This article talks about an open-source RSS reader with search filters, article structure, and more. When it comes to RSS reader there are plenty of options you can go with. There are free as well as paid services and apps that give you full control over your feeds. If you are looking for a free and feature-rich RSS read then here is one that you can try.
Fluent Reader is a modern UI inspired RSS reader desktop app that brings all your RSS feeds together. Where most of the RSS reader shows you a simplified version of web articles, this one can show the actual article structure with options to change the font and easy sharing with QR code. It also allows you to enter multiple terms in the search bar to create search filters and list specific feeds. Apart from that, you get all the features that you can expect from an RSS reader including, dark theme, keyboard shortcuts, groups, and custom source rules. You can import data from your existing reader via an OPML file. You can also backup and restore the data of this reader at any given time.
Also read: Free Desktop RSS Reader App for Social Feeds, Reddit, YouTube, SoundCloud
Open Source RSS Reader Desktop App: Fluent Reader
Fluent Reader is a desktop app that is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. There is a Windows 10 app that somehow happens to be paid but you can download the Windows executable file from GitHub and install it to get the reader.
Add Source
Initially, when you open the app after installation, it’s an empty canvas with a setting button at the top. Click that setting button to add sources for your feeds. You can enter RSS source URLs manually one by one or import from an OPML file. Similarly, you can also export the OPML file once you added your sources.
Search Filters
The reader has a two-column view, a panel on the left with feeds, and a view area on the right to show the content. You can also add a third column of all the sources from the hamburger menu.
In the feeds panel, there is a search bar that you can use to search your feeds. Unlike other readers, this search supports regular expressions so you can easily find multiple keywords in both, titles and content.
In the viewer section, you get refresh, mark read, notification, view, and setting buttons. With the view button, you can change the layout of feeds to cards, lists, magazines, and compact along with feed filters. At the bottom, it shows the source name along with options to mark read, add a favorite, change font size, and share. The Share option allows you to copy the link and open it externally. It also generates a QR code on the actual web page.
Article Structure
Next to the font change option, you get a small globe-shaped icon. This icon is to switch the view mode of the content. It allows you to toggle between the simplified RSS feed and the actual web page from the source. By having the actual webpage, you get the precise structure of the article.
Other Features
Apart from that, You can change the update interval, setup the default search engine, enable proxy, and set an automatic clean up for the cookies. You can also create groups to sort the feeds into categories.
Last but not least, you can desire custom rules to perform certain actions. In the Rules section, you can create rules with titles, content matches, and regular expressions for any source. You can define a condition and then pick any of the following action for that:
- Mark as Read
- Mark as Unread
- Mark as Star
- Remove Star
- Hide Article
- Unhide Article
- Notify if fetches in background
- Don’t notify
Closing Words
Fluent Reader is a modern RSS reader that offers a bunch of powerful features packed in a modern UI. The search filter is handy to find feeds with multiple keywords and read them in the original form. The feature to define custom rules allows you to automate tasks and create custom filters for the content. Give it a try yourself and share your thoughts with us in the comments.
