Elfeed2 : the Elfeed feed reader experience without Emacs

Standalone feed reader, successor to Elfeed. The goal: replicate the Elfeed experience without Emacs. Built with C++20, wxWidgets, SQLite3, pugixml, cpp-httplib, and mbedTLS.

The import feature (File menu) loads your classic Elfeed database into the Elfeed2 database so you can continue seamlessly. Like the original Elfeed, the set of feeds to fetch is not stored in the database but sourced from a hand-written configuration file. On the first run without a configuration, Elfeed2 installs a sample configuration to get you started. Update it with your favorite text editor.

Input and ideas are welcome as the UI takes shape.

Build

Requires CMake 3.25+ and a C++20 compiler. By default all dependencies are fetched automatically (pinned versions, hermetic build):

$ cmake -B build
$ cmake --build build

Distribution packagers use system-installed dependencies (wxWidgets 3.2, SQLite3, pugixml, OpenSSL, cpp-httplib) with -DDEPS=LOCAL:

$ cmake -B build -DDEPS=LOCAL
$ cmake --build build

DEPS=LOCAL builds use OpenSSL for TLS (universally available wherever cpp-httplib is packaged); the bundled DEPS=FETCH build uses a pinned mbedTLS to keep the self-contained binary smaller and avoid an OpenSSL runtime dependency. On Debian or Ubuntu install these dependencies:

$ apt install libcpp-httplib-dev libpugixml-dev libsqlite3-dev libwxgtk3.2-dev

To cross-compile a self-contained Windows binary on Linux or macOS using Mingw-w64:

$ cmake -B build -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=cmake/Toolchain-Mingw64.cmake
$ cmake --build build

Configuration and command line

$ elfeed2 [-h] [-d|--db PATH] [-c|--config PATH]

By default, the database lives at the platform's user data directory:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/elfeed2/elfeed.db
• Windows: %APPDATA%\elfeed2\elfeed.db
• Linux: $XDG_DATA_HOME/elfeed2/elfeed.db

On all systems, configuration is at:

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/elfeed2/config
~/.config/elfeed2/config

Override either with --db and --config. Useful for running a test or scratch instance alongside your real one — the single-instance guard is per-DB, so multiple instances against different databases don't conflict.

The configuration is a line-oriented format similar to ssh_config. Directives are keyword value, blank lines are cosmetic, and comments start with # at the start of a line or preceded by whitespace and followed by whitespace (so #-prefixed values like #f9f aren't mistaken for comments).

Nothing in the configuration is entered into the database. The database only contains run-time data, such as fetched feed data and UI state.

Global settings

download-dir          ~/Downloads      # ~ expands to your home
yt-dlp-program        yt-dlp
yt-dlp-arg            --no-warnings    # repeatable
yt-dlp-arg            --embed-metadata
default-filter        @6-months-ago +unread
max-connections       16
fetch-timeout         30               # per-feed, seconds
max-download-failures 5                # then mark "failed" until Retry
log-retention-days    90               # DB log history kept across runs

Feeds

A line whose first token contains :// opens a new feed stanza. Lines after it apply to that stanza until the next URL line. title overrides the feed's self-declared title; tag adds autotags (one or more per line, repeatable).

https://nullprogram.com/feed/
  title null program
  tag   blog programming

https://example.com/comic/feed/
  tag comic webcomic

Indentation is cosmetic, and the parser doesn't require it.

Aliases (macros)

An alias NAME TEMPLATE directive defines a shortcut. Using the alias name in place of a URL expands {} in the template with the rest of the line:

alias youtube https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id={}
alias reddit  https://old.reddit.com/r/{}/.rss

youtube UCq8ZAAsI89IoJ-fn1gYpO3g
  title            Kurzgesagt After Dark
  tag              youtube history

reddit C_Programming
  tag programming

Per-tag colors

A color TAG #RRGGBB (or #RGB shorthand) directive tints entries in the listing whose tag list includes TAG. The first directive matching an entry wins, so order them by priority.

color youtube #ff99ff
color news    #88c0d0
color hn      #d08770

Foreground only (not background), applied on top of the default styling including bold for unread entries.

Filter presets

A preset KEY FILTER directive binds a single key to a filter string. While the entry list, feeds, or preview pane has focus, pressing that key jumps the filter bar (and the listing) to that filter. User presets take precedence over built-in keys, so a rebind replaces the built-in of the same letter.

preset h @1-month +unread
preset t @1-month +youtube
preset T @1-month -youtube

Usage

Filter syntax

The filter bar controls which entries are displayed. Press s or / to edit the filter, Enter to submit, Escape to cancel. Tokens are space-separated:

Prefix	Meaning	Example
+	Must have tag	+unread
-	Must not have tag	-junk
@	Age limit	@6-months-ago
@	Age range	@1-year-ago--1-week
#	Limit result count	#50
=	Feed URL must contain	=example.com
~	Feed URL must not contain	~spam.example
!	Title must not match	!sponsor
(bare)	Title must match	linux

Age units: year/y, month/M, week/w, day/d, hour/h, min, sec/s. Suffixes like -ago and -old are ignored.

Listing keys

Key	Action
j / k	Move cursor down / up
g / G	Jump to first / last entry
Enter	Focus the preview pane (reader mode)
b	Open entry link in browser
y	Copy entry link to clipboard
u	Mark unread (advances cursor)
r	Mark read (advances cursor)
Ctrl+L	Re-apply filter (re-query)
v	Toggle visual selection
Ctrl+A	Select all entries
s / /	Edit filter
f	Fetch all feeds
d	Download enclosure
D	Toggle Downloads panel
l	Toggle Log panel
Escape	Clear selection

Visual selection (v) anchors at the focused row; subsequent j, k, g, G extend the selection from the anchor to the new cursor. Any row-acting key (u, r, b, y, d) runs against the whole range and then exits visual mode; Escape or v again also exits.

Filter editing keys

Key	Action
Enter	Submit filter
Escape	Cancel and restore previous filter
Backspace	Delete character
Ctrl+W	Delete word

Entry detail keys

Key	Action
q / Escape	Return to listing
j / k	Scroll body down / up
n / p	Next / previous entry
b	Open link in browser
y	Copy link to clipboard
d	Download enclosure
r / u	Mark read / unread (advances)

Download manager

Elfeed2 can download enclosures (e.g. podcasts) using its built-in HTTP client. Titles are automatically generated from the entry date and title. Media entries (e.g. YouTube feed items) download with yt-dlp. All are managed in a common download manager. Pressing d on an entry takes the appropriate download action and registers it in the download manager.