RSS Guard is an open-source cross-platform multi-protocol desktop feed reader. It is able to fetch feeds in RSS/RDF/ATOM/JSON formats. RSS Guard is developed on top of the Qt library.

RSS Guard is a cross-platform application, and at this point it is known to work on:

  • Windows 7+
  • GNU/Linux (including PinePhone and other Linux-based phone operating systems)
  • BSD (FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, etc.)
  • macOS 10.13+
  • OS/2 (ArcaOS, eComStation)

Supports online feed synchronization with these services:

  • Tiny Tiny RSS,
  • Inoreader,
  • Nextcloud News,
  • Gmail API,
  • FreshRSS,
  • The Old Reader,
  • Bazqux,
  • Reedah,
  • Feedly.

RSS Guard is written in C++. It is pretty fast even with tons of messages loaded. The core features are:

  • Multiplatformity,
  • Support for all feed formats,
  • Simple internal chromium-based web viewer (or alternative version with simpler and more lightweight internal viewer),
  • Simplicity,
  • Import/export of feeds to/from opml 2.0,
  • Downloader with own tab and support for up to 6 parallel downloads,
  • Message filter with regular expressions,
  • Very fast parallelized feed updates,
  • Feed metadata fetching including icons,
  • No crazy dependencies,
  • Ability to cleanup internal message database with various options,
  • Ability to tweak columns in displayed list of messages,
  • Enhanced feed auto-updating with separate time intervals,
  • Multiple data backend support,
  • Sqlite (in-memory dbs too),
  • Mysql.
  • Ability to specify target database by its name (mysql backend),
  • "Portable" mode support with clever auto-detection,
  • Feed categorization,
  • Drap-n-drop for feed list,
  • Automatic checking for updates,
  • Full support of podcasts (both rss & atom),
  • Ability to backup/restore database or settings,
  • Fully-featured recycle bin,
  • Can be controlled via keyboard,
  • Feed authentication (basic),
  • Handles tons of messages & feeds,
  • Sweet look & feel,
  • Fully adjustable toolbars (changeable buttons and style),
  • Ability to check for updates on all platforms + self-updating on windows,
  • Hideable main menu, toolbars and list headers,
  • Feanza-based default icon themes,
  • Fully skinnable user interface + ability to create your own skins,
  • Newspaper view,
  • Support for feed:// uri scheme,
  • Ability to hide list of feeds/categories,
  • Open-source development model based on gnu gpl license, version 3,
  • Tabbed interface,
  • Desktop integration via tray icon,
  • Localizations to some languages,
  • Qt library is the only dependency,
  • Open-source development model and friendly author waiting for your feedback,
  • No ads, no hidden costs.

What's New

Added:

  • Option to keep feed list selection in the middle, switchable in settings. (#2238)
  • Nextcloud News plugin can now add feeds. (#2065)
  • Official Linux builds now include Qt 5 text-viewer and WebEngine-viewer variants again. (211a747, 3795eb7, 8e678c2, 55e4dbd)
  • Updated Japanese, Chinese Simplified and Crowdin-managed translations. (#2235, e6e3e17, 1f2d25a)
  • Feed state propagation in feed list is now switchable. (#2226)

Fixed:

  • RSS Guard no longer asks Windows to connect to an offline printer while starting, so the application should open normally even when the default printer is unavailable. (#2230)
  • RSS Guard now starts correctly from the Windows startup entry instead of closing almost immediately. (#2234)
  • Gemini links now use the correct scheme handler. (d5a02a7)
  • Removed noisy QPalette color-group warnings triggered while loading skins. (d5a02a7)

PLEASE, read the text below!

If you have 5.0.0 or 5.0.1 installed via installer (.exe) then MAKE SURE TO BACKUP your data5 folder manually before you perform an upgrade. Those installers have bug and they delete your user data folder by mistake! 5.0.2+ installers have the bug fixed.

I kept the survey open for 5.0.2 release as well, so that everyone can fill it. Here is the link: https://forms.gle/1dCgqi2p1TEGn73d8

I will remove the survey auto-open for next release. I will also create a response document to respond to all questions asked in the survey. It will open automatically in one of upcoming versions.

Fixed:

  • Official RSS Guard installers for versions 5.0.0 and 5.0.1 contained a bug which removed user data on uninstallation by mistake. Read the above notice for more details. (#2077)
  • Missing menu items in main menu Feeds -> Sort submenu.