RSS Feed Reader

A simple and clean Python application for reading RSS feeds from multiple news sources. Add your favorite news sites and fetch the latest articles with ease.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Requirements
• Installation
• Usage
• Project Structure
• Configuration
• Error Handling
• Contributing
• License

Features

• 📰 Add Multiple News Sources - Easily add RSS feed URLs to your collection
• 💾 Persistent Storage - URLs are saved to a file for future sessions
• 🔍 Parse RSS Feeds - Automatically extracts titles and links from RSS feeds
• ⚠️ Robust Error Handling - Gracefully handles network errors, invalid XML, and connection issues
• 🎯 Simple CLI Interface - User-friendly command-line interface
• 📊 Clean Code Architecture - Well-structured, maintainable, and extensible codebase

Requirements

• Python 3.9 or higher
• Standard library modules only (no external dependencies)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/tohaHack/RSS_feed_reader.git
cd rss_feed_reader

2. Create a Python virtual environment (optional but recommended):

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. No external dependencies needed! The project uses Python's standard library.

Usage

Run the application:

python rss_reader.py

Interactive Menu

Do you want to add new news site? (y/n): y
Enter RSS feed URL: https://example.com/news
✓ Added: https://example.com/news/feed

Do you want to add new news site? (y/n): n
Do you want to see news from saved URLs? (y/n): y

📰 Fetching from: https://example.com/news/feed
  • Article Title One
    https://example.com/article1

  • Article Title Two
    https://example.com/article2

✓ Successfully fetched 2 articles

Project Structure

rss-feed-reader/
├── rss_reader.py          # Main application file
├── saved_urls.txt         # Stored RSS feed URLs (auto-generated)
├── README.md              # This file
└── .gitignore             # Git ignore file

Main Functions

load_urls()

• Loads saved URLs from saved_urls.txt
• Returns a list of URL strings
• Handles file not found gracefully

save_url(url: str) -> bool

• Saves a new URL to the file
• Returns True on success, False on error

fetch_feed(url: str) -> Optional[dict]

• Fetches and parses RSS feed from the given URL
• Handles HTTP errors, connection errors, and XML parsing errors
• Returns dictionary with article titles as keys and links as values

add_news_site(urls: list[str]) -> list[str]

• Prompts user to enter a new RSS feed URL
• Validates input and prevents duplicates
• Returns updated URL list

display_news(urls: list[str]) -> None

• Fetches and displays articles from all saved URLs
• Shows article count for each source

main()

• Runs the main application loop
• Handles user interaction and menu navigation

Configuration

Modifying Feed Suffix

By default, the application appends /feed to URLs. To change this, modify the constant in rss_reader.py:

FEED_SUFFIX = "/rss"  # Change to your preferred suffix

Changing Storage File

To use a different filename:

URLS_FILE = Path("my_rss_feeds.txt")

Error Handling

The application gracefully handles:

• HTTP Errors (404, 403, 500, etc.) - Displays HTTP error code
• Connection Errors - Notifies user when connection is lost
• Invalid XML - Handles malformed RSS feeds
• File I/O Errors - Manages missing or corrupted URL files
• Empty Input - Validates user input and prevents empty URLs

Example Error Messages

HTTP Error 404: https://example.com/invalid/feed
Connection Error: [Errno 11001] getaddrinfo failed
Invalid XML/Feed: https://example.com/feed

Example RSS Feeds

Here are some popular RSS feed URLs you can use:

• BBC News: https://feeds.bbc.co.uk/news
• CNN: https://feeds.cnn.com/rss/cnn_topstories.rss
• Reuters: https://www.reutersagency.com/feed
• TechCrunch: https://feeds.techcrunch.com/techcrunch
• The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/rss

Future Enhancements

Potential features for future versions:

• Search functionality within articles
• Filter articles by keyword
• Remove/update stored URLs
• Async feed fetching for faster performance
• Article caching to reduce API calls
• Export articles to CSV/JSON
• Web-based GUI interface
• Logging system
• Configuration file support

Development

Code Style

This project follows PEP 8 style guidelines with:

• Type hints for all functions
• Docstrings for all functions
• Clear variable naming
• Single Responsibility Principle

Running Tests

Currently, no automated tests. To manually test:

# Test with valid RSS feed
python rss_reader.py

# Test with invalid URL (should handle gracefully)
# Test with empty input (should reject)
# Test duplicate URL entry (should reject)

Common Issues

Issue: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'urllib'

• Solution: This is part of Python's standard library. Ensure you're using Python 3.x

Issue: FileNotFoundError: saved_urls.txt

• Solution: This is expected on first run. The file will be created when you add your first URL.

Issue: RSS feed returns no articles

• Solution: Not all RSS feeds have the standard ./channel/item structure. Some feeds may use different XML paths.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! To contribute:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/new-feature)
3. Commit changes (git commit -m 'Add new feature')
4. Push to branch (git push origin feature/new-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Author

Created by k3zu

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Disclaimer

This tool is provided as-is for educational purposes. Ensure you have permission to access and parse RSS feeds from any news sources.

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Quick Start

# 1. Run the app
python rss_reader.py

# 2. Add a news source
# Input: y
# URL: https://feeds.bbc.co.uk/news

# 3. View news
# Input: n
# Input: y

# 4. Exit
# Done!

For more information, visit the RSS Specification.