Why Build Your Own RSS Backend?

Setting up your own RSS server gives you amazing benefits:

• Perfect SmartRSS Integration: Sync your feeds across all devices
• Complete Privacy: Your reading habits stay on your own server
• No Monthly Fees: Pay once for a VPS, run forever
• Unlimited Feeds: No restrictions on the number of subscriptions
• Super Fast: Your own dedicated RSS infrastructure

What You’ll Need

• A VPS (Virtual Private Server) - $5-10/month
• About 30 minutes of your time
• No coding experience required!

Quick Start: Try Official Instances First

Before setting up your own server, you can try these official demo instances:

Official FreshRSS Demo

• URL: https://demo.freshrss.org/
• Features: Clean interface, mobile-friendly, great API support
• Perfect for: Beginners who want a traditional RSS experience

Official Miniflux Demo

• URL: https://miniflux.app/ (offers free trial)
• Features: Modern design, excellent keyboard shortcuts, powerful API
• Perfect for: Power users who want speed and efficiency

These demos let you test both services before deciding which one to self-host. Both work perfectly with SmartRSS!

Step 1: Get Your VPS Ready

Choosing and Purchasing a VPS

For RSS hosting, you don’t need anything powerful. Here’s what I recommend:

• Minimum specs: 1GB RAM, 1 CPU core, 20GB storage
• Perfect choice: 2GB RAM, 1 CPU core, 40GB storage
• Cost: $5-10/month

Easy VPS providers for beginners:

• DigitalOcean - Most beginner-friendly, great tutorials
• Linode - Excellent performance, good support
• Vultr - Simple interface, reliable service

Deploy Your Server (Super Simple!)

1. Create an account at your chosen provider
2. Click “Create Droplet/Server”
3. Choose Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
4. Pick the $5-10/month plan
5. Click “Create” and wait 2-3 minutes
6. You’ll get an email with your server IP and password!

Step 2: Connect to Your Server

Open your terminal (or PowerShell on Windows) and connect:

ssh root@your_server_ip

First time? You’ll see a message asking “Are you sure you want to continue connecting?” Type yes and press Enter.

Password? Paste the password from your VPS provider’s email (you won’t see it appear on screen - that’s normal!).

Step 3: Install Docker (One Command!)

Just copy and paste this single command:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

This will automatically install Docker and everything you need. Grab a coffee - it takes 2-3 minutes!

Test Docker Installation

docker run hello-world

If you see “Hello from Docker!” - you’re ready to go!

Step 4: Choose Your RSS Services

Before setting up, let’s understand your options. We have a 2+1 architecture:

The Main RSS Reader (Choose One)

You need one main RSS reader to manage your feeds:

FreshRSS - The Beginner-Friendly Choice

Perfect for:

• First-time self-hosters
• Users who want a traditional, familiar interface
• Those who prefer simplicity over advanced features

Why Choose FreshRSS:

• Clean, intuitive web interface
• Easy mobile app integration
• Great API support for SmartRSS
• Simple setup and maintenance
• Large community and documentation

Resource Usage: Light (~100MB RAM)

Miniflux - The Power User’s Choice

Perfect for:

• Experienced users who want maximum speed
• Keyboard shortcut enthusiasts
• Users who prefer minimal, distraction-free reading
• Those who want the most modern tech stack

Why Choose Miniflux:

• Blazing fast performance
• Excellent keyboard navigation
• Powerful filtering and search
• Modern, responsive design
• Built-in feed fetching optimization

Resource Usage: Light (~150MB RAM including PostgreSQL)

Can’t Decide? Start with FreshRSS - it’s easier for beginners, and you can always switch later!

Optional: RSSHub - The RSS Supercharger

What is RSSHub?

RSSHub is a game-changer for RSS users. Many modern websites (YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, etc.) don’t provide RSS feeds anymore. RSSHub solves this by generating RSS feeds from virtually any website!

Why You Might Want RSSHub:

1. No RSS? No Problem! - Generate feeds from 400+ platforms
2. Social Media Feeds - YouTube channels, Twitter users, Instagram posts
3. Custom Content - Create feeds from specific websites, filters, or keywords
4. Flexible & Powerful - Customize feed content, update frequency, and format
5. Free & Open - No API keys needed, community-driven

Examples of what RSSHub can do:

• Get RSS feeds from your favorite YouTube channels
• Follow Twitter users without using Twitter
• Track Instagram posts from specific accounts
• Monitor Telegram channels
• Create feeds from websites that don’t have RSS
• And hundreds more use cases!

Resource Usage: Moderate (~200MB RAM with Redis)

Recommendation: Start without RSSHub. Add it later if you need feeds from social media or non-RSS websites.

Step 5: Set Up Your Chosen Service

Create Project Directory

mkdir -p ~/rss-services
cd ~/rss-services

Option A: FreshRSS Setup (Recommended for Beginners)

mkdir freshrss && cd freshrss
nano docker-compose.yml

version: "3.8"

services:
  freshrss:
    image: freshrss/freshrss:latest
    container_name: freshrss
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    volumes:
      - ./freshrss-data:/var/www/FreshRSS/data
      - ./freshrss-extensions:/var/www/FreshRSS/extensions
    environment:
      - CRON_MIN=*/10
      - TZ=Asia/Shanghai

Configuration:

• TZ=Asia/Shanghai → Change to your timezone

Save and exit: Press Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter

Option B: Miniflux Setup (For Power Users)

cd ~/rss-services
mkdir miniflux && cd miniflux
nano docker-compose.yml

Copy and paste this configuration:

version: "3.8"

services:
  miniflux:
    image: miniflux/miniflux:latest
    container_name: miniflux
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8081:8080"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://miniflux:secret@miniflux-db/miniflux?sslmode=disable
      - RUN_MIGRATIONS=1
      - CREATE_ADMIN=1
      - ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
      - ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme
      - BASE_URL=http://your_server_ip:8081
      - CLEANUP_FREQUENCY=24
      - POLLING_FREQUENCY=60
      - TZ=Asia/Shanghai
    depends_on:
      - miniflux-db

  miniflux-db:
    image: postgres:15
    container_name: miniflux-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=miniflux
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret
      - POSTGRES_DB=miniflux
    volumes:
      - miniflux-db:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U miniflux"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

volumes:
  miniflux-db:

Configuration:

• ADMIN_USERNAME=admin → Your desired username
• ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme → Choose a strong password
• BASE_URL=http://your_server_ip:8081 → Replace with your server IP
• TZ=Asia/Shanghai → Change to your timezone

Save and exit: Press Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter

Option C: Add RSSHub (Optional)

Only install RSSHub if you need feeds from social media or non-RSS websites.

cd ~/rss-services
mkdir rsshub && cd rsshub
nano docker-compose.yml

Copy and paste this configuration:

version: "3.8"

services:
  rsshub:
    image: diygod/rsshub:latest
    container_name: rsshub
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "1200:1200"
    environment:
      NODE_ENV: production
      CACHE_TYPE: redis
      REDIS_URL: redis://rsshub-redis:6379/
    depends_on:
      - rsshub-redis

  rsshub-redis:
    image: redis:alpine
    container_name: rsshub-redis
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - rsshub-redis-data:/data
    command: redis-server --appendonly yes

volumes:
  rsshub-redis-data:

Save and exit: Press Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter

Step 6: Launch Your Services

Navigate to your chosen service directory and start it:

For FreshRSS:

cd ~/rss-services/freshrss
docker compose up -d

For Miniflux:

cd ~/rss-services/miniflux
docker compose up -d

For RSSHub (if installed):

cd ~/rss-services/rsshub
docker compose up -d

This will download and start your services. Wait 2-3 minutes for everything to initialize.

Check if Everything is Running

# For FreshRSS
cd ~/rss-services/freshrss && docker compose ps

# For Miniflux
cd ~/rss-services/miniflux && docker compose ps

# For RSSHub
cd ~/rss-services/rsshub && docker compose ps

You should see services marked as “Up” - that means they’re working!

Step 7: Access and Configure Your Services

FreshRSS Setup

• URL: http://your_server_ip:8080
• First time: Click “Installation” and create your admin account
• Perfect for: Beginners who want a simple, clean interface

Miniflux Setup

• URL: http://your_server_ip:8081
• Login: Use the username/password you set in the config file
• Perfect for: Users who want speed and powerful features

RSSHub (No Setup Needed!)

• URL: http://your_server_ip:1200
• No login required - it just works!
• Use it to: Generate RSS feeds from YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
• Documentation: Visit the URL to see all available routes and examples

Step 8: Enable API Access for SmartRSS

Now the exciting part - connecting your RSS services to SmartRSS!

Enable FreshRSS API

1. Login to FreshRSS at http://your_server_ip:8080
2. Click on your username (top right) → Administration
3. Go to “Authentication” → Enable “Enable API access”
4. Save changes
5. Generate API credentials:
   • Still in Administration, go to “Profile”
   • Scroll to “API” section
   • Click “Generate” to create your API password
   • Copy your API username and password - you’ll need these for SmartRSS!

Enable Miniflux API

Great news! Miniflux API is enabled by default - no setup needed!

Step 9: Connect SmartRSS to Your Server

Now you can connect SmartRSS to your self-hosted services!

For FreshRSS Users:

1. Open SmartRSS on your device
2. Add a new account → Select “FreshRSS”
3. Enter your server details:
   • Server URL: http://your_server_ip:8080/api/
   • Username: Your FreshRSS username
   • Password: Your API password (from Step 7)
4. Test connection and enjoy your synced feeds!

For Miniflux Users:

1. Open SmartRSS on your device
2. Add a new account → Select “Miniflux”
3. Enter your server details:
   • Server URL: http://your_server_ip:8081/
   • Username: Your Miniflux username
   • Password: Your Miniflux password
4. Test connection and you’re ready to go!

Add Feeds from RSSHub

Want to follow a YouTube channel or Twitter user that doesn’t have RSS?

1. Browse RSSHub at http://your_server_ip:1200
2. Find the route you need (e.g., /youtube/user/:username)
3. Copy the RSS feed URL
4. Add it directly in SmartRSS or your FreshRSS/Miniflux web interface!

Popular RSSHub routes:

• YouTube: http://your_server_ip:1200/youtube/user/:username
• Twitter: http://your_server_ip:1200/twitter/user/:username
• Instagram: http://your_server_ip:1200/instagram/user/:username
• Telegram: http://your_server_ip:1200/telegram/channel/:channelname

Quick Management Commands

Check Service Status

# For FreshRSS
cd ~/rss-services/freshrss && docker compose ps

# For Miniflux
cd ~/rss-services/miniflux && docker compose ps

# For RSSHub
cd ~/rss-services/rsshub && docker compose ps

View Logs (if something goes wrong)

# For FreshRSS
cd ~/rss-services/freshrss && docker compose logs -f

# For Miniflux
cd ~/rss-services/miniflux && docker compose logs -f

# For RSSHub
cd ~/rss-services/rsshub && docker compose logs -f

Restart a Service

# For FreshRSS
cd ~/rss-services/freshrss && docker compose restart

# For Miniflux
cd ~/rss-services/miniflux && docker compose restart

# For RSSHub
cd ~/rss-services/rsshub && docker compose restart

Update Your Services

# For FreshRSS
cd ~/rss-services/freshrss && docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

# For Miniflux
cd ~/rss-services/miniflux && docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

# For RSSHub
cd ~/rss-services/rsshub && docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

Stop Services

# For FreshRSS
cd ~/rss-services/freshrss && docker compose down

# For Miniflux
cd ~/rss-services/miniflux && docker compose down

# For RSSHub
cd ~/rss-services/rsshub && docker compose down

Common Issues and Fixes

Services Won’t Start

# Check what's wrong (replace with your service)
cd ~/rss-services/freshrss  # or miniflux or rsshub
docker compose logs

# Restart everything
docker compose restart

Can’t Access Your Server

Make sure your VPS provider’s firewall allows these ports (only for services you installed):

• 8080 (FreshRSS)
• 8081 (Miniflux)
• 1200 (RSSHub)

SmartRSS Won’t Connect

1. Double-check your server URL - include http:// and the port number
2. Verify your API credentials - re-generate them if needed
3. Test the web interface - make sure you can login in your browser first

Conclusion

You’ve just built your own RSS backend that works perfectly with SmartRSS! Your feeds will sync across all your devices, you have complete privacy, and you’re saving money on monthly subscription fees.

Start adding your favorite feeds and enjoy the ultimate RSS experience!

Need help? Check out the official documentation:

• FreshRSS Documentation
• Miniflux Documentation
• RSSHub Documentation

Happy reading!

Ready to supercharge your RSS experience? Download today and start using these powerful AI prompts!

If you’ve ever wished your RSS reader could do just a bit more — like summarizing, translating, or helping you learn English — this post is for you.

SmartRSS now works beautifully with AI prompts, letting you analyze, learn from, and even share articles effortlessly. Here are some curated prompts you can use right away to make every article smarter, deeper, and more useful.

📝 1. Article Analyzer

Get a structured summary, key insights, and timeline.

Based on the following requirements, please analyze the article and produce the output that includes a concise summary, key takeaways, and additional contextual insights. The output language should be {language}. Use clear, accessible, and natural phrasing suitable for general readers.
      
1. Provide a 50 words long concise and engaging summary that captures the article’s core viewpoints and main idea.
2. List the most important insights or facts using clear and easy-to-understand language.
3. If the article contains chronological information or significant events, include a short timeline summarizing the key moments in order.
4. Give a brief background to help readers understand the article’s context — such as why the topic matters or what situation it addresses.

Article Title: {title}
Article Content: {content}

Please provide the content directly, without any additional explanatory text.

💡 Perfect for understanding long reads at a glance.

🌍 2. Translation Assistant

Read anything — in any language.

Please translate the following article into {language}.  
Keep the paragraph structure and tone consistent with the original text.  
Do not add explanations or summaries.

Title: {title}  
Content: {content}

💡 Great for following Japanese tech blogs or French design magazines.

🔍 3. Keyword Extractor

See what the article is really about.

Please extract the 10 most relevant keywords or phrases from this article.  
Focus on concepts that capture the main ideas and subjects.  
Return the keywords in {language}.

Title: {title}  
Content: {content}

💡 Useful for tagging, search optimization, or topic discovery.

📚 4. English Learning Assistant

Turn every article into a mini English lesson.

Please identify difficult words or idioms in the following article.  
For each, provide a list:
- {language} Definition
- Example sentence
- Simple synonym

Title: {title}  
Content: {content}

💡 Perfect for readers learning English through real content.

💬 5. Discussion Starter

Generate questions that make you think.

Read the following article and create 3 open-ended discussion questions.  
Each question should encourage deeper thinking or debate.  
Write the output in {language}.

Title: {title}  
Content: {content}

💡 Ideal for study groups or newsletter editors looking for talking points.

🗣️ 6. Social Media Repost Generator

Share your favorite reads instantly.

Please create a short social media post based on the following article.  
Make it catchy, under 280 characters, and include 2–3 relevant hashtags.  
Keep the tone engaging and informative.  
Write the post in {language}.

Title: {title}  
Content: {content}

💡 From SmartRSS to your social feed — one click away.

🧩 7. Hashtag & Topic Generator

Find hashtags that make your post discoverable.

Please generate 5–8 relevant hashtags that best match the themes and topics of this article.  
Focus on concise, popular, and meaningful tags.  
Return the hashtags in {language}.

Title: {title}  
Content: {content}

💡 Pair it with the Social Media Repost prompt for best results.

📰 8. Headline Rewriter

Craft catchy titles that grab attention.

Please generate 5 alternative headlines for this article.  
Each headline should be under 15 words and written in an engaging tone suitable for online audiences.  
Write the headlines in {language}.

Title: {title}  
Content: {content}

💡 Try this when you’re curating articles or writing newsletters.

🧠 9. Fact Checker & Bias Detector

Read with a critical eye.

Please analyze the following article for factual reliability and potential bias.  
Identify any emotionally charged or opinionated language.  
Summarize your findings objectively in bullet points.  
Use {language} for the output.

Title: {title}  
Content: {content}

💡 Helps you spot bias and misinformation at a glance.

🪶 10. Writing Style Mimic

Learn from your favorite writers’ styles.

Analyze the writing style of this article, including tone, rhythm, and vocabulary.  
Then, generate a short paragraph (around 100 words) written in a similar style on a related topic.  
Use {language} for the output.

Title: {title}  
Content: {content}

💡 Perfect for bloggers and content creators seeking inspiration.

⚡ Bonus Tip: Combine Prompts

You can chain them together for even more powerful results:

• Keyword Extractor → Hashtag Generator → Social Media Post
• Article Analyzer → Discussion Starter → English Learning Assistant

✨ Final Thoughts

AI prompts turn SmartRSS into more than just a reader — it becomes a thinking companion that helps you summarize, learn, and share knowledge effortlessly.

Try these prompts, tweak them to your reading habits, and see how your feed transforms. Happy reading 🧠💫

Ready to supercharge your RSS experience? Download today and start using these powerful AI prompts!

What Makes SmartRSS Special?

SmartRSS isn’t just another RSS reader. It’s a comprehensive, cross-platform content aggregation platform designed as a true platform-agnostic hub. Access and manage your unified feeds from any device—be it Android, iOS, macOS, or Windows—all through a single, beautifully designed and consistent interface.

✨AI Actions

The platform empowers users to fully customize AI actions through tailored prompts, seamlessly integrating with major AI providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google Cloud AI. By designing precise instructions, users can leverage these services to perform a wide range of custom tasks—such as generating smart summaries, executing accurate translations, extracting key phrases, analyzing sentiments, or even creating structured data from unstructured text. This flexibility ensures that AI workflows are not only efficient and scalable but also perfectly aligned with specific user needs, enabling both technical and non-technical users to harness advanced AI capabilities without constraints.

Unlock deeper insights at a glance. Move beyond isolated articles and let our advanced AI analyze your feed. SmartRSS can intelligently group up to 100 articles based on their topics, narratives, or underlying connections.

🔄 Universal Sync & Integration

Never lose an update. SmartRSS serves as the central hub for all your feeds, supporting robust multi-account synchronization with virtually any backend service, including:

• Self-hosted: FreshRSS, Miniflux
• Cloud Services: Feedbin, Bazqux
• Legacy API: Google Reader API Compatibility

This makes transition seamless and gives you unparalleled freedom in managing your content sources.

🌐 Multi-Platform Content Support

One of SmartRSS’s standout features is its extensive platform support. The app seamlessly integrates with:

• Traditional Blogs & Websites - Classic RSS feeds
• Medium Publications - Follow your favorite writers
• Mastodon Profiles - Stay connected with the decentralized social web
• Bluesky Profiles - Keep up with the newest social platform
• Substack Newsletters - Never miss important newsletters
• YouTube Channels - Get notified of new videos
• Reddit Communities - Track discussions that matter to you

This unified approach means you can follow all your favorite content creators and sources from a single app, regardless of which platform they use.

🎨 Personalized Experience

SmartRSS puts customization at your fingertips with extensive theming options:

• 1000+ Fonts - Provide 1000+ fonts
• Dynamic Color Themes - Choose from 12 beautiful color options
• Adaptive Color Schemes - Multiple style options including Tonal Spot, Fidelity, Neutral, Vibrant, and Expressive
• Smart UI Adaptation - The interface adapts to your preferences for optimal readability

📖 Superior Reading Experience

The app provides a clean, distraction-free reading experience with:

• Clean Article Layout - Focus on content without distractions
• Smart Content Parsing - Properly formatted articles with images and multimedia
• Quick Actions - Easy sharing, bookmarking, and navigation
• Responsive Design - Optimized for different screen sizes

🚀 Quick Setup & Discovery

Getting started with SmartRSS is incredibly easy. The app includes:

• Quick Examples - Pre-configured feeds for popular sites like TechCrunch, Medium, YouTube channels, and more
• Intelligent Feed Detection - Just paste a URL and let SmartRSS find the right feed
• Group Organization - Organize your feeds into custom categories

🎧 Immersive Audio Experience

Turn reading into listening. SmartRSS features a powerful built-in audio player that transforms your content consumption:

• Custom TTS (Text-to-Speech): Choose from multiple, high-quality voices and engines to have any article read aloud to you. Fully customizable for speed, pitch, and language.
• Native Podcast Support: Subscribe, manage, and play podcast episodes directly within the app, with automatic episode fetching and background playback.
• Universal Play Queue: Seamlessly mix and queue articles (via TTS) and podcast episodes into a single, continuous playback list for a unified listening workflow.

SmartRSS is available now on the App Store and Google Play. Have feedback or questions? Feel free to reach out - I’d love to hear from you!