RSS Feedreader reader, installation in Ubuntu using the flatpak package

In this article we are going to take a look at the RSS Feedreader reader. This app is a desktop RSS reader for Ubuntu and other Linux desktops. This application has a clean and simple design with a three-panel layout that is very convenient to use.

Many people still read news via RSS, using services like Feedly or Feedbin to read and sync content between your devices. Feedreader can sync with a number of RSS services. This ensures that unread items are synchronized between devices and the application.

Articles read or favorites in an application like FeedReader, will be marked as read or featured in other RSS applications that you can use. If you don't need news sync, you can also use Feedreader as a standalone local RSS reader. The design of the application is similar to that of Lightread, which disappeared with Google Reader.

How to install RSS Feedreader reader on Ubuntu

In previous versions, it used to be easy to install Feedreader on Ubuntu using a PPA. According to what has been published on some sites, the PPA that was used is defunct. I also understand that an attempt has been made to carry out a Snap package, which is already stagnant. For these reasons you will need to resort to Flatpak to install Feedreader on the Ubuntu desktop.

Since I don't know which libraries the user has on their system, the instructions below assume that a Flatpak has never been installed.

If you are using Ubuntu 16.04 LTS or 16.10, the first thing you should do is add the official Flatpak PPA. This is to ensure that you are using an updated version of Flatpak with all its latest features and fixes. We open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and write:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexlarsson/flatpak && sudo apt update && sudo apt install flatpak

If you're using Ubuntu 17.04 (or once you've added the Flatpak repo just shown) you can run the following command to install everything you need to install Feedreader:

sudo apt install xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gtk flatpak

Once the previous actions are finished, we only have to execute the following command. This will help us install Feedreader from the official Feedreader Flatpak repository:

flatpak install http://feedreader.xarbit.net/feedreader-repo/feedreader.flatpakref

The thing at this point is that you will have to pay attention to the terminal after executing this command. The system will ask you to authorize the addition of the GNOME remote control that is required to get the GNOME runtime that Feedreader needs to run.

To give the authorization you will only have to press 'y' to accept this. Now you just have to wait while it downloads and unpacks (they are about 120MB).

How to use the RSS Feedreader reader

Once the installation is complete, you can find the application launcher for FeedReader in the Dash. I have read out there that some have had to restart GNOME Shell to see the launcher. If you don't see it after a few minutes, give it a try and restart your computer.

The first time you run the RSS Feedreader, it will ask you to log in or set up an account:

In the list that will be displayed, you will have to select your feed service from the list. It will also be necessary for you to login and / or authenticate with your data.

In order to use the application without an account, you must select 'Local RSS' and use the '+' in the left sidebar to manually add RSS feeds. The initial sync can be slow, depending on the service you have connected to.

Once the initial synchronization is complete, you can go into the configuration part of the application to change it. It is also highly recommended configure how often the app should check for new articles.

Taking a look at the keyboard shortcuts is also highly recommended. These can make our lives very easy by using this RSS reader.

I personally see a problem with the RSS Feedreader reader. It will only allow us to configure the application to check for new elements in increments of 5 minutes to 60 minutes. Adding an option so that it only downloads the new articles would be a very good idea for this type of program. Having a synchronization process running in the background at all times can be uncomfortable for us.

You can learn more about the use of this application by consulting the documentation that its developers provide at their website.