Miniflux Is the Last RSS Reader I’ll Ever Need

A self-hosted feed reader that doesn’t try to be clever. Just fast, quiet, and functional.

The Feed is Broken

Open any social platform today and try to find something you actually want to read. Between ads, trending distractions, and algorithmic churn, good content is buried under a pile of engagement bait and SEO sludge.

I didn’t want another dashboard, another AI-generated “For You” page, or another inbox full of “top 10 productivity hacks.” I just wanted a feed. A real one.

So I did what any stubborn, caffeine-fueled web nerd would do. I installed Miniflux. And I haven’t looked back.

Why RSS Isn’t Dead

RSS was never meant to be sexy. It’s plumbing. It quietly moves content from source to reader without the baggage of platforms or middlemen. It’s immune to shadowbans, algorithmic weirdness, and the dopamine-driven design of social apps.

Here’s why RSS still matters:

• No algorithm. You see what you subscribe to. That’s it.
• No tracking. Your feed is yours. Not Meta’s. Not Google’s.
• Lightweight. Feeds are just XML. Old-school, but fast.
• Works offline. Pull your feeds, then read on a plane or in a blackout.
• Saves time. Scan headlines fast. Triage what’s worth reading.

For devs, researchers, privacy nerds, and anyone who values signal over noise, RSS is still a quiet superpower.

What Is Miniflux?

Miniflux is a self-hosted RSS reader built with a radically minimal philosophy. It doesn’t try to be a social platform, an email digest, or a news aggregator. It’s just a reader — and a damn good one.

Built in Go, it’s lightning-fast, frugal on resources, and simple to deploy. It supports all the essentials:

• OPML import/export
• Fever API for cross-platform support
• Built-in readability parser
• Content filtering (e.g., auto-remove “sponsored” posts)
• Keyboard shortcuts for fast navigation

Oh, and it looks like a proper web app — not some forgotten cPanel theme from 2008. Clean, dark mode included.

My Hosting Setup

I’m running Miniflux on an AlmaLinux VPS with NGINX as a reverse proxy. SQLite handles the database, because simplicity wins. Here’s the basic setup:

# Docker Compose
version: '3'
services:
  miniflux:
    image: miniflux/miniflux:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///var/lib/miniflux/db.sqlite
      - RUN_MIGRATIONS=1
      - ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
      - ADMIN_PASSWORD=change-this
    volumes:
      - ./data:/var/lib/miniflux
    restart: unless-stopped

NGINX handles TLS with Let’s Encrypt and routes traffic to the internal port. CPU usage hovers around 1%, and memory usage stays under 20MB idle. No bloat. No nonsense.

Features I Actually Use

Most apps throw features at you hoping something sticks. Miniflux does the opposite — it includes only what makes reading better. Here’s what I rely on:

1. Readability Parsing

Some feeds give you a teaser and a “click to read more.” Miniflux can parse the full article in-line using Mozilla’s Readability library. It’s like Mercury Reader, but server-side.

2. Auto Filtering

You can filter out any article with matching keywords. I use this to nuke sponsored posts and SEO garbage before it clogs my brain.

if title contains "sponsored" then remove

3. Cron-Based Refresh

Feeds are refreshed on a fixed schedule — not in real-time. This keeps things efficient and avoids hammering source sites. I’ve got mine set to check every 10 minutes.

4. OPML + Fever API

Importing all my old feeds from Feedly was instant. The Fever API support means I can use third-party clients too (like Reeder or NewsFlash).

5. Keyboard Navigation

I spend less time mousing and more time reading. j/k to scroll, v to open in browser, m to mark read.

Compared to the Alternatives

Let’s be blunt. Most modern RSS readers are either bloated or locked behind paywalls. Here’s how Miniflux stacks up:

Feedly
Polished and popular, but packed with ads and paywalled features. Great UX, but you’re trading speed for shininess.

Inoreader
Feature-rich and flexible, but the interface feels noisy. Constant nudges to upgrade or tweak settings can be overwhelming.

NewsBlur
Slower to update feeds, with social sharing features I don’t need. Fine for casual readers, but not my speed.

Tiny Tiny RSS
Old-school and functional, but clunky. Mobile experience is rough, and theming is dated.

Miniflux
Minimalist, fast, and made for privacy-minded readers. No distractions, no bloat, and no surprises.

My Real-World Workflow

I’m subscribed to about 100 feeds — from dev blogs to independent writers. Here’s how I use Miniflux daily:

• Feeds pull via cron. Every 10 minutes.
• Scan headlines with j/k. I usually triage in batches.
• Inline reading for 80% of content. Fast, clean layout.
• Save long reads to Wallabag. Miniflux integrates perfectly.
• Catch up on mobile. Responsive UI works great in Firefox for Android.

I spend ~20 minutes a day in Miniflux. No distractions. No rage-closing tabs.

Who It’s For

You’ll love Miniflux if:

• You read a lot but hate the noise
• You’re comfortable setting up a Docker container or VPS
• You value privacy, speed, and control
• You want something to stay minimal — not keep changing

Not ideal if you want real-time push notifications, deep analytics, or social features. This isn’t a “platform.” It’s a tool.

Final Thoughts

RSS hasn’t died — it’s just gone underground. While the rest of the internet is busy optimizing for engagement, I’ve quietly rebuilt my personal feed with Miniflux.

It’s stable. It’s fast. It does exactly what I want, and nothing more.

That’s rare now.