 5 min read

An OPML file is a small text file that lists the RSS feeds you follow, sorted into your folders. RSS readers and podcast apps use it to move your subscriptions: you export the file from one app and import it into another. It holds the addresses of your feeds, not the posts in them.

What does OPML stand for?

OPML stands for Outline Processor Markup Language. It is an XML format for outlines, first published in 2000. Its specification notes that it "has also become popular as a format for exchanging subscription lists between feed readers and aggregators", and that is what RSS readers use it for. Version 2.0 is the last version.

What does an OPML file look like?

Open one in a text editor and you see a list like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<opml version="2.0">
  <head>
    <title>My feeds</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <outline text="News" title="News">
      <outline type="rss" text="BBC News" title="BBC News" xmlUrl="https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/rss.xml" htmlUrl="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news"/>
      <outline type="rss" text="The Verge" title="The Verge" xmlUrl="https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml" htmlUrl="https://www.theverge.com"/>
    </outline>
    <outline type="rss" text="WordPress News" title="WordPress News" xmlUrl="https://wordpress.org/news/feed/" htmlUrl="https://wordpress.org/news"/>
  </body>
</opml>

head holds the file's title.
Each outline with type="rss" is one feed. xmlUrl is the feed's address, and htmlUrl is the website.
An outline that holds other outlines is a folder. Here, "News" holds two feeds.

How do I open an OPML file?

It's plain text, so any text editor or web browser opens it. To use the feeds in it, import the file into an RSS reader, which then follows every feed on the list. Feeder keeps your folders when it imports a file.

How do I export an OPML file from Feedly, Inoreader or another reader?

Feedly: sign in to Feedly in a web browser and open feedly.com/i/opml. This only works in Feedly's web app, not in the mobile apps. According to Feedly's help center, the file leaves out Boards, Read Later, Feedly AI Feeds and Reddit feeds.
Inoreader: Inoreader's help center confirms that you can export your feeds, but doesn't list the steps. Look for Export or OPML in Inoreader's preferences.
Feeder: click Library, open the Import & Export tab and click Export to OPML.
Other readers: look for Export or OPML in the settings.

How do I import an OPML file into Feeder?

Sign in to Feeder on the web and click Library in the left sidebar.
Open the Import & Export tab. The direct link is feeder.co/library/import-export.
Under Import, click Import from file and choose your OPML file.
When you see Import was successful!, your feeds and folders are in Feeder.

Import works on every plan. Feeds you already follow aren't added twice. The free plan updates up to 200 feeds: if your file has more, Feeder imports them all and keeps the first 200 updating until you remove some or upgrade to Plus, which is $7.99 a month billed yearly for 2,500 feeds. See Import and export your feeds with OPML for the details.

Moving to Inoreader instead? Its help center says to use the Import feeds option in the sidebar of its Add feed page.

What is the difference between OPML and RSS?

An RSS feed comes from one website and lists its newest posts. An OPML file comes from you: it lists many feeds by their address, with your folders. Your reader uses the OPML file once, to set up your subscriptions, and from then on it reads each RSS feed by itself.

Have a list of feed addresses but no OPML file? Put one address per line in a CSV file, import it into Feeder, then click Export to OPML.

Do podcast apps use OPML?

Yes. Podcasts are RSS feeds, so podcast apps can move your shows with OPML too. In Pocket Casts, for example, tap Profile, then Settings, select Import & Export OPML and choose Send email or Save file, as Pocket Casts' help explains.

You can import a podcast OPML file into Feeder as well. New episodes then show up as posts, and in the Feeder web app each one has a Play button. For daily listening, a podcast player is still the better fit.

Common questions

Does an OPML file include my read or saved articles?

No. It lists feeds and folders only. Feedly's export, for example, leaves out Boards and Read Later.

How do I create an OPML file?

Export one from your RSS reader. You can also write one by hand in a text editor, following the example above, and save it with the .opml extension.

Why won't my OPML file import into Feeder?

Check that the file is OPML, CSV or Excel, and not a web page or a JSON file. One file must also have fewer than 10,000 feeds and fewer than 750 folders.

Try Feeder

Moving from another reader? Import your OPML file on the free plan, and your folders come with it.

Feeder is an RSS reader for the web, iOS and Android, with extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge. The free plan follows up to 200 feeds, updated as often as every 30 minutes, with no ads. Plus is $7.99 a month, billed yearly, for 2,500 feeds, updates as often as every 5 minutes and e-mail summaries.

Get started with Feeder for free