FreshRSS: Your Own News Feed

What You'll Build

RSS lets you follow websites, blogs, news sites, YouTube channels, and more in one chronological list — no algorithm, no ads injected, nothing missed. FreshRSS collects the feeds on your server around the clock and syncs read/unread status to every device.

Port: 8084 · RAM: tiny · Time: 15 minutes · Difficulty: Easy

What You Need

• Your home server from Foundations 1 (Docker installed, ~/stacks folder).
• Nginx Proxy Manager with your *.home.example.com certificate (recommended).
• Nothing special.

Step 1: Start FreshRSS

mkdir -p ~/stacks/freshrss && cd ~/stacks/freshrss
nano compose.yaml

services:
  freshrss:
    image: freshrss/freshrss:latest
    container_name: freshrss
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8084:80"
    environment:
      TZ: "America/New_York"
      CRON_MIN: "3,33"            # fetch new articles at :03 and :33 every hour
    volumes:
      - ./data:/var/www/FreshRSS/data
      - ./extensions:/var/www/FreshRSS/extensions

docker compose up -d

Step 2: The Install Wizard

1. Open http://192.168.1.50:8084 and choose your language.
2. The checks page should be all green → next.
3. Database type: SQLite (no extra setup).
4. Create your admin user and password → finish.

Step 3: Add Feeds

• Any website: click + Subscription management → Add a feed and paste the site's address — FreshRSS finds the feed automatically for most blogs and news sites.
• Import from another reader: Subscription management → Import/export → import an OPML file.
• A YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=CHANNEL_ID (the channel ID is in the channel's "Share → Copy channel ID").
• A subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/.rss

Group feeds into categories (Tech, News, Security…) to read them in batches.

Step 4: Phone and Desktop Apps

1. Settings → Authentication → tick Allow API access → Save.
2. Settings → Profile → set an API password (separate from your login).
3. In an app that supports FreshRSS or the "Google Reader API" — e.g. Readrops or FeedMe (Android), NetNewsWire or Reeder (Apple) — enter https://rss.home.example.com/api/greader.php, your username, and the API password.

Add It to Your Proxy, Dashboard, and Backups

• Nginx Proxy Manager: new proxy host rss.home.example.com → scheme http, 192.168.1.50, port 8084, Websockets on, your wildcard certificate, Force SSL.
• Homepage: add a tile in services.yaml (how).
• Uptime Kuma: add an HTTP monitor for the new address (how).
• Backups: ~/stacks/freshrss is already covered by the restic script.

Troubleshooting

• "Feed not found" — the site has no RSS feed. Try adding /feed or /rss to the address, or look for an RSS icon on the site.
• Articles never update — check CRON_MIN is set, and docker compose logs for fetch errors.
• App login fails — use the API password, not your normal password, and include /api/greader.php.

What's Next?