# Feed discovery with rel="alternate" > Source: > Published: 2026-06-18 00:00:00+00:00 # Feed discovery with rel="alternate" If your site publishes a feed — RSS, Atom, or JSON Feed — announce it in with . Feed readers, agents, and browsers discover it without guessing the URL. ## What it is `` in `` declares an alternative representation of the current page or site — most commonly a syndication feed, but also a translated version, a print stylesheet, or, increasingly, the page’s Markdown source. Feed readers, browsers, and a growing number of AI agents look for these links to subscribe, switch language, or fetch a machine-friendly version. For feeds specifically: ``` ``` The browser, [feed readers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_feed_aggregators), and tools like the [W3C Feed Validation Service](https://validator.w3.org/feed/) pick these up automatically. The `title` attribute is what the user sees in the subscribe UI — make it specific. ## Why it matters **Feed readers cannot subscribe to what they cannot find.** Without`` , the user has to know the URL. With it, every modern reader auto-discovers from the homepage or any article.**Browsers and OS-level readers (Safari, NetNewsWire, Reeder) use the same discovery hook.****Search engines and aggregators** treat`rel="alternate"` as the canonical signal for syndication.Pair the same pattern with`rel="alternate"` is a multi-purpose link relation.`hreflang` for translated URLs (see[hreflang](/spec/i18n/hreflang/)), with`type="text/markdown"` for[Markdown source endpoints](/spec/agent-readiness/markdown-source-endpoints/), and with`media` for print or mobile alternates. Using it consistently teaches every tool that reads your site what to look for. ## How to implement **Pick the right MIME type.** Browsers and readers branch on it. | Format | MIME type | |---|---| | RSS 2.0 | `application/rss+xml` | | Atom 1.0 | `application/atom+xml` | | JSON Feed | `application/feed+json` | | Markdown source | `text/markdown` | **Include title** for every alternate. A reader’s subscribe dialog shows the title verbatim. “RSS Feed” tells the user nothing; “Example — Engineering blog” does. **Put the most-preferred feed first.** Some readers offer the first alternate by default if there are several. **Use absolute URLs in the feed itself**, even if the `href` here is relative — see [machine-readable formats](/spec/agent-readiness/machine-readable-formats/). **Site-wide vs page-specific.** A blog index links to the main feed. An individual category page can additionally link to that category’s feed. An individual post does not need its own feed. **Don’t forget HTTP discovery.** Some readers also honour `Link` headers: ``` Link: ; rel="alternate"; type="application/rss+xml"; title="Example — Posts" ``` Useful for non-HTML responses (e.g. an API root) where there is no `` . ## Common mistakes - Using `type="text/xml"` or`application/xml` for an RSS feed. Some readers ignore it. - Linking to a feed that 404s, redirects, or fails validation. Run `https://validator.w3.org/feed/` on every feed URL before shipping. - Pointing all `` entries at the same URL “to be safe”. Each entry must describe a distinct representation. - Omitting `title` and letting the reader guess. - Putting `rel="alternate"` on an`` link in the body. It only carries discovery semantics inside`` . ## Verification `curl -s https://example.com/ | grep -i 'rel="alternate"'` returns each declared alternate.- Paste the homepage URL into a feed reader’s “Add subscription” dialog — it should resolve to the correct feed without you typing the feed URL. - The W3C [feed validator](https://validator.w3.org/feed/)returns no errors on the linked feed. - View source on a per-language page and confirm `rel="alternate" hreflang="…"` siblings sit alongside any feed alternates without conflicting. ## Related topics ## Sources & further reading - [HTML Living Standard — Link types: alternate](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/links.html#link-type-alternate)— WHATWG - [MDN — rel=alternate](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Reference/Attributes/rel#alternate)— MDN - [RSS 2.0 Specification](https://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification)— RSS Advisory Board - [RFC 4287 — The Atom Syndication Format](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4287)— IETF - [JSON Feed 1.1](https://www.jsonfeed.org/version/1.1/)— JSON Feed