CONVERT
OPML → RST
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Fast, secure OPML to RST conversion. No registration required.
Setup: OPML is a document format oriented around a particular office suite or publishing pipeline. Goal: an interchangeable RST. Converting OPML to RST online saves installing office suites you use once a year. Upload the document, let the server render it through the same pipeline large publishers use, and download a polished RST that keeps its original structure and typography. Technical note: OPML is a document format oriented around a particular office suite or publishing pipeline. Compare that with RST is a document format oriented around a particular office suite or publishing pipeline.
OPML Outline
Source formatOPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) is an XML format for structured outlines and lists. It is most widely used for exchanging RSS feed subscription lists between podcast apps and feed readers, and for hierarchical note-taking.
reStructuredText
Target formatRST (reStructuredText) is a lightweight markup language used in Python documentation.
Why convert OPML to RST
The driver for a OPML to RST conversion is almost always the downstream audience: the editor, archivist, signer or reader who expects a RST. Doing the conversion in a proper rendering pipeline, rather than hoping the receiving tool will figure it out, avoids layout drift and font substitutions.
HOW TO CONVERT
OPML → RST
Provide the document
Select a OPML file. Very large documents (100+ pages) may take a few extra seconds to render completely.
Render to RST
LibreOffice plus supporting filters translate the OPML into a fully-formed RST with no structural drift.
Save the result
The converted RST streams back over HTTPS; open in the target application to verify formatting.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send RST files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for OPML.
Embed in documents
Drop RST output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
RST often produces smaller files than OPML for web, email and storage.
Archive & future-proof
Store in a widely-supported format that will still open on future operating systems without legacy plugins.
OPML vs RST — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
OPML Strengths
- Standard RSS subscription interchange format.
- Simple XML — easy to parse and generate.
- Highly extensible via arbitrary attributes.
- Supported by every major outline and RSS tool.
Limitations
- XML verbosity — larger than a JSON-based equivalent.
- Specification is loose — different tools disagree on edge cases.
- Primary use (RSS reading) has shrunk dramatically since Google Reader.
RST Strengths
- Rich directives for admonitions, code, math, and custom elements.
- Cross-references work within and across documents.
- Sphinx ecosystem offers best-in-class Python docs output.
- Standardized as part of Python PEP infrastructure.
- Plain text, version-controllable.
Limitations
- Syntax denser than Markdown — higher learning curve.
- Less widely adopted than Markdown outside Python world.
- Multiple directive dialects (Sphinx, Docutils, custom) create fragmentation.
OPML vs RST — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
OPML
- MIME type
- text/x-opml
- Extension
- .opml
- Format
- XML with nested <outline> elements
- Standard
- OPML 2.0 (2006)
- Primary use
- RSS subscription interchange
RST
- MIME type
- text/x-rst
- Extension
- .rst
- Toolchain
- Docutils, Sphinx, Read the Docs
- Encoding
- UTF-8
- Related formats
- MyST (Markdown + RST directives)
| Specification | OPML | RST |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | text/x-opml | text/x-rst |
| Extension | .opml | .rst |
| Format | XML with nested <outline> elements | — |
| Standard | OPML 2.0 (2006) | — |
| Primary use | RSS subscription interchange | — |
| Toolchain | — | Docutils, Sphinx, Read the Docs |
| Encoding | — | UTF-8 |
| Related formats | — | MyST (Markdown + RST directives) |
OPML vs RST — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
OPML
- Typical RSS reader export (50 feeds) 5-30 KB
- Deep outline (Scrivener novel plan) 20-200 KB
RST
- API reference page 5-50 KB
- Sphinx project chapter 20-100 KB
- Full library documentation 500 KB - 10 MB
Quality & Compatibility
The conversion preserves document structure rather than pixel-perfect rendering: a paragraph in OPML is a paragraph in RST, not a bitmap snapshot. That means you can still edit and search the RST. If you need exact visual fidelity (for legal or print workflows), export to PDF as the final step.
Tips for Best Results
- Run a spell-check in the RST after conversion — occasionally hyphenation or language tagging shifts and typos become invisible to the original checker.
- Include fallback generic fonts (sans-serif, serif) in your style definitions so the RST degrades gracefully when a font is missing on a viewer device.
- For archive-quality output, export to PDF/A after converting to RST; this locks the document against future rendering drift.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, as long as the fonts are standard (system fonts or common office fonts like Arial, Calibri, Times, Helvetica). Custom corporate fonts survive if they are embedded in the source document; otherwise the conversion substitutes the closest available match, which can shift line breaks by a character or two.
Yes. Inline images are embedded into the RST at full resolution, editable tables become native RST tables, and hyperlinks keep their URLs. Complex features unique to OPML — macros, form fields, track-changes — are mapped where an equivalent exists in RST and flattened into static content otherwise.
All uploads go over TLS, files are processed in isolated containers and both the source and the output are deleted within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never indexed or used for training, and the paid plan adds a signable data-processing agreement for regulated workflows.
RELATED CONVERSIONS
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Related comparisons
See these formats side by side to understand which fits your use case best.
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