Which mobile RSS apps are compatible with FreshRSS?

FreshRSS works with any app that supports the Google Reader API or Fever API: Reeder 5 (iOS/macOS), NetNewsWire (iOS/macOS), ReadKit (Mac/iOS), Fluent Reader (Windows/Linux), FeedMe (Android), NewsFlash (Linux), Readably (Android) and many others. In the app settings, enter your FreshRSS server URL and credentials under the 'Fever' or 'Google Reader / Miniflux' server type — subscriptions and read state sync automatically.

Does FreshRSS need an external database like MySQL or PostgreSQL?

No. FreshRSS uses SQLite by default — the database is a single file stored in the Docker volume. No separate database container or credentials to manage. SQLite handles hundreds of feeds and multiple users comfortably. If you later need to scale to very high feed counts (1 000+) or many simultaneous users, FreshRSS also supports MySQL and PostgreSQL, but the default SQLite setup is sufficient for the vast majority of deployments.

How often does FreshRSS refresh my feeds?

By default, FreshRSS refreshes all subscriptions every 20 minutes using a built-in cron job (`CRON_MIN=*/20`). You can set a global refresh interval in the administration panel or assign a custom interval per feed — check a breaking news source every 5 minutes and a weekly newsletter once a day. Refresh happens server-side so your mobile client does not need to be open.

Can multiple people share the same FreshRSS instance?

Yes. FreshRSS is multi-user by design. Create separate accounts for each team member from the administration panel; each user has their own subscription list, read/unread state, starred items and labels — completely isolated from other users. A single FreshRSS instance running on a 512 MB VPS handles 10+ users with individual subscription lists of 200+ feeds each.

Share information and collaborate.

FreshRSS

Self-hosted multi-user RSS/Atom reader — follow unlimited feeds, sync any mobile client via Google Reader API, refresh on your schedule. SQLite, single container.

512 MB RAM 1 vCPU Port 8080 Available

Tech stack

DockerPHPSQLite

Minimum RAM512 MB

Minimum CPU1 vCPU

Default port8080

Compatible OSChoice of Linux distributions

FreshRSS (~15 k GitHub stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP) is the most actively maintained self-hosted RSS/Atom aggregator. It replaces cloud feed readers — Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur — with a private, ad-free, zero-subscription alternative that runs on a single Docker container using SQLite. No external database or cache service required.

Self-hosted on a ServOrbit VPS, FreshRSS lets you subscribe to any RSS or Atom feed — GitHub release notes, Hacker News, technical blogs, newsletter archives — and read everything in a fast, keyboard-navigable web interface. Feeds refresh on a configurable cron schedule (every 20 minutes by default) without depending on any cloud scheduler. The multi-user architecture lets you share one instance across a whole team, each with an independent subscription list and read/unread state.

FreshRSS exposes the Google Reader API and Fever API, making it a drop-in backend for dozens of mobile RSS clients: Reeder (iOS/macOS), NetNewsWire, ReadKit, Fluent Reader, FeedMe (Android) and more. Your reading progress syncs across every device. Extensions add full-text extraction, keyword filtering, scraping for paywalled articles, and custom themes.

Key features

Subscribe to unlimited RSS, Atom and JSON Feed sources — technical blogs, GitHub release notes, YouTube channels, newsletter archives, Hacker News threads.

Google Reader API and Fever API compatibility: use any third-party mobile client (Reeder, NetNewsWire, ReadKit, FeedMe) as a native frontend, with reading state synced in real time.

Multi-user with independent subscriptions and read states — share one FreshRSS instance across your whole team without sharing feeds or read history.

Configurable cron-based feed refresh: set a global interval (every 5, 20, or 60 minutes) or a custom interval per feed — fully server-side, no client needs to be open.

Full-text retrieval for feeds that only publish excerpts — scrape the original article body and read it in full inside FreshRSS, even offline.

Keyword filtering, labelling and auto-tagging: auto-mark items as read, star important articles, and forward specific keywords to ntfy or email alerts.

Web scraping via XPath for sites without an RSS feed — follow any public page as if it published a proper feed.

SQLite storage, single PHP container, under 128 MB RAM at idle — runs alongside any other app on the same VPS without a dedicated database service.

When to use this solution?

1

Developer dependency and security feed without noise

Add GitHub release feeds for every library your stack depends on, Hacker News /rss, CVE feeds for your runtime and OS, and the blogs of core contributors. FreshRSS delivers the raw chronological timeline — no algorithmic reordering, no promoted posts. Set a keyword rule to auto-star items matching 'security advisory' or 'breaking change' and forward them to an ntfy notification on your phone. You get signal without the noise of a social platform.

2

Shared team knowledge feed for a distributed agency

Create one FreshRSS account per team member, share a common 'company sources' folder with competitor news, industry analyst blogs and client press release feeds, and let each person manage private subscriptions independently. Each member reads from their own device using their preferred client — Reeder on iOS, Fluent Reader on Windows — all synced via the same self-hosted Google Reader API endpoint on your ServOrbit VPS.

3

Permanent competitive intelligence archive

Subscribe to competitor changelogs, job posting feeds (track their hiring patterns), analyst report RSS feeds and product launch pages. Unlike Feedly Free (30-day rolling window), FreshRSS stores every item indefinitely in its SQLite database. Label articles by topic, search full text across years of history, and export starred items as a weekly competitive intelligence digest for your team.

Deploy FreshRSS on your VPS

Guide optimized for ServOrbit Cloud VPS.

01

Order a ServOrbit VPS

Any plan with 512 MB RAM is sufficient — FreshRSS idles under 128 MB RAM and uses SQLite for local storage with no external database. A 1 GB VPS handles hundreds of feeds and several concurrent users. No GPU or additional service required.

02

One-click deploy from the marketplace

Open your ServOrbit dashboard → Marketplace → Collaboration → FreshRSS → Deploy. The PHP container starts within seconds. Access FreshRSS at http://your-vps-ip:8080 to run the one-time setup wizard.

03

Complete the setup wizard

The first visit to http://your-vps-ip:8080 starts the five-step wizard: choose your language, verify server prerequisites, initialise the SQLite database, create your admin account (username + password), and subscribe to your first feeds. The entire process takes under two minutes and runs only once.

04

Add feeds and connect your mobile app

Click the '+' icon to subscribe to any RSS, Atom or JSON Feed URL. To connect a mobile client (Reeder, FeedMe, NetNewsWire), go to Settings → Authentication → API access, enable the API, and copy your endpoint URL. Enter this URL and your FreshRSS credentials in the mobile app under the 'Fever' or 'Google Reader' server type — subscriptions and read state sync automatically.

05

Optional: add a domain and HTTPS

For mobile app access over HTTPS, add a DNS A record pointing rss.your-domain.com to your VPS IP and configure nginx to proxy port 8080 with a Let's Encrypt certificate. Enable requireDomain: true in the marketplace to have ServOrbit generate this vhost configuration automatically.

Frequently asked questions

FreshRSS (~15 k GitHub stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP) is a self-hosted RSS/Atom aggregator. Feedly and Inoreader limit free accounts to 100–150 sources, paywall the Google Reader API (which enables third-party mobile apps), and monetise your reading data. FreshRSS runs on your own VPS with no feed count cap, no API paywalls, no tracking, and no subscription cost. The full Google Reader and Fever APIs are available free for any compatible mobile client.