Scrape blog posts via RSS feeds (free, no API key) with Apify fallback for JS-heavy sites. Use when you need to monitor competitor blogs, track industry content, or aggregate blog posts by keyword.
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---
name: blog-feed-monitor
description: >
Scrape blog posts via RSS feeds (free, no API key) with Apify fallback for
JS-heavy sites. Use when you need to monitor competitor blogs, track industry
content, or aggregate blog posts by keyword.
---
# Blog Feed Monitor
Scrape blog posts via RSS/Atom feeds (free) with optional Apify fallback for JS-heavy sites.
## Quick Start
No API key needed for RSS mode.
```bash
# Scrape a blog's RSS feed
python3 skills/blog-feed-monitor/scripts/scrape_blogs.py \
--urls "https://example.com/blog" --days 30
# Multiple blogs with keyword filter
python3 skills/blog-feed-monitor/scripts/scrape_blogs.py \
--urls "https://blog1.com,https://blog2.com" --keywords "AI,marketing" --output summary
# Force Apify for JS-heavy sites
python3 skills/blog-feed-monitor/scripts/scrape_blogs.py \
--urls "https://example.com" --mode apify
```
## How It Works
### Auto Mode (default)
1. For each URL, tries to discover an RSS/Atom feed:
- Checks HTML `<link rel="alternate">` tags
- Probes common paths: `/feed`, `/rss`, `/atom.xml`, `/feed.xml`, `/rss.xml`, `/blog/feed`, `/index.xml`
2. Parses discovered feeds (supports RSS 2.0 and Atom)
3. If any URLs fail, falls back to Apify `jupri/rss-xml-scraper` (if token available)
4. Applies date and keyword filtering client-side
> **Note:** The Apify fallback actor `jupri/rss-xml-scraper` may need updating -- it has not been verified recently. RSS mode works reliably without it.
### RSS Mode
Only tries RSS feeds, no Apify fallback.
### Apify Mode
Uses Apify actor directly, skipping RSS discovery.
## CLI Reference
| Flag | Default | Description |
|------|---------|-------------|
| `--urls` | *required* | Blog URL(s), comma-separated |
| `--keywords` | none | Keywords to filter (comma-separated, OR logic) |
| `--days` | 30 | Only include posts from last N days |
| `--max-posts` | 50 | Max posts to return |
| `--mode` | auto | `auto` (RSS + fallback), `rss` (RSS only), `apify` (Apify only) |
| `--output` | json | Output format: `json` or `summary` |
| `--token` | env var | Apify token (only needed for Apify mode/fallback) |
| `--timeout` | 300 | Max seconds for Apify run |
## Cost
- **RSS mode:** Free (no API, no tokens)
- **Apify mode:** Uses `jupri/rss-xml-scraper` -- minimal Apify credits
