I was exploring ways to add an RSS feedreader to my WordPress site and installed PressForward. I was looking for a replacement for my Inoreader subscription. PressForward is a great tool, but a little more than I needed. I could see the benefits for organizations with multiple people that curate, comment on, and publish articles. After exploring more, I found FreshRSS – “A free, self-hostable feed aggregator.“

Setup

I used my hosting provider’s cPanel and Softaculous installer to install the instance. This was quick and easy.

Content

I exported my subscriptions from Inoreader as an OPML file. I imported the subscriptions into FreshRSS. The import created all of the folders and added all subscriptions that I had in Inoreader.

Mobile Access

I discovered that there is a mobile app that I could use and you have to turn on the Mobile API to enable this. I Enabled the API in FreshRSS in FreshRSS. I downloaded the NetNewsWire iOS app. I setup an API password password in FreshRSS. In the FreshRSS settings, I added the FreshRSS account which included my username, API password, and and API URL.

Results

• I am hosting my own RSS reader!
• All of my subscriptions and folders are in my RSS reader.
  • I probably could have exported starred articles, there was another export that was available but I didn’t take it.
• I can access my RSS reader using a mobile app.
• I cannot save an article as I could in Inoreader.
  • Maybe I can, I just need to read a little more.
  • I can bookmark an article.

Screenshots

Conclusion

I just really like that fact that I can host my own RSS reader. That is very liberating!