RSS Guard

Free and open-source news aggregator

RSS Guard

RSS Guard, version 4.2.1 (dark mode)

Developer(s)| Martin Rotter
Stable release|

4.8.5[1]  / 27 May 2025

Repository|

* github.com/martinrotter/rssguard

Written in| C++ and Qt (software)
Operating system| Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, OS/2, BSD
Type| News aggregator
License| GPL-3.0-only
Website| github.com/martinrotter/rssguard

RSS Guard is a free and open-source news aggregator for web feeds and podcasts. It is written in C++ and uses Qt, which allows it to fit with the look and feel of different operating systems while remaining cross-platform. It includes a file downloader, advanced network proxy configuration, and supports external media viewing tools.

RSS Guard is released under the GPL-3.0-only license and is available for Windows, macOS, OS/2 and various Linux distributions.

## Features

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### Supported formats

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The feed formats supported by RSS Guard are RSS/RDF, Atom, and JSON Feed.[2] RSS Guard also supports Sitemaps.[3]

RSS Guard can synchronize data with online feed services[4] Tiny Tiny RSS, Nextcloud News, Feedly, Inoreader, feed readers which use Google Reader's API such as FreshRSS, The Old Reader, and Bazqux. The application may also act as a simple e-mail client for Gmail.[5][6]

### Feed discovery

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RSS Guard is able to automatically detect all types of supported content given URL input.[3]

### Other features

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RSS Guard can mark articles as read, unread, and important. Both article and feed lists can be filtered using regular expressions.[7]

Time intervals for fetching feeds are configurable, and, through feed settings, they can be adjusted for each feed separately.[8]

### Scriptable article filtering and website scraping

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RSS Guard is bundled with JavaScript engine which is used to write article filters - small scripts which define how the application should react when new article is downloaded.[9]

RSS Guard also provides unified way of executing custom programs, which gives another way to modify raw feed data or even generate it, scraping the data from websites that do not offer a regular feed.[10]

### User interface

[edit]

The application's toolbar and status bar are highly customizable.[11][12] They can also be hidden, making RSS Guard look very minimalistic.[13]

When in a horizontal layout, the articles viewer of RSS Guard is placed to the right side of the articles list.[14]

RSS Guard supports skins. Light and dark skins are available by default.[15]

User interface of RSS Guard is deliberately programmed in a way to be minimalistic and traditional.[16]

### Database

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Feed data can be stored using SQLite or MariaDB. RSS Guard also supports the ability to import and export the database file and settings configuration to/from OPML 2.0.[17][18]

### Recycle bin

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RSS Guard has its own recycle bin to prevent the accidental loss of saved articles.[19] After emptying the recycle bin, removed articles will not appear in the list even after fetching. The actual deletion of articles, along with their cache, from the database should be done with the built-in database cleaning tool.

## Versions

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RSS Guard offers two different versions:

* Standard version with embedded web viewer and a web browser for accessing content[20]
* Lightweight version with simple text-based viewer

## Localizations

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RSS Guard has been translated into many languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Ukrainian.[21]

## See also

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* Free and open-source software portal

* Comparison of feed aggregators

## References

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1. ^ "Release 4.8.5". 27 May 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
2. ^ "RSS Guard is a Qt Desktop RSS Feed Reader With Support For Syncing With Feedly, Google Reader API and more". Linux Uprising Blog. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
3. ^ a b "My Review of RSS Guard". Virtual Curiosities.
4. ^ "RSS Guard: open source feed reader with optional online feed syncing". gHacks. 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
5. ^ "RSS Guard Feed Reader 3.8.0 Released with Labels Support | UbuntuHandbook". ubuntuhandbook.org. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
6. ^ "Top 10 free open-source RSS Feed Readers for macOS". MeDEVEL.com. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
7. ^ "RSS Guard: open source feed reader with optional online feed syncing". gHacks. 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
8. ^ "RSS Guard Feed Reader 3.4.1 Released with New Features". Tips on Ubuntu. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
9. ^ "RSS Guard Feed Reader 3.4.1 Released with New Features". Tips on Ubuntu. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
10. ^ "RSS Guard Feed Reader 3.4.1 Released with New Features". Tips on Ubuntu. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
11. ^ "RSS Guard: open source feed reader with optional online feed syncing". gHacks. 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
12. ^ "RSS Guard is a new cross-platform desktop RSS Reader - gHacks Tech News". gHacks Technology News. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
13. ^ K., Jinson (20 March 2021). "RSS Guard 3.9.0, a desktop RSS feed reader for Ubuntu". Techies Tech Guide. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
14. ^ "9 Best Free Open Source RSS Reader Software For Windows". Retrieved 10 August 2021.
15. ^ "RSS Guard: open source feed reader with optional online feed syncing". gHacks. 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
16. ^ "RSS Guard: A Superb Open Source Feed Reader App". It's FOSS.
17. ^ Kumar, Ambarish (11 April 2018). "6 Best Feed Reader Apps for Linux Desktop in 2021". itsfoss.com. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
18. ^ "RSS Guard 3.7.2". Neowin. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
19. ^ A, Damián (2017-07-19). "RSS Guard 3.4.1, feed reader with new features". Ubunlog. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
20. ^ "RSS Guard 3.9.2". softpedia. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
21. ^ "The RSS Guard translation project on Transifex". www.transifex.com. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2021.

* v
* t
* e

Content aggregators

Client
software|

| Standalone|

* Akregator
* BlogBridge
* Feedreader
* Flipboard
* Genieo
* Google Currents
* Google News
* Liferea
* NetNewsWire
* Newsbeuter
* NewsFire
* QuiteRSS
* RSS Bandit
* RSS Guard
* RSSOwl
* Seesmic

|

Web browsers|

* AOL Explorer
* Basilisk
* Camino
* iCab
* Chrome (Android)
* Firefox
* Flock
* GNOME Web
* Internet Explorer
* K-Meleon
* Kazehakase
* Maxthon
* Microsoft Edge
* Netscape Browser
* Netscape Navigator 9
* OmniWeb
* Opera
* Otter Browser
* Pale Moon
* Safari
* SeaMonkey
* Shiira
* Sleipnir
* Tencent Traveler
* Vivaldi
* Waterfox

Email clients|

* Apple Mail
* Claws Mail
* Gnus
* HCL Domino
* Microsoft Outlook
* Mozilla Thunderbird
* Netscape Messenger 9
* Pegasus Mail
* The Bat!
* Windows Live Mail
* Zimbra

Plugins|

* Cooliris
* Sage

Web apps or
mobile apps|

* Bloglines
* CommaFeed
* Daylife
* Digg Reader
* Drupal
* Feedbin
* Feedly
* FriendFeed
* Google News
* Google Reader
* iGoogle
* dotCMS
* Imooty.eu
* Inoreader
* LinkedIn Pulse
* Magnolia
* My Yahoo!
* News360
* NewsBlur
* NewsBreak
* Newsknowledge
* Netvibes
* Pageflakes
* Planet
* Rojo.com
* Prismatic
* Spokeo
* The Old Reader
* Tiny Tiny RSS
* TweetDeck
* WebGUI
* Windows Live Personalized Experience
* winnowTag

Media
aggregators|

| Podcast client|

* Adobe Media Player
* Akregator
* Amarok
* Flock
* Apple Podcasts
* Juice
* MediaMonkey
* Miro
* Rhythmbox
* Songbird
* Winamp
* Zune

|

RSS + BitTorrent|

* BitLord
* BitTorrent 6
* Deluge
* Miro
* qBittorrent
* Tribler
* μTorrent
* Vuze

Related
articles|

* Comparison of feed aggregators
* History of media aggregation
* RSS enclosure

Italics indicate discontinued software.
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