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listmonk allows you to make campaigns publicly accessible through a web archive, complete with RSS feed support.

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Overview

Public campaign archives allow you to:
  • Share campaigns on your website without requiring subscription
  • Provide an RSS feed for campaign updates
  • Create a public newsletter archive
  • Use custom slugs for SEO-friendly URLs

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Enabling Archive Functionality

Archives are controlled by the app.enable_public_archive setting (defined in schema.sql:244).

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Enable via Settings UI

  1. Go to Settings → General
  2. Enable “Public campaign archives”
  3. Save settings

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Enable via Configuration

In your configuration: 
[settings]
app.enable_public_archive = true
app.enable_public_archive_rss_content = true  # Include full content in RSS
The archive endpoints are registered in cmd/handlers.go:279-284: 
if a.cfg.EnablePublicArchive {
    g.GET("/archive", a.CampaignArchivesPage)
    g.GET("/archive.xml", a.GetCampaignArchivesFeed)
    g.GET("/archive/:id", a.CampaignArchivePage)
    g.GET("/archive/latest", a.CampaignArchivePageLatest)
}

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Archive URL Structure

listmonk provides several archive endpoints:

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Archive Index

Lists all archived campaigns: 
https://your-listmonk.com/archive
  • Paginated list of campaigns
  • Shows campaign subject and send date
  • Links to individual campaign pages
Handled by cmd/archive.go:99-116.

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Individual Campaign

View a specific campaign by UUID: 
https://your-listmonk.com/archive/campaign-uuid-here
Or with custom slug: 
https://your-listmonk.com/archive/monthly-newsletter-january-2024
The archive page handler (cmd/archive.go:119-174) supports both UUID and custom slug lookups.

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Latest Campaign

Always shows the most recent archived campaign: 
https://your-listmonk.com/archive/latest
Useful for embedding on your website to always show the latest newsletter.

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JSON API

Get campaign archives as JSON: 
GET /api/public/archive?page=1&per_page=20
Returns: 
{
  "data": {
    "results": [
      {
        "uuid": "campaign-uuid",
        "subject": "Campaign Subject",
        "url": "https://your-listmonk.com/archive/campaign-uuid",
        "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
        "send_at": "2024-01-15T12:00:00Z"
      }
    ],
    "total": 50,
    "page": 1,
    "per_page": 20
  }
}
API endpoint: cmd/handlers.go:262 and handler in cmd/archive.go:27-50.

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Archiving Campaigns

Campaigns must be explicitly enabled for archiving.

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Enable Archive for Campaign

When creating or editing a campaign:
1

Open campaign editor

Create a new campaign or edit an existing one
2

Enable archiving

Check “Enable public archive” in campaign settings
3

Set custom slug (optional)

Add a custom URL slug like january-2024-newsletter
4

Configure archive metadata

Set subscriber data to use for template rendering in the archive
5

Save campaign

The campaign will be publicly accessible once sent

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Database Schema

Archive settings are stored in the campaigns table (schema.sql:126-129): 
-- Publishing.
archive             BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT false,
archive_slug        TEXT NULL UNIQUE,
archive_template_id INTEGER REFERENCES templates(id),
archive_meta        JSONB NOT NULL DEFAULT '{}',

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API: Enable Archive

PUT /api/campaigns/:id/archive

{
  "archive": true,
  "archive_slug": "monthly-newsletter-jan-2024",
  "archive_meta": {
    "name": "Newsletter Subscriber",
    "email": "[email protected]"
  }
}

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RSS Feed for Archives

listmonk provides an RSS feed for archived campaigns.

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RSS Feed URL

https://your-listmonk.com/archive.xml

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RSS Feed Configuration

Control RSS content with app.enable_public_archive_rss_content setting:
  • true - Include full campaign HTML in feed items
  • false - Include only title and link
Default from schema.sql:246: 
'app.enable_public_archive_rss_content': 'true'

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RSS Feed Implementation

The feed is generated in cmd/archive.go:53-96:
  • Uses the github.com/gorilla/feeds library
  • Feed title comes from app.site_name setting
  • Feed description: “Campaign Archives”
  • Items include:
    • Title: Campaign subject
    • Link: Archive URL
    • Content: Full campaign HTML (if enabled)
    • Published date: Campaign send_at or created_at

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Feed Pagination

https://your-listmonk.com/archive.xml?page=1&per_page=50
Default: 20 items per page

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Archive Metadata

When archiving a campaign, you provide metadata that substitutes for actual subscriber data.

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Why Archive Metadata?

Campaigns use template variables like: 
<p>Hello {{ .Subscriber.Name }}!</p>
<p>Your email: {{ .Subscriber.Email }}</p>
For public archives, you need dummy subscriber data to render these variables.

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Setting Archive Metadata

Configure when enabling archive: 
{
  "archive": true,
  "archive_meta": {
    "email": "[email protected]",
    "name": "Newsletter Subscriber",
    "attribs": {
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "plan": "Premium"
    }
  }
}
This metadata is stored in the archive_meta JSONB column and used during rendering (cmd/archive.go:252-257).
Use generic values in archive metadata to protect subscriber privacy.

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Privacy Considerations

Be careful what you include in public archives. They are accessible to anyone.

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Best Practices

1

Review content before archiving

Ensure no sensitive subscriber information is in the campaign content
2

Use generic archive metadata

Don’t use real subscriber data in archive_meta
3

Disable individual tracking links

Archive pages don’t track clicks or views per subscriber
4

Consider subscriber-only content

Use conditional template logic to hide sensitive content in archives:
{{ if .Subscriber.UUID }}
  <!-- This appears only in emails, not archives -->
  <p>Your personal discount code: {{ .Subscriber.Attribs.discount_code }}</p>
{{ end }}
5

Review archive template

Use a different template for archives if needed via archive_template_id

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What’s Not Tracked in Archives

From cmd/public.go:584:
  • Campaign views are excluded if campaign UUID is the dummy UUID
  • No subscriber-specific tracking
  • Unsubscribe links don’t work
  • Preference management links are disabled

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Customizing Archive Pages

Archive pages use the standard public template system.

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Archive Page Template

The archive list page uses the archive template (cmd/archive.go:109-115): 
<div class="campaigns">
  {{ range .Campaigns }}
    <div class="campaign">
      <h2><a href="{{ .URL }}">{{ .Subject }}</a></h2>
      <time>{{ .SendAt }}</time>
    </div>
  {{ end }}
</div>

<div class="pagination">
  {{ .Pagination }}
</div>

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Individual Campaign Template

Individual campaigns use their assigned campaign template or archive template. The rendering process (cmd/archive.go:165-173):
  1. Compiles the campaign template
  2. Loads archive metadata as subscriber
  3. Renders the campaign body
  4. Returns raw HTML

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Custom Archive Template

Create a dedicated template for archives:
  1. Create template with type “Campaign”
  2. When archiving, set archive_template_id to this template
  3. The archive will use this template instead of the campaign’s template
PUT /api/campaigns/:id/archive

{
  "archive": true,
  "archive_template_id": 5,
  "archive_slug": "newsletter-jan-2024"
}

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Custom CSS and JavaScript

Customize archive appearance with custom CSS/JS.

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Add Custom Styles

In Settings → Appearance → Public custom CSS: 
.archive .campaign {
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  padding: 20px;
  margin-bottom: 20px;
  border-radius: 8px;
}

.archive h2 {
  color: #333;
  font-size: 24px;
}
Served via cmd/handlers.go:286 at /public/custom.css.

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Add Custom Scripts

In Settings → Appearance → Public custom JS: 
// Track archive page views
document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
  if (window.location.pathname.startsWith('/archive/')) {
    // Your analytics code here
  }
});
Served via cmd/handlers.go:287 at /public/custom.js.

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Embedding Archives on Your Website

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Embed Latest Campaign

Use an iframe: 
<iframe 
  src="https://your-listmonk.com/archive/latest" 
  width="100%" 
  height="600" 
  frameborder="0">
</iframe>

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Fetch and Display with JavaScript

fetch('https://your-listmonk.com/api/public/archive?per_page=5')
  .then(response => response.json())
  .then(data => {
    const campaigns = data.data.results;
    const html = campaigns.map(c => `
      <div class="campaign">
        <h3><a href="${c.url}">${c.subject}</a></h3>
        <p>${new Date(c.send_at).toLocaleDateString()}</p>
      </div>
    `).join('');
    
    document.getElementById('campaigns').innerHTML = html;
  });

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Subscribe to RSS

Add RSS link to your website: 
<link 
  rel="alternate" 
  type="application/rss+xml" 
  title="Newsletter Archive" 
  href="https://your-listmonk.com/archive.xml"
>

<a href="https://your-listmonk.com/archive.xml">
  Subscribe to RSS
</a>

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Use Cases

Make your monthly newsletters publicly available for transparency and SEO:
  • Enable archive for all newsletter campaigns
  • Use descriptive slugs: newsletter-2024-january
  • Add to company website footer
  • Submit RSS feed to feed aggregators
Archive campaigns that announce new blog posts:
  • Use archive as alternative content feed
  • SEO benefits from indexed campaign content
  • RSS feed as blog update notification
Public archive of product updates and release notes:
  • Chronological history of product changes
  • RSS feed for developer updates
  • Link from documentation
Public archive of past event announcements:
  • Shows history of community events
  • Helps with event discovery
  • Can be embedded on events page

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SEO Optimization

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Custom Slugs

Use descriptive, keyword-rich slugs:
  • ✅ monthly-security-update-january-2024
  • ✅ new-feature-announcement-dark-mode
  • ❌ campaign-123
  • ❌ nl-jan

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Archive Metadata

The archive pages include metadata from your settings:
  • Site name from app.site_name
  • Favicon from app.favicon_url
  • Logo from app.logo_url

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Sitemap

listmonk doesn’t automatically generate a sitemap. Consider creating one that includes your archive URLs.

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Troubleshooting

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Archives Not Appearing

1

Check feature is enabled

Verify app.enable_public_archive = true in settings
2

Confirm campaign is archived

Campaign must have archive = true set
3

Verify campaign is sent

Only sent (finished) campaigns appear in archives
4

Check campaign type

Only regular campaigns are archived, not opt-in campaigns (cmd/archive.go:133)

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Template Rendering Errors

  • Ensure archive_meta includes all variables used in templates
  • Check template syntax
  • Review application logs for specific errors

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RSS Feed Not Updating

  • RSS feeds are generated in real-time, not cached
  • Check browser/feed reader cache
  • Verify campaigns have proper send_at dates

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