diff --git a/netlify.toml b/netlify.toml
index cd6e3c4..168318b 100644
--- a/netlify.toml
+++ b/netlify.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [build]
-command = "npm run build"
+command = "npm ci && npm run build"
 publish = ".next"
 
 [[plugins]]
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 438257e..05b2bb0 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
         "@netlify/blobs": "^8.1.0",
         "@netlify/functions": "^3.0.0",
         "@octokit/webhooks-types": "^7.6.1",
+        "marked": "^15.0.9",
         "@radix-ui/react-select": "^2.2.2",
         "@radix-ui/react-slot": "^1.2.0",
         "@radix-ui/react-toggle": "^1.1.6",
@@ -4532,6 +4533,18 @@
         "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/wooorm"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/marked": {
+      "version": "15.0.9",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/marked/-/marked-15.0.9.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-9AW/bn9DxQeZVjR52l5jsc0W2pwuhP04QaQewPvylil12Cfr2GBfWmgp6mu8i9Jy8UlBjqDZ9uMTDuJ8QOGZJA==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "bin": {
+        "marked": "bin/marked.js"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">= 18"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/math-intrinsics": {
       "version": "1.1.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/math-intrinsics/-/math-intrinsics-1.1.0.tgz",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5abaf32..4ab9584 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
     "@netlify/blobs": "^8.1.0",
     "@netlify/functions": "^3.0.0",
     "@octokit/webhooks-types": "^7.6.1",
+    "marked": "^15.0.9",
     "@radix-ui/react-select": "^2.2.2",
     "@radix-ui/react-slot": "^1.2.0",
     "class-variance-authority": "^0.7.1",
diff --git a/src/app/api/test/route.ts b/src/app/api/test/route.ts
index 28a225f..56a22ab 100644
--- a/src/app/api/test/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/test/route.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ export async function POST() {
   const testEntry: ChangelogEntry = {
     id: Date.now(), // Use timestamp as ID for test entries
     title: `Test Entry ${new Date().toISOString()}`,
-    description: "This is a test entry to verify cache revalidation",
+    description: "This is a test entry with **bold text**, *italic* and a [link text](http://example.com) to verify markdown handling in RSS feed.",
     date: new Date().toISOString(),
     metadata: {
       sourceRepo: "open-telemetry/test-repo",
diff --git a/src/app/feed/route.ts b/src/app/feed/route.ts
index f7ab01f..ccd07e8 100644
--- a/src/app/feed/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/feed/route.ts
@@ -4,10 +4,54 @@
  */
 
 import { getAllEntries } from "@/lib/store";
+import { marked } from "marked";
 
 export const dynamic = "force-dynamic";
 export const revalidate = 60;
 
+// Convert markdown to HTML for RSS feeds
+function markdownToHtml(markdown: string): string {
+  try {
+    // Use marked.parse with synchronous option to ensure it returns a string
+    return marked.parse(markdown, { async: false }) as string;
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.warn("Failed to convert markdown to HTML:", error);
+    return markdown;
+  }
+}
+
+// Process GitHub-specific markdown like PR references, commit SHAs, etc.
+function processGitHubMarkdown(text: string, repoFullName: string): string {
+  let processedText = text;
+
+  // Replace PR references first (including those in parentheses)
+  const prPattern = /(?:^|\s|[([])#(\d+)(?=[\s\n\])]|$)/g;
+  processedText = processedText.replace(prPattern, (match, issue) => {
+    const prefix = match.startsWith("(") || match.startsWith("[") ? match[0] : " ";
+    return `${prefix}[#${issue}](https://github.com/${repoFullName}/issues/${issue})`;
+  });
+
+  // Replace commit SHAs
+  const shaPattern = /(\s|^)([0-9a-f]{40})(?=[\s\n]|$)/g;
+  processedText = processedText.replace(shaPattern, (match, space, sha) => {
+    return `${space}[${sha}](https://github.com/${repoFullName}/commit/${sha})`;
+  });
+
+  // Replace user mentions
+  const userPattern = /(?:^|\s)@([a-zA-Z0-9-]+)(?=[\s\n]|$)/g;
+  processedText = processedText.replace(userPattern, (match, username) => {
+    return ` [@${username}](https://github.com/${username})`;
+  });
+
+  // Replace repository references with issue numbers
+  const repoPattern = /([a-zA-Z0-9-]+\/[a-zA-Z0-9-._-]+)#(\d+)(?=[\s\n]|$)/g;
+  processedText = processedText.replace(repoPattern, (match, repo, issue) => {
+    return `[${repo}#${issue}](https://github.com/${repo}/issues/${issue})`;
+  });
+
+  return processedText;
+}
+
 export async function GET() {
   const entries = await getAllEntries();
   const baseUrl =
@@ -23,13 +67,18 @@ export async function GET() {
         <language>en-US</language>
         ${entries
           .map(
-            (entry) => `
+            (entry) => {
+              // Process GitHub markdown first, then convert to HTML
+              const processedDescription = processGitHubMarkdown(entry.description, entry.metadata.sourceRepo);
+              const htmlDescription = markdownToHtml(processedDescription);
+              
+              return `
           <item>
             <title><![CDATA[${entry.title}]]></title>
             <link>${baseUrl}/entry/${entry.id}</link>
             <guid isPermaLink="false">${entry.id}</guid>
             <pubDate>${new Date(entry.date).toUTCString()}</pubDate>
-            <description><![CDATA[${entry.description}]]></description>
+            <description><![CDATA[${htmlDescription}]]></description>
             ${
               entry.metadata.sourceRepo
                 ? `
@@ -38,7 +87,7 @@ export async function GET() {
                 : ""
             }
           </item>
-        `,
+        `}
           )
           .join("")}
       </channel>
diff --git a/tests/api.spec.ts b/tests/api.spec.ts
index 6f9362a..03ebc67 100644
--- a/tests/api.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/api.spec.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,19 @@ test.describe('API Routes', () => {
     expect(body).toContain('<rss');
     expect(body).toContain('<channel>');
   });
+  
+  test('feed should handle markdown in descriptions', async ({ request }) => {
+    // This test will pass once we implement the markdown parsing fix
+    const response = await request.get('/feed');
+    expect(response.status()).toBe(200);
+    
+    const body = await response.text();
+    
+    // The test endpoint adds entries with markdown, let's verify we don't see raw markdown
+    // This will initially fail until we fix the issue
+    expect(body).not.toMatch(/\*\*bold text\*\*/);
+    expect(body).not.toMatch(/\[link text\]\(http:\/\/example\.com\)/);
+  });
 
   test('test API should work in development', async ({ request }) => {
     // When testing in CI, we're likely in development mode