How to set up FreshRSS on SonicBit

You've got a seedbox. You've got Plex running. Your Sonarr and Radarr setup is humming along. But somewhere between managing torrents and tweaking your media library, you've probably lost track of your reading. Maybe you still have 47 tabs open with articles you "definitely will read later." Or your phone's Safari reading list has become a graveyard of good intentions.

Here's the thing: your SonicBit server can do more than just manage media. It can also be your personal RSS reader. And FreshRSS, one of the 30+ one-click apps available on SonicBit, is the perfect tool for the job.

In this guide, I'll walk you through setting up FreshRSS on SonicBit, adding your first feeds, and turning your seedbox into a self-hosted news hub. You'll need a SonicBit account with at least one basic app slot (the free plan includes one), and about 10 minutes of your time.

Why FreshRSS on a Seedbox?

Before we dive into the setup, let's answer the obvious question: why run FreshRSS on your seedbox instead of using a hosted RSS reader like Feedly or Inoreader?

Three reasons stand out:

1. You control your data. Your subscriptions, read history, and starred articles stay on your own server. No third party is scanning your reading habits.

1. It's already paid for. If you're using SonicBit for media anyway, adding FreshRSS costs nothing extra. It's a light app that runs on a basic app slot.

1. It's always on. Your seedbox is running 24/7. FreshRSS can fetch feeds around the clock, so you always have fresh articles waiting when you open the app.

FreshRSS is also genuinely good at what it does. It supports keyboard shortcuts, full-text search, categories, tags, and even a built-in WebSub subscription endpoint if you want to get fancy.

Prerequisites

Here's what you need before starting:

• A SonicBit account (free plan works fine)
• At least one available basic app slot
• A web browser to access the SonicBit dashboard
• Some RSS feed URLs you want to follow (you can add these later too)

If you're on the free plan with your one app slot already occupied, you might need to either remove an existing app or upgrade to a paid plan. The Nano plan at $1.99/month gives you 1 performance app slot and 3 basic app slots, which is plenty for FreshRSS plus a downloader or two.

Step 1: Deploy FreshRSS from the SonicBit Dashboard

The entire deployment process takes about 30 seconds. Here's how it works:

1. Log in to the SonicBit dashboard.
2. Click on Apps in the left sidebar.
3. Search for "FreshRSS" in the app directory, or browse to the Utilities category.
4. Click on the FreshRSS card to open the install dialog.

!FreshRSS app card in SonicBit dashboard

1. Choose a display name for your app. Something like "FreshRSS" or "My RSS Reader" works fine.
2. Select an app slot. FreshRSS is a light app, so any basic app slot will do.
3. Click Install and wait for the deployment to complete.

SonicBit handles everything behind the scenes: Docker container setup, Traefik routing, SSL certificate issuance. You won't need to touch a terminal or edit any configuration files.

Once the install finishes, you'll see FreshRSS in your app list with a Open button next to it. Click that button to launch the FreshRSS web interface in a new tab.

Step 2: Complete the FreshRSS Installation Wizard

The first time you open FreshRSS, you'll be greeted by its installation wizard. This is a one-time setup that configures your FreshRSS instance.

The wizard asks for three things:

Database Configuration

FreshRSS supports SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. For a SonicBit deployment, SQLite is the right choice. It's lightweight, requires zero configuration, and works perfectly for a personal RSS reader with hundreds of feeds.

Database type: SQLite

No further database settings are needed. Just leave the default SQLite options as they are.

Administrator Account

Create your admin user account. This is the account you'll use to log in to FreshRSS:

• Username: Pick something you'll remember. admin is common but consider using your name or a nickname.
• Password: Use a strong password. This is your private RSS reader, but it's still exposed to the internet.
• Email: Optional, but useful if you ever need to recover your password.

General Settings

Leave these at their defaults for now. You can adjust the timezone, language, and other preferences later from the Settings panel.

Click Submit to finish the installation. FreshRSS will create your database and redirect you to the login page.

Step 3: Log In and Configure Basic Settings

Log in with the admin credentials you just created. You'll land on the FreshRSS main interface, which is probably empty right now. Before adding feeds, let's configure a few things.

Set Your Timezone

FreshRSS uses your timezone to calculate "today" vs "yesterday" for article timestamps. Here's how to set it:

1. Click the Settings gear icon in the top right.
2. Go to General.
3. Set your timezone under Localization.
4. Save your changes.

Choose a Reading View

FreshRSS has multiple reading views. The default is "normal view," which shows article excerpts. If you prefer a more compact layout:

1. Go to Settings → Reading.
2. Try the different view modes. "Global view" shows all articles from all feeds in one stream, while "Normal view" separates them by feed.
3. Pick what works for you and save.

Step 4: Add Your First Feed

Now for the fun part — adding actual content. FreshRSS supports both RSS and Atom feeds, which covers virtually every blog, news site, YouTube channel, and podcast out there.

Method 1: Add via URL

If you already know the feed URL:

1. Click Subscription management in the left sidebar (the icon looks like a folder with a plus sign).
2. Click Add a feed.
3. Paste the feed URL in the Feed URL field.
4. FreshRSS will fetch the feed and show you a preview with the feed title and description.
5. Choose a category (or create a new one) from the dropdown.
6. Click Add to subscribe.

Method 2: Find Feeds from a Website

Don't know the feed URL? FreshRSS can help:

1. Click Subscription management → Add a feed.
2. Instead of a feed URL, enter the website's homepage URL (like https://blog.example.com).
3. FreshRSS will look for RSS/Atom discovery tags and show you any feeds it finds.
4. Select the feed you want and add it.

Here's a quick reference for some common feed types:

Method 3: Import OPML

Already using another RSS reader? Most let you export your subscriptions as an OPML file. FreshRSS can import that:

1. Go to Subscription management → Import.
2. Upload your OPML file.
3. FreshRSS will create all feeds and categories automatically.

Step 5: Organize with Categories

If you're following more than a handful of feeds, categories become essential. They group related feeds together in the sidebar and let you read by topic.

Here's a practical category structure for a media-focused user:

📰 News
  ├── Tech News
  ├── World News
  └── Local News

🎬 Media & Entertainment
  ├── Movie News
  ├── TV Show Updates
  └── Music Reviews

🛠️ Self-Hosting & Linux
  ├── Docker Blog
  ├── Linux Tips
  └── Server News

🔧 Tech Tutorials
  ├── Programming
  ├── Web Development
  └── Automation

To create a category:

1. Click Subscription management.
2. Click Add a category.
3. Name it and optionally set a parent category for hierarchy.
4. When adding feeds, assign them to the appropriate category.

Step 6: Use FreshRSS on Your Phone

FreshRSS works fine in a mobile browser, but the experience is much better with a dedicated RSS app. FreshRSS supports the Google Reader API, which means most modern RSS apps can connect to it.

Two popular options:

• Reeder (iOS, macOS): Add a "FreshRSS" account type and enter your FreshRSS URL and credentials.
• FeedMe (Android): Supports FreshRSS natively with full sync.

The API endpoint for FreshRSS is:

https://your-freshrss-domain/api/greader.php

You can find your exact FreshRSS domain by looking at the URL bar when you're using FreshRSS in your browser. It'll be something like https://freshrss-yourusername.sonicbit.net.

Step 7: Keep It Fresh with Automatic Refresh

FreshRSS refreshes feeds on a schedule. The default refresh interval depends on your configuration, but you can adjust it:

1. Go to Settings → Feed management.
2. Look for the Auto-update interval or Cron settings.
3. Set a reasonable interval. For most users, refreshing every 30-60 minutes is plenty. If you follow high-volume news sites, you might want 15 minutes.

Keep in mind that FreshRSS runs inside a container on your SonicBit server. It only refreshes when the container is running, which means it's always refreshing as long as your seedbox is up. That's the beauty of running it on a 24/7 server.

What's Next?

Now that FreshRSS is running, here are some ways to level up your setup:

• Add keyboard shortcuts: FreshRSS has Vim-style navigation. Press ? in the reading view to see all shortcuts.
• Set up full-text search: FreshRSS indexes article content, so you can search across your entire reading history.
• Create filters: Use the filter system to automatically tag, star, or mark articles as read based on keywords.
• Pair it with your media automation: Follow your favorite torrent sites' RSS feeds directly in FreshRSS, then copy magnet links to your downloader with one click.
• Explore other SonicBit apps: If you like FreshRSS, check out PrivateBin for self-hosted encrypted paste sharing, or IT Tools for a collection of handy developer utilities.

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