What is FreshRSS?
FreshRSS is a self-hosted RSS feed aggregator that is lightweight, easy to work with and customizable. It is a multi-user application with an anonymous reading mode and support for custom tags, so a person, a family or a team can run one instance and read their feeds in a browser. Selected articles can be reshared through HTML, RSS, and OPML, and extensions allow further customization. The project is open source under the GNU AGPL 3 license and its code is hosted on GitHub.
FreshRSS runs on a light server running Linux or Windows, with a web server such as Apache 2.4+ (recommended), nginx or lighttpd and PHP 8.2+. It stores data in PostgreSQL, SQLite, MariaDB or MySQL. Installation can be done manually, by getting FreshRSS with git or downloading the archive, and an edge branch gives a rolling release while the latest branch is more stable. New versions are published a few times a year.
Beyond ordinary RSS and Atom feeds, FreshRSS supports basic XPath-based scraping of websites without a feed and can process JSON documents. It can receive instant push notifications through WebSub from compatible sources. Login methods include a web form, HTTP authentication and OpenID Connect. It also provides an API for mobile clients and a command-line interface, so administrators can script it.
FreshRSS screenshots
Explore the interface. Open a screenshot to view it at full size.
Source: official FreshRSS project page.
Key capabilities
- Feed reading Collects feeds in a browser interface with multiple user accounts, anonymous reading, and custom tags.
- Content extraction Supports basic XPath-based scraping for sites without feeds, as well as JSON documents.
- Push updates Receives WebSub notifications from compatible sources.
- Article sharing Reshares selections of articles through HTML, RSS, and OPML.
- Client access Provides Google Reader and Fever APIs for compatible mobile and desktop applications, plus a command-line interface.
- Customization and authentication Supports extensions, web-form login, HTTP authentication, and OpenID Connect.
Where FreshRSS fits
FreshRSS fits personal news reading and shared feed-reading deployments where users need separate accounts on a self-hosted application. It can also collect updates from websites without feeds through its basic scraping features and make selected articles available for others to read.
Before deployment, administrators should check web server, PHP extension, and database requirements, along with authentication and client compatibility. Only the public application directory should be exposed to the web, while the data directory must remain protected. Mobile browser access has some feature limitations, and the documented Fever API has fewer features and weaker efficiency and safety than the Google Reader API.
Reviews of FreshRSS
Be the first to share your experience with FreshRSS.
Write a review
Loading review form…
Alternatives to FreshRSS
AlexandrieAlexandrie is an open-source, self-hosted knowledge base with Markdown editing, offline access, search, team workspaces and backup tools.
AnchorAnchor is an AGPL-3.0 note taking app. One Docker container runs the server, PostgreSQL and web app; Flutter apps for Android and iOS (beta) keep notes in a local database, work offline and sync with that server.