Custom YouTube RSS Feed Generator with Redis Caching - n8n Workflow

• Individuals who want an ad-free and distraction-free experience for consuming content from their favorite YouTube channels.


• Technical users who are self-hosting n8n and wish to implement advanced caching strategies using Redis.


• Developers seeking complex n8n templates utilizing external APIs (YouTube) and databases (Redis) within a single n8n workflow.


• Users who prefer to aggregate all content, including video, within a centralized RSS reader.

This comprehensive n8n workflow addresses the limitations of standard YouTube RSS feeds by introducing robust caching and data enrichment. Triggered by an RSS reader via an n8n webhook, the system first retrieves the raw channel feeds. It smartly utilizes a Redis database to cache video details, minimizing unnecessary calls to the YouTube API and significantly improving response times. For any new, uncached video, the n8n workflow pulls the player embed HTML and detailed metadata using the YouTube n8n node, ensuring the resulting RSS feed includes a playable video widget directly within the feed item. This advanced n8n template filters out YouTube shorts and videos older than one week, delivering a clean, curated feed of recent content.

The entire process is initiated by an external RSS reader client calling the dedicated n8n trigger Webhook.

1. Channel Input: The flow starts by defining the list of YouTube Channel IDs configured in the initial Set Channels n8n node.


2. Read Feeds & Filter: For each channel, the n8n workflow reads the public YouTube RSS feed. A subsequent Filter n8n node removes content categorized as YouTube Shorts and videos published more than seven days ago.


3. Cache Check (Redis): The flow attempts to retrieve the full RSS item data from Redis using the video ID as the key. The If n8n node checks if the data exists (Video in Cache?).


4. Process Uncached Items: If the data is missing, the n8n workflow proceeds to the YouTube n8n node to fetch the video's details, including the crucial player.embedHtml. Code nodes then extract a short description and compile all data points.


5. Create Custom RSS Item: A dedicated Code n8n node builds the XML fragment () for the RSS feed. This is where the YouTube embedded player HTML is inserted into the tag.


6. Cache Write: This newly generated RSS item is then written to the Redis cache using the Redis n8n node, setting an expiration time (TTL) of one week.


7. Merge and Sort: The newly processed items and the items retrieved from the cache are merged together. They are then sorted in descending order by publication date.


8. Build and Respond: A final Code n8n node aggregates all individual XML items, wraps them in the main RSS structure, and the Respond to Webhook n8n node sends the complete XML data back to the RSS reader, completing the cycle of this powerful n8n workflow.

To deploy this powerful n8n workflow, follow these setup steps:

1. Import: Copy the provided JSON and import it into your n8n instance as a new n8n workflow.


2. Channel Configuration (Step 1): Locate the 'Set Channels' n8n node. Modify the JSON array within this node to include the channel IDs of the YouTube creators you wish to follow. (Instructions for finding channel IDs are provided in the Sticky Note).


3. Redis Credentials (Step 2): Configure credentials for the Redis n8n node ('Get Video Info From Cache' and 'Cache Video Info'). This requires a running Redis instance.


4. Google Credentials (Step 3): Configure Google/YouTube API credentials for the 'Get Video Details' n8n node, granting access to the YouTube API.


5. Activate and Copy Webhook (Step 4): Activate the n8n workflow. Copy the Production Webhook URL from the 'RSS Webhook' n8n trigger node. This URL is your new personalized YouTube RSS feed address.


6. Integration: Paste the copied URL into your preferred RSS reader application.

RSS Webhook (n8n trigger): The entry point of the n8n workflow. It is configured to respond with XML data, necessary for RSS readers.
Set Channels (n8n node): Holds the configuration data (Channel IDs) for the YouTube sources. This must be updated to customize the feed.
RSS Read YouTube Channel Feeds (n8n node): Pulls the raw RSS feed from the native YouTube endpoint for each configured channel ID.
Filter Out Shorts and Old Videos (n8n node): Core logic n8n node that uses two conditions: filtering out links that start with /shorts and ensuring the pubDate is recent (within the last 7 days).
Redis (n8n node): Used in two instances: 'Get Video Info From Cache' (read operation) and 'Cache Video Info' (set operation, saving the generated XML item string with a 7-day TTL).
Video in Cache? (If n8n node): Determines the control flow based on the presence of cached data, optimizing API usage.
Get Video Details (YouTube n8n node): Calls the YouTube API (using Google credentials) to retrieve detailed video information, specifically focusing on the embed HTML player.
Create RSS Items (Code n8n node): Crucial transformation n8n node. It generates the final XML structure, embedding the video player HTML within the tag, enabling video playback in compatible RSS readers.
Build RSS Feed (Code n8n node): Final assembly step. This n8n node wraps all merged and sorted XML item fragments into the complete and structure before transmission.
Respond to Webhook (n8n node): Sends the fully constructed XML back to the client, setting the Content-Type header to application/xml.