Back Up Your Feeds with OPML

Your subscription list is the most valuable thing in your reader: years of discovered sources that no search engine can reconstruct for you. OPML packs that entire list into one small portable file, so a backup takes seconds and switching readers takes minutes. This guide covers what OPML is, how to export it, where to keep it and how to restore from it.

What OPML actually is

OPML stands for Outline Processor Markup Language, but all that matters is what it does: it lists feed subscriptions, usually with titles, feed URLs and folder structure, in plain XML that almost every reader can export and import. It carries no read history and no settings, just the list itself. Think of it as a contacts backup for your reading life rather than a full clone of your reader.

Exporting your list

In most readers the option sits under settings, subscriptions or an export menu, often labelled OPML export or download subscriptions. Save the resulting file with the date in its name, such as feeds-2026-09-23.opml, so multiple backups stay distinguishable. If your reader offers no export at all, treat that as a warning sign about how portable your list really is.

Where to keep the backup

The file is tiny, usually a few kilobytes, so keep several copies without thinking twice:

• With your documents. A copy in your normal documents folder or cloud drive survives a lost device.
• With your password manager. Many managers accept file attachments, which puts the backup behind your strongest authentication.
• Dated, not overwritten. Keep the last few exports so a corrupted or accidentally emptied list cannot propagate into your only copy.

Export again whenever your list changes meaningfully, and at least quarterly. There is no reason to ration backups of a file this small.

Restoring and switching readers

Importing is the mirror of exporting: find the import or upload option in the new reader, point it at your OPML file and confirm. Folders usually survive the trip, while read states and starred items generally do not, so export those separately first if your reader supports it. The whole move takes minutes, which is exactly the position Google Reader's shutdown taught users to want: read our account of what that shutdown taught RSS users.

OPML is a contacts backup for your reading life, not a full clone of your reader.

FAQ

Summary

Feeds come and go but your list should outlive every reader. Export it to OPML, keep dated copies somewhere you control and you can move anywhere in minutes.

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