5 ms·

Commafeed: An Open Source Google Reader Clone

66 points by josegonzalez 13y ago

alatkins 13y ago
This is great, as I'm sure I'm one of many planning to set up a self-hosted RSS reader prior to Google Reader's final closure. I'd be interested in a feature comparison of CommaFeed with Fever [1] (apart from price). Can anyone comment? Particularly interested in being able to access my feed from multiple devices (desktop, mobile, iPad etc). [1] http://feedafever.com http://feedafever.com
- maratd 13y ago
  > Can anyone comment? Particularly interested in being able to access my feed from multiple devices (desktop, mobile, iPad etc). Well, I can't speak for CommaFeed, but I'm using Fever on multiple devices. Very happy with it. I modified the CSS a bit to increase fonts and hide the sidebar, but besides that, it works very well for me on the desktop. Just like Google Reader used to. For Android, I use Meltdown. For IOS, I use Ashes. Both work very well for what I need.
reedlaw 13y ago
Looks great! Any plans for a mobile layout?
- Danieru 13y ago
  The feedback button lists a mobile layout as a planned feature. For my purposes this is 100% the perfect replacement for reader.
- abrowne 13y ago
  Looks like it: https://github.com/Athou/commafeed/issues/54 https://github.com/Athou/commafeed/issues/54
rafeed 13y ago
I like this a lot, but it'll be tough for me to switch without a mobile app like Reeder that supports my own self-hosted CommaFeed. The site/demo itself is crawling for me though.
- psteinweber 13y ago
  would love to see reeder integrating this. I asked them, feel free to do so to: https://twitter.com/reederapp https://twitter.com/reederapp
abrowne 13y ago
Here's my take on Reader replacements. I want a web app, with a mobile web version. I don't want an app, mostly because I frequently open articles in tabs. I also want a hosted option, or a dead-simple way to run it without setting up my own server, virtual(ized) or otherwise. Feedly is not a web app. It's a browser extension. I wanted to use Newsblur before Reader was discontinued, but it never made sense to me -- way too complicated. Also, no mobile web. I like their business model, though. The Old Reader works well enough for me to suggest it to my girlfriend and mom, but I don't like all the space the navigation bars take up and I don't need/want the social/sharing features. Also not open source. I do like the responsive/mobile layout. FeedHQ is an interesting change from the Reader-clones, and I like the mobile version. Still hasn't added an oldest-first option though, and sometimes miss being able skim through articles Reader-like instead of viewing either titles or single articles. Other plusses: open source, python, no social (yet?). Commafeed was a little rough when I first saw it, but overall I like it the best so far. The OpenShift instructions look very doable (just have to try them). Needs: mobile view, optimization. (Both on the Github issues list already.)
- swanson 13y ago
  Sounds like you might like my reader: https://github.com/swanson/stringer https://github.com/swanson/stringer. No social features by design and if you've got a heroku account you can have it deployed in under 5 min.
  - nuttendorfer 13y ago
    Now this does look quite nice. I'm a Reeder user and the current plan for me is to transition to Feedbin once Google Reader shuts down. The Reeder developer has mentioned that he plans to add more services to the application but I don't know based on what. If Stringer is compatible at some point with Reeder you've got yourself a happy customer. If things weren't so unclear concerning the APIs etc that the Reeder developer wants to use I would have started working on a patch right now myself. The Feedbin API is documented here: https://github.com/feedbin/feedbin-api#readme https://github.com/feedbin/feedbin-api#readme so that could be a good reference point.
joonix 13y ago
I don't use desktop Reader anymore, I'm looking for an Android home screen widget for reading RSS that works as well as Google Reader's. I like its design, shape/size, and the fact that it pre-downloads the text of articles so I can read while offline in the subway. Any ideas?
unhammer 13y ago
Reader's demise has really been great for those of us preferring open source feed readers ;-)
Morendil 13y ago
I've been using Commafeed for a while now to replace Reader, and it's working like a charm. For my needs it's an excellent fit - I don't have a huge list of RSS feeds, perhaps a dozen that update with any regularity, and a completely run of the mill workflow - check RSS once or twice a day, from my desktop. It completely replicates what I'd come to rely on from Reader.
- Morendil 13y ago
  Except, of course, when a traffic spike brings it down. :(

66 points by josegonzalez 13y ago

This is great, as I'm sure I'm one of many planning to set up a self-hosted RSS reader prior to Google Reader's final closure. I'd be interested in a feature comparison of CommaFeed with Fever [1] (apart from price). Can anyone comment? Particularly interested in being able to access my feed from multiple devices (desktop, mobile, iPad etc). [1] http://feedafever.com http://feedafever.com

maratd 13y ago
> Can anyone comment? Particularly interested in being able to access my feed from multiple devices (desktop, mobile, iPad etc). Well, I can't speak for CommaFeed, but I'm using Fever on multiple devices. Very happy with it. I modified the CSS a bit to increase fonts and hide the sidebar, but besides that, it works very well for me on the desktop. Just like Google Reader used to. For Android, I use Meltdown. For IOS, I use Ashes. Both work very well for what I need.

reedlaw 13y ago

Looks great! Any plans for a mobile layout?

Danieru 13y ago
The feedback button lists a mobile layout as a planned feature. For my purposes this is 100% the perfect replacement for reader.
abrowne 13y ago
Looks like it: https://github.com/Athou/commafeed/issues/54 https://github.com/Athou/commafeed/issues/54

rafeed 13y ago

I like this a lot, but it'll be tough for me to switch without a mobile app like Reeder that supports my own self-hosted CommaFeed. The site/demo itself is crawling for me though.

psteinweber 13y ago
would love to see reeder integrating this. I asked them, feel free to do so to: https://twitter.com/reederapp https://twitter.com/reederapp

abrowne 13y ago

Here's my take on Reader replacements. I want a web app, with a mobile web version. I don't want an app, mostly because I frequently open articles in tabs. I also want a hosted option, or a dead-simple way to run it without setting up my own server, virtual(ized) or otherwise. Feedly is not a web app. It's a browser extension. I wanted to use Newsblur before Reader was discontinued, but it never made sense to me -- way too complicated. Also, no mobile web. I like their business model, though. The Old Reader works well enough for me to suggest it to my girlfriend and mom, but I don't like all the space the navigation bars take up and I don't need/want the social/sharing features. Also not open source. I do like the responsive/mobile layout. FeedHQ is an interesting change from the Reader-clones, and I like the mobile version. Still hasn't added an oldest-first option though, and sometimes miss being able skim through articles Reader-like instead of viewing either titles or single articles. Other plusses: open source, python, no social (yet?). Commafeed was a little rough when I first saw it, but overall I like it the best so far. The OpenShift instructions look very doable (just have to try them). Needs: mobile view, optimization. (Both on the Github issues list already.)

swanson 13y ago
Sounds like you might like my reader: https://github.com/swanson/stringer https://github.com/swanson/stringer. No social features by design and if you've got a heroku account you can have it deployed in under 5 min.
- nuttendorfer 13y ago
  Now this does look quite nice. I'm a Reeder user and the current plan for me is to transition to Feedbin once Google Reader shuts down. The Reeder developer has mentioned that he plans to add more services to the application but I don't know based on what. If Stringer is compatible at some point with Reeder you've got yourself a happy customer. If things weren't so unclear concerning the APIs etc that the Reeder developer wants to use I would have started working on a patch right now myself. The Feedbin API is documented here: https://github.com/feedbin/feedbin-api#readme https://github.com/feedbin/feedbin-api#readme so that could be a good reference point.

joonix 13y ago

I don't use desktop Reader anymore, I'm looking for an Android home screen widget for reading RSS that works as well as Google Reader's. I like its design, shape/size, and the fact that it pre-downloads the text of articles so I can read while offline in the subway. Any ideas?

unhammer 13y ago

Reader's demise has really been great for those of us preferring open source feed readers ;-)

Morendil 13y ago

I've been using Commafeed for a while now to replace Reader, and it's working like a charm. For my needs it's an excellent fit - I don't have a huge list of RSS feeds, perhaps a dozen that update with any regularity, and a completely run of the mill workflow - check RSS once or twice a day, from my desktop. It completely replicates what I'd come to rely on from Reader.

Morendil 13y ago
Except, of course, when a traffic spike brings it down. :(