reader
Feed reader web app and library (so you can use it to build your own), with only standard library and pure-Python dependencies.
Activity has dropped noticeably. Check the repository before committing to it.
Commit activity more than 57% of tracked projects; popularity more than 25%. How this is calculated.
Commits, last 11 months
| Stars | 558 |
|---|---|
| Latest release | 3.26 · 24 Jun 2026 |
| Repo updated | 27 Sept 2026 |
| Licence | BSD-3-Clause |
| Built with | Python |
Is reader actively maintained?
reader is under active development: 365 commits landed over the last 11 months, averaging roughly 10 commits a month in the most recent quarter.
Activity is cooling: commits are down 84% against the previous quarter. One slow quarter is normal; two in a row is a signal.
The most recent tagged release, 3.26, is about 3 months old.
reader ranks #15 of 26 in Feed Readers, placing it mid-table for maintenance activity.
What reader actually does
Reader is a web application and library designed for processing web feeds. Built entirely using pure Python and standard library components, it provides a straightforward codebase that you can deploy as a standalone service or embed directly into other Python projects.
Best fit: Python developers who want a lightweight feed processing tool with minimal external dependencies or who wish to integrate feed parsing and management into custom applications.
Worth knowing: The project relies on a niche pure-Python stack, meaning you may encounter fewer community resources, themes, or third-party integrations compared to more mainstream feed readers.
Deployment notes
As a Python web application, you will typically run it behind a reverse proxy to handle TLS termination and manage it with a process manager like systemd or within a container.
Links
Alternatives to reader
Projects in the same categories, ordered by health score.
Self-hostable RSS feed aggregator.
Google Reader inspired self-hosted RSS reader.
Easy to use, and extensible RSS feed aggregator capable of generating RSS feeds from pretty much everything ranging from social media to university departments.
Personal news reader that brings people together to talk about the world. A new sound of an old instrument.
Easy to use web-based RSS aggregator and reader compatible with the Fever API (alternative to Google Reader).
Yarr (yet another rss reader) is a web-based feed aggregator which can be used both as a desktop application and a personal self-hosted server.