# Build brief — a focused alternative to Inoreader

> **Verdict:** Yes, for personal use · **Buildability:** 67/100 · **Category:** RSS Research
> **Source:** https://www.canitbevibecoded.com/inoreader
> Independent editorial assessment from Can It Be Vibe Coded? Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or derived from Inoreader. Verify current pricing and capabilities before acting.

## Context

**Inoreader** — Power RSS reader with rules, monitoring, search, and automations. It currently costs $9.99/mo.

A single-user RSS reader with rules and alerts can be built quickly on top of existing parsers, though not with Inoreader's scale and polish.

This brief describes a focused, single-operator replacement for the part of Inoreader that is genuinely reproducible. It is deliberately narrower than the product it replaces, and it says so in writing. Build the useful core; do not pretend to have rebuilt the rest.

## What you are building

Fetch feeds, dedupe items, apply keyword rules, tag/folder articles, and send alerts or exports.

- Build a focused single-user workflow with real persistence, search, and export.
- A responsive interface with real empty, loading, success, and error states.

## Requirements

### Functional

- RSS parser.
- Database.
- Background jobs.
- Hosted app or local service.

### Data and integrations

- Email/webhook notifications.

Each of these needs a real account, credential, or quota. Set them up before writing feature code.

### Non-functional

- Accessibility: semantic markup, labelled controls, visible focus, and reduced-motion support.
- Security: server-side secrets, validated input, and no credentials in the client bundle.
- Reliability: retries with backoff on external calls, and a clear failure state when a provider is down.
- Portability: the operator can export their data and leave without losing it.

## Implementation brief

Build me a single-user RSS reader with rules and alerts to replace Inoreader. Requirements:

- Node + Express + better-sqlite3, server-rendered pages with htmx for read/unread
  and tagging without reloads. No build step.
- Fetch feeds every 15 minutes with node-cron, parse with rss-parser, dedupe by GUID
  then by normalized link. Mark a feed failing after 5 straight fetch errors.
- OPML import and export, so my Inoreader subscriptions come in and can leave again.
- Three-pane web UI on localhost:4830: folders left, article list middle, reading
  pane right, j/k keyboard navigation, unread counts per folder.
- Keyword rules per feed or folder: match on title or body, actions are tag, mark
  read, or alert me by email (SMTP in .env) or an ntfy.sh push.
- Full-text search across all stored articles with SQLite FTS5.
- Binds to localhost only. No accounts, no telemetry, everything in one .db file.
- Out of scope: mobile apps, article translation, and third-party integrations.
- README with setup steps, the fetch schedule, and how to import my OPML.

## Delivery standard

- Inspect the repository first, then write a short implementation plan before writing code.
- Deliver the smallest complete end-to-end workflow first; every primary control must work against persisted data.
- Use real validation and storage; never substitute fake dashboards, decorative controls, hard-coded success states, or mock integrations.
- Include responsive layouts plus genuine empty, loading, success, validation, and failure states.
- Keep secrets server-side in environment variables, provide .env.example, and never commit credentials or user data.
- Add structured logs around every external call and return actionable errors without leaking sensitive details.
- Write unit tests for the core logic and one automated test of the main user journey.
- Finish with a README covering setup, architecture, data location, backups, tests, deployment, and known limitations.

## Acceptance criteria

- [ ] A clean install starts the app using only the README and .env.example.
- [ ] The primary journey works from first visit through saved result, reload, edit, export, and deletion where applicable.
- [ ] Invalid input, missing configuration, provider failure, and an empty database each have a usable state.
- [ ] The interface works at 390px and 1440px, is keyboard navigable, and shows visible focus on every control.
- [ ] Tests, type checking, linting, and a production build all pass with no ignored failures.
- [ ] No part of the interface implies a live integration, security guarantee, or scale capability that was not actually built and verified.

## Non-goals

Do not build these, and do not claim to have replaced them:

- Enterprise-scale feed handling.
- Mobile apps.
- Integrations.
- Article translation.
- Reliability at the vendor's scale is an operations problem, not a prompt.
- Connectors, OAuth flows, and vendor API changes require constant upkeep.

## What you still own after launch

- Run migrations, backups, restores, and dependency updates.
- Test the critical journey after every model, API, or hosting change.
- Monitor failures and fix the edge cases a first prompt will miss.
- Maintain every third-party integration as APIs and OAuth rules change.

## Risk

**Operational risk.** The code is achievable; dependable data, integrations, and ongoing operations are the real cost.

Editorial confidence in this assessment: high. No independent one-shot implementation is linked yet.

## Prior art

Working open-source software you can read, fork, or borrow from before starting:

- [Miniflux](https://github.com/miniflux/v2) — Minimalist open-source RSS reader with self-hosting support

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Generated by [Can It Be Vibe Coded?](https://www.canitbevibecoded.com) · Full report: https://www.canitbevibecoded.com/inoreader