diff --git a/feeds/handler.go b/feeds/handler.go
index c30d46f..09ca7ba 100644
--- a/feeds/handler.go
+++ b/feeds/handler.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 	"strconv"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
 )
@@ -113,7 +114,17 @@ func (h *Handler) handleRefreshAllFeeds(c *gin.Context) {
 
 // handleImportOPML handles POST /api/feeds/import
 func (h *Handler) handleImportOPML(c *gin.Context) {
-	file, _, err := c.Request.FormFile("file")
+	// Set max file size to 10MB
+	const maxFileSize = 10 << 20
+	c.Request.Body = http.MaxBytesReader(c.Writer, c.Request.Body, maxFileSize)
+
+	// Parse the multipart form
+	if err := c.Request.ParseMultipartForm(maxFileSize); err != nil {
+		c.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, gin.H{"error": fmt.Sprintf("File too large or invalid form: %v", err)})
+		return
+	}
+
+	file, header, err := c.Request.FormFile("file")
 	if err != nil {
 		// Check if URL is provided instead
 		url := c.PostForm("url")
@@ -131,7 +142,7 @@ func (h *Handler) handleImportOPML(c *gin.Context) {
 
 			feeds, err := h.service.ImportOPML(resp.Body)
 			if err != nil {
-				c.JSON(http.StatusInternalServerError, gin.H{"error": err.Error()})
+				c.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, gin.H{"error": err.Error()})
 				return
 			}
 			c.JSON(http.StatusOK, gin.H{"imported": len(feeds)})
@@ -147,9 +158,22 @@ func (h *Handler) handleImportOPML(c *gin.Context) {
 		}
 	}()
 
+	// Check file size
+	if header.Size > maxFileSize {
+		c.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, gin.H{"error": "File too large (max 10MB)"})
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Check file extension
+	if !strings.HasSuffix(strings.ToLower(header.Filename), ".opml") && 
+	   !strings.HasSuffix(strings.ToLower(header.Filename), ".xml") {
+		c.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, gin.H{"error": "File must be an OPML or XML file"})
+		return
+	}
+
 	feeds, err := h.service.ImportOPML(file)
 	if err != nil {
-		c.JSON(http.StatusInternalServerError, gin.H{"error": err.Error()})
+		c.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, gin.H{"error": err.Error()})
 		return
 	}
 
diff --git a/feeds/service.go b/feeds/service.go
index 1c91193..88be420 100644
--- a/feeds/service.go
+++ b/feeds/service.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"log"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/go-co-op/gocron"
@@ -77,8 +78,24 @@ func (s *Service) AddFeed(url string) (*Feed, error) {
 
 // ImportOPML imports feeds from an OPML file
 func (s *Service) ImportOPML(opmlContent io.Reader) ([]Feed, error) {
+	// Read the content into a buffer so we can inspect it if there's an error
+	content, err := io.ReadAll(opmlContent)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to read OPML content: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Check if the content looks like XML
+	trimmedContent := strings.TrimSpace(string(content))
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(trimmedContent, "<?xml") && !strings.HasPrefix(trimmedContent, "<opml") {
+		// Try to provide a helpful error message
+		if strings.HasPrefix(trimmedContent, "<!DOCTYPE") || strings.HasPrefix(trimmedContent, "<html") {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("received HTML instead of OPML XML. Please check that the file is a valid OPML file")
+		}
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("content does not appear to be valid OPML XML")
+	}
+
 	var opml OPML
-	if err := xml.NewDecoder(opmlContent).Decode(&opml); err != nil {
+	if err := xml.Unmarshal(content, &opml); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse OPML: %w", err)
 	}
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/feeds.ts b/frontend/src/lib/feeds.ts
index 63d6052..f671888 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/feeds.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/feeds.ts
@@ -103,6 +103,20 @@ function createFeedsStore() {
 		},
 		importOPML: async (file: File): Promise<{ imported: number }> => {
 			try {
+				// Validate file type
+				if (
+					!file.name.toLowerCase().endsWith('.opml') &&
+					!file.name.toLowerCase().endsWith('.xml')
+				) {
+					throw new Error('Please select a valid OPML or XML file');
+				}
+
+				// Validate file size (max 10MB)
+				const maxSize = 10 * 1024 * 1024; // 10MB
+				if (file.size > maxSize) {
+					throw new Error('File size exceeds the maximum limit of 10MB');
+				}
+
 				const formData = new FormData();
 				formData.append('file', file);
 
@@ -111,8 +125,19 @@ function createFeedsStore() {
 					body: formData
 				});
 
+				// Handle non-OK responses
 				if (!response.ok) {
-					throw new Error(`Failed to import OPML: ${response.statusText}`);
+					const contentType = response.headers.get('content-type');
+					if (contentType && contentType.includes('application/json')) {
+						// Try to parse error as JSON
+						const errorData = await response.json();
+						throw new Error(errorData.error || `Failed to import OPML: ${response.statusText}`);
+					} else {
+						// Handle non-JSON responses
+						throw new Error(
+							`Failed to import OPML: ${response.statusText}. Server response was not JSON.`
+						);
+					}
 				}
 
 				const result = await response.json();