Following websites individually soon becomes a chore. RSS readers bring updates together, making it easier to keep up with busy news sites and catch occasional posts from quieter blogs.
WyrmRSS is an RSS and Atom feed reader available as a self-hosted web application and a desktop program. This is free and open source software.
Installation
Linux downloads include DEB, RPM and AppImage packages. The desktop application uses SQLite, with no separate database server to configure.
Feeds and articles are stored locally. This data is independent of any self-hosted WyrmRSS instance, so the desktop application should not be mistaken for a synchronised client for your server.
For testing on CachyOS, I first tried the convenient AppImage package. After downloading the file and making it executable with chmod, I launched the program but was greeted by a blank window. Various workarounds failed to resolve the problem.
Rather than building from source, I next tried the DEB package on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
$ sudo dpkg -i WyrmRSS_0.26.0_amd64.deb
dpkg does not automatically download any dependencies that WyrmRSS may require. My system was missing libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0.
$ sudo apt -f install
The above command fixes broken dependencies. APT works out which packages are missing, downloads and installs them, and then completes the WyrmRSS installation.
In Operation
Here’s what you see when starting the program for the first time. I’ve switched to the light theme.
Subscriptions are added using a feed address or discovered from a website’s homepage. Folders help organise feeds, while OPML import and export let you transfer subscriptions between readers. In the image below, I’ve added the LinuxLinks feed.
WyrmRSS offers three feed display modes. River includes posts in the home feed, Feed only keeps them within the individual subscription, and Radar provides a place for lower-priority reading.
Per-feed filters exclude entries using case-insensitive text matching against URLs, titles or content. YouTube channels are also supported, with embedded video playback.
Key Features
- Save articles for later.
- Archive posts.
- Search titles and descriptions.
- Configure automatic feed refreshes.
- Send notifications about new posts to Discord, Slack or a custom webhook.
- Adjust runtime settings through the interface.
Settings lets you choose how articles are marked as read, set the number displayed per page, and configure separate deletion periods for read and unread posts. Read Later and archived posts are exempt from automatic deletion. You can also adjust feed polling, HTTP timeouts, retries and the user agent. Appearance options cover light and dark themes, five accent colours and three font sizes.
During OPML import, tags are inferred from folders and duplicate feed URLs are skipped.
Summary
WyrmRSS offers a useful range of feed management features, including folders, filters, OPML support and flexible reading modes. However, unlike NewsFlash, its desktop edition cannot synchronise with an existing online RSS service. In our testing, ps_mem reported memory usage of around 260 MB.
Installation proved uneven: the AppImage displayed only a blank window on CachyOS, while the DEB package worked on Ubuntu after installing a missing dependency.
Website: github.com/kryoseu/WyrmRSS
Support:
Developer: Kulana Kryoseu
License: GNU General Public License v3.0
WyrmRSS is written in Rust and TypeScript. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials. Learn TypeScript with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Graphical News Aggregators | |
|---|---|
| NewsFlash | Follow your favorite blogs and news sites |
| Fluent Reader | Modern desktop RSS reader |
| Liferea | Three-pane GNOME based news aggregator |
| Folo | AI-powered news aggregator |
| Akregator | News feed reader for KDE |
| RSS Guard | Simple, light and easy-to-use RSS/ATOM feed aggregator |
| FeedDeck | RSS and social media feed reader, inspired by X Pro |
| Thunderbird | Popular free, cross-platform e-mail, RSS and newsgroup client |
| Feeds | News reader for GNOME |
| QuiteRSS | Qt5-based news aggregator for RSS and Atom news feeds |
| FeedReader | High quality RSS client for various webservices |
| Communique | Supports a wide range of RSS services and local RSS feeds |
| Alligator | Convergent, cross-platform feed reader, supporting standard RSS/Atom feeds |
| FeedFlow | Minimalistic RSS reader |
| Lettura | Built with speed in mind |
| TICKR | RSS reader displaying RSS feeds in a ticker bar |
| Raven Reader | Flexible settings to optimize your experience |
| Pulp | Skim excessive feeds |
| InfoDash | Displays RSS feeds, weather and stock information |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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