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Broken sitemap file

sitemaps.sitemap_parse_error
Priority
Low
Severity
Warning

What we look for

These sitemap files (files that list a site's pages for search engines) could not be read as valid XML, the format sitemaps are written in. A file cut short or a stray character is often the cause.

Why it matters

Search engines reject a sitemap they cannot read, so none of the pages it lists reach them that way.

How to fix

Open the file in an XML validator to find the error, then fix whatever writes it, usually your CMS or SEO plugin. Re-submit it in Google Search Console once it validates.

Where you’ll see it

The id is stable, and every surface uses it, so it’s the thing to search for or hand to an agent.

Terminal
When it is one of the five findings under Fix first, raptor crawl prints the id under it.
Check: sitemaps.sitemap_parse_error
crawl.json and the CSV
The crawl JSON names the finding by this id, and so do the CSV and raptor_query.
"check_id": "sitemaps.sitemap_parse_error"
The HTML report
This link opens the finding in the report, and each finding shows its id.
crawl.html#finding=sitemaps.sitemap_parse_error
MCP
raptor_findings with this check_id returns the finding in full, with a fix brief ready to paste into a task. If it didn’t fire, it says why.
raptor_findings {
  "job_id": "...",
  "check_id": "sitemaps.sitemap_parse_error"
}