Adding An RSS Feed
Many readers prefer to follow webcomics through an RSS feed. comic_git can build that feed for you automatically whenever your site updates.
RSS Feed options
The [RSS Feed] section supports the following options:
Build RSS feed
boolean
False
Turns RSS feed generation on or off for that comic. Extra Comics inherit this setting from the main comic unless they override it in their own comic_info.ini.
Description
string
Comic's description
A short description of your comic. This appears underneath the name of your comic in many feed readers. If you leave this out, comic_git will use the Description from that comic's [Comic Info] section.
Language
string
en-us
The language your comic is written in. For example, en for English or en-US for United States English. You can choose from this list of language codes.
Image
string
your_content/images/banner.png
The relative path to an image to represent your website in the feed. This is the feed's channel image, which many RSS readers show near the feed title or feed header. A small square image usually works best, but a banner can also be used.
Image width
integer
100
The width of the image from the Image option above, in pixels. This helps define the displayed size of the feed's channel image in RSS readers that use it.
Image height
integer
36
The height of the image from the Image option above, in pixels. This helps define the displayed size of the feed's channel image in RSS readers that use it.
Newest first
boolean
False
Reverses the order of the RSS items so the newest comic pages appear first in the feed output.
Combine with Main RSS Feed
boolean
False
Advanced option. If True, that Extra Comic's posts appear in the main comic's root feed.xml instead of getting their own separate feed file. If set on the main comic, it becomes the default for Extra Comics.
RSS title format
string
none
Advanced option. Changes how that comic's page titles appear in RSS feeds. Supports {comic_title} and {page_title}. Extra Comics inherit this setting from the main comic unless they override it.
Edit your comic_info.ini file
Look for the [RSS Feed] section in your comic_info.ini file. It should look something like this:
[RSS Feed]
Build RSS feed = FalseSet Build RSS feed to True.
The sample comic_info.ini keeps this section short on purpose, so some RSS settings use built-in defaults unless you add them yourself. You can use the table above as a reference for the other available options.
Add a way for readers to subscribe
The most common way is to add a link in your Links Bar to the feed file, such as RSS = /feed.xml.
Another good option is to use an RSS feed symbol instead of the text RSS.
Publish your comic
Once RSS is enabled, the feed file will be created the next time you build or update your site, and comic_git will keep it updated automatically alongside your comic.
If you use Extra Comics, the rest of this page covers the additional RSS behavior available for them.
Advanced: RSS feeds for Extra Comics
Extra Comics inherit the main comic's RSS settings unless you override them in that Extra Comic's own comic_info.ini file.
For each Extra Comic with RSS enabled, there are two possible outcomes:
by default, it gets its own feed file
if
Combine with Main RSS Feed = True, its posts appear in the main comic's rootfeed.xmlinstead
Turn RSS on or off for each Extra Comic
If an Extra Comic has its own comic_info.ini file, you can override whether it builds an RSS feed by adding:
or:
If you do not add that line, the Extra Comic will inherit the main comic's Build RSS feed setting.
Include an Extra Comic in the main feed
If you want Extra Comics to appear in the main comic's root feed.xml by default instead of getting their own feed files, add this to the main comic's comic_info.ini file:
Extra Comics will inherit that setting unless they override it in their own comic_info.ini files.
If you want to control one Extra Comic individually, add this to that Extra Comic's comic_info.ini file:
or:
If an Extra Comic has Build RSS feed = False, then it will not appear in any RSS feed, even if Combine with Main RSS Feed = True.
If an Extra Comic has Combine with Main RSS Feed = True, it is included in the main comic's root feed instead of getting its own separate feed file.
Where feed files are created
The feed file locations work like this:
If the main comic has RSS enabled, its feed is built at
feed.xmlEvery Extra Comic with RSS enabled gets its own feed at
<extra comic folder>/feed.xml, unless it is combined into the main feedIf an Extra Comic has
Combine with Main RSS Feed = True, its posts appear in the main comic's rootfeed.xmlinstead of getting their own separate feed file
For example, if you have an Extra Comic in stories/bonus, its own feed will be built at:
If you want to add links to those extra feed files manually so readers can subscribe to each comic separately, see Changing the Links Bar for your Extra Comic.
Titles in RSS feeds
RSS post titles keep their normal page titles by default.
Many creators will want to change the title format so readers can immediately tell which comic an update came from.
To do that, add an RSS title format to a comic's [RSS Feed] section:
With that setting, titles in RSS feeds might look like this:
You can customize the format however you like:
The available format values are:
{comic_title}{page_title}
If RSS title format is not set for a comic, that comic's RSS post titles will simply use their normal page titles.
If the main comic defines RSS title format, Extra Comics will inherit that setting unless they override it in their own comic_info.ini files.
This works the same way in both types of feeds:
a comic's own feed
the main comic's root feed, if that Extra Comic is combined into it
In other words, the title format follows the comic that owns the post, not the feed file where that post appears.
If you are still setting up your Extra Comic itself, including its own comic_info.ini and Links Bar, see Extra Comics.
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