Provided by: newsboat_2.32-3_amd64 
NAME
newsboat - an RSS/Atom feed reader for text terminals
SYNOPSIS
newsboat [-r] [-e] [-i opmlfile] [-u urlfile] [-c cachefile] [-C configfile] [-X] [-o] [-x
command...] [-h]
DESCRIPTION
Newsboat is an RSS/Atom feed reader for text terminals. RSS and Atom are a number of
widely-used XML formats to transmit, publish and syndicate articles, for example news or
blog articles. Newsboat is designed to be used on text terminals on Unix or Unix-like
systems such as GNU/Linux, BSD or macOS.
OPTIONS
-h, --help
Display help
-r, --refresh-on-start
Refresh feeds on start
-e, --export-to-opml
Export feeds as OPML to stdout. This currently outputs OPML 1.0, losing all tag
information, but this is subject to change to 2.0 in the future.
--export-to-opml2
Export feeds as OPML 2.0, including tags, to stdout
-X, --vacuum
Compact the cache by: 1) reclaiming the space that was left empty when data was
deleted; and 2) defragmenting the entries in the cache. This doesn’t delete the
entries; for that, see cleanup-on-quit, delete-read-articles-on-quit,
keep-articles-days, and max-items settings.
--cleanup
Remove unreferenced entries from the cache and quit Newsboat. Feeds and their articles
will be removed if the feedurl is no longer in the urls file.
Additionally, if the delete-read-articles-on-quit configuration is set, all read
articles will be deleted (including articles of feeds which are still in the urls
file).
-v, -V, --version
Get version information about Newsboat and the libraries it uses
-i opmlfile, --import-from-opml=opmlfile
Import an OPML file
-u urlfile, --url-file=urlfile
Use an alternative URL file
-c cachefile, --cache-file=cachefile
Use an alternative cache file
-C configfile, --config-file=configfile
Use an alternative configuration file
-x command ..., --execute=command...
Execute one or more commands to run Newsboat unattended. Currently available commands
are reload and print-unread.
-l loglevel, --log-level=loglevel
Generate a logfile with a certain loglevel. Valid loglevels are 1 to 6. An actual
logfile will only be written when you provide a logfile name.
-d logfile, --log-file=logfile
Use this logfile as output when logging debug messages. Please note that this only
works when providing a loglevel.
-E file, --export-to-file=file
Export a list of read articles (resp. their GUIDs). This can be used to transfer
information about read articles between different computers.
-I file, --import-from-file=file
Import a list of read articles and mark them as read if they are held in the cache.
This is to be used in conjunction with the -E commandline parameter.
FIRST STEPS
After you’ve installed Newsboat, you can run it for the first time by typing newsboat on
your command prompt. This will bring you the following message:
Error: no URLs configured. Please fill the file /home/ak/.newsboat/urls with RSS feed URLs or import an OPML file.
Newsboat 2.22
usage: ./newsboat [-i <file>|-e] [-u <urlfile>] [-c <cachefile>] [-x <command> ...] [-h]
-e, --export-to-opml export OPML feed to stdout
-r, --refresh-on-start refresh feeds on start
-i, --import-from-opml=<file> import OPML file
-u, --url-file=<urlfile> read RSS feed URLs from <urlfile>
-c, --cache-file=<cachefile> use <cachefile> as cache file
-C, --config-file=<configfile> read configuration from <configfile>
-X, --vacuum compact the cache
-x, --execute=<command>... execute list of commands
-q, --quiet quiet startup
-v, --version get version information
-l, --log-level=<loglevel> write a log with a certain loglevel (valid values: 1 to 6)
-d, --log-file=<logfile> use <logfile> as output log file
-E, --export-to-file=<file> export list of read articles to <file>
-I, --import-from-file=<file> import list of read articles from <file>
-h, --help this help
--cleanup remove unreferenced items from cache
This means that Newsboat can’t start without any configured feeds.
Adding Feeds
To add feeds to Newsboat, you can simply add one feed URL per line to the ~/.newsboat/urls
configuration file:
http://rss.cnn.com/rss/cnn_topstories.rss
http://newsrss.bbc.co.uk/rss/newsonline_world_edition/front_page/rss.xml
You can also import an OPML file by running newsboat -i blogroll.opml
Adding comments Lines that start with # can contain anything you want. Comments are
ignored by Newsboat, but can serve as documentation for you. Please note, that
commenting out URLs for debugging purposes might lead to unexpected data loss, see
cleanup-on-quit for more details.
Feeds with restricted access
If you need to add URLs that have restricted access, simply provide username/password:
https://username:password@hostname.domain.tld/feed.rss
In case there is a @ in the username, you need to write it as %40.
In order to protect usernames and passwords, make sure to restrict read access for
~/.newsboat/urls to you and optionally your group:
$ chmod u=rw,g=r,o= ~/.newsboat/urls
Newsboat makes sure to not display usernames and passwords in its user interface.
Local files as feeds
You can also configure local files as feeds, by prefixing the local path with file:// and
adding it to the urls file:
file:///var/log/rss_eventlog.xml
First UI Interaction
The main UI of Newsboat consists of three views
Feed List View → Article List View → Article View
You can drill down those views by pressing Enter and move to the previous one by pressing
Q. Pressing Q on the Feed List View — or pressing Shift + Q from anywhere — closes
Newsboat.
You can also search articles' title or content by pressing / on the Feed List View or the
Article List View. On the Feed List View all articles of all feeds are taken into account.
On the Article List View the articles of the current feed are taken into account. When
opening an article from a search result dialog, the search phrase is highlighted.
Search history The history of all your searches is saved to the filesystem, to the
history.search file (stored next to the cache.db file). By default, the last 100
search phrases are stored.
You can influence how many search phrases are stored by configuring history-limit.
Feed List View
When you start Newsboat, it presents you with a list of feeds that you added previously.
You can now:
• Press Shift + R to download articles for all feeds.
• Press R to download articles for the selected feed.
• Press / to search all articles in all feeds.
• Press Enter to go to the article list of a selected feed.
• Press Q to close Newsboat.
Local articles Newsboat keeps the articles that it downloads. When you start Newsboat
again and reload a feed, old articles can still be read even if they aren’t in the
current RSS feeds anymore.
You can configure how many articles are kept per feed so that the article backlog
doesn’t grow endlessly by configuring max-items.
Caching Newsboat uses a number of measures to preserve the users' and feed providers'
bandwidth through the use of conditional HTTP downloading. It saves every feed’s
"Last-Modified" and "ETag" response header values (if present) and advises the feed’s
HTTP server to only send data if the feed has been updated. This doesn’t only make
feed downloads for RSS feeds with no new updates faster, it also reduces the amount of
transferred data per request.
You can disable conditional HTTP downloading per feed by configuring always-download.
Article List View
After you entered a feed, you can see the list of available articles by their title. A N
on the left indicates that an article wasn’t read yet.
You can now:
• Press Q to go back to the Feed List View.
• Press / to search all articles of this feed.
• Press Enter to read a selected article.
Article View
On an article you can scroll through the text and read it. Each link in the article has a
number next to it.
You can now:
• Press any number to open an article link in the browser. For numbers larger than 9
type #, then the number and press Enter.
• Press O to open the article in the browser.
• Press Q to go back to the Article List View.
Browser view Sometimes the content of an article is empty or just an abstract or short
description. You can always press O to view the complete article in a browser. The
default browser is lynx.
You can use your browser of choice by configuring browser.
CONFIGURATION
Several aspects of Newsboat can be configured via a config file, which is stored next to
the urls file. A configuration line looks like this in general:
<config-command> <arg1> ...
The configuration file can contain comments, which start with the # character and go as
far as the end of line.
User contrib Newsboat also comes with user contributed content like scripts and color
themes. The user contributed content can be found in /usr/share/doc/newsboat/contrib/.
End users are encouraged to take a look as they may find something useful.
Example
An example configuration looks like this
# a comment
max-items 100 # such comments are possible, too
browser links
show-read-feeds no
unbind-key R
bind-key ^R reload-all
Splitting long lines into multiple ones
Configuration items, such as macros defined in config files which are long can be split up
into multiple ones using backslashes; these must be the last character on the line and
will immediately concatenate it with the following line. It’s important that nothing
follows the \ on the same line, otherwise the \ character is treated "as is".
Dummy example:
macro p open; \
reload; quit; \
quit; \
quit -- "Opens, reloads then makes sure to quit newsboat"
Using Double Quotes
TL;DR Use double quotes for strings that contain spaces or double quotes. Escape
double quotes (use \") and backslashes (use \\). Don’t escape stuff outside of double
quotes, and don’t use single quotes for quoting — Newsboat doesn’t support that.
Many of Newsboat’s options expect strings as arguments, be it commands, passwords, dialog
titles, URLs etc. Some options even take multiple strings at once. These strings can
contain spaces, which might confuse Newsboat since it already uses spaces to separate
option names from option arguments.
To help Newsboat understand your intent, put such strings into double quotes:
browser "firefox --new-tab %u"
What if you need a double quote inside a string? Escape it with a backslash:
ocnews-password "UnbalancedQuotes\"AreSoFun!"
And what about the backslash itself? Escape it, too! Suppose you have a program called my
favourite pager, and you want to view articles with it. Newsboat ultimately passes
commands to the shell, and shell expects spaces to be escaped if you want them preserved.
But since Newsboat interprets backslashes, you have to add another layer of escaping.
Thus, you end up with a command like this:
pager "/usr/bin/my\\ favourite\\ pager"
Shell Evaluation
It is also possible to integrate the output of external commands into the configuration.
The text between two ` backticks is evaluated as shell command, and its output is used.
This works like backtick evaluation in Bourne-compatible shells and allows users to use
external information from the system within the configuration.
Escaping
Backticks and # characters can be escaped with a backslash (e.g. \` and \#). In this case,
they are replaced with literal ` or # in the configuration.
Key Bindings
You can bind a key to an operation with the bind-key configuration command. You can
specify an optional dialog. This is the context in which the key binding is active.
The syntax for a key binding looks like this:
bind-key <key> <operation> [<dialog>]
Key
Lowercase keys, uppercase keys and special characters are written literally.
Key combinations with Ctrl are written using the caret ^. For instance Ctrl + R equals to
^R. Please be aware that all Ctrl-related key combinations need to be written in
uppercase.
The following identifiers for special keys are supported:
• ENTER (Enter key)
• BACKSPACE (backspace key)
• LEFT (left cursor)
• RIGHT (right cursor)
• UP (up cursor)
• DOWN (down cursor)
• PPAGE (page up cursor)
• NPAGE (page down cursor)
• HOME (cursor to beginning of list/article)
• END (cursor to end of list/article)
• ESC (Esc key)
• TAB (Tab key)
• F1 to F12 (F1 key to F12 key)
Operation
An operation gets executed when pressing the corresponding key. For a complete list of
available operations see [_newsboat_operations] and [_podboat_operations].
Dialog
A dialog is a context in which the key binding is active. Available dialogs are:
• all (default if not specified)
• feedlist
• filebrowser
• help
• articlelist
• article
• tagselection
• filterselection
• urlview
• podboat
• dirbrowser
• searchresultslist
Colors
It is possible to configure custom color settings in Newsboat. The basic configuration
syntax is:
color <element> <foreground color> <background color> [<attribute> ...]
This means that if you configure colors for a certain element, you need to provide a
foreground color and a background color as a minimum. The following colors are supported:
• black
• red
• green
• yellow
• blue
• magenta
• cyan
• white
• default
• color<n>, e.g. color123
The default color means that the terminal’s default color will be used. The color<n> color
name (where <n> is a decimal number not starting with zero) can be used if your terminal
supports 256 colors (e.g. gnome-terminal, or xterm with TERM set to xterm-256color).
Newsboat contains support for 256 color terminals since version 2.1. For a complete chart
of colors and their corresponding numbers, please see
https://www.calmar.ws/vim/256-xterm-24bit-rgb-color-chart.html.
Optionally, you can also add one or more attributes. The following attributes are
supported:
• standout
• underline
• reverse
• blink
• dim
• bold
• protect
• invis
Currently, the following elements are supported:
• background: the application background
• listnormal: a normal list item
• listfocus: the currently selected list item
• listnormal_unread: an unread list item
• listfocus_unread: the currently selected unread list item
• title (added in 2.25): current dialog’s title, which is usually at the top of the
screen (but see show-title-bar and swap-title-and-hints). If you don’t specify a style
for this element, then the info style is used
• info: the hints bar, which is usually at the bottom of the screen (but see
show-keymap-hint and swap-title-and-hints)
• hint-key (added in 2.25): a key in the hints bar. If you don’t specify a style for
this element, then the info style is used
• hint-keys-delimiter (added in 2.25): the comma that separates keys in the hints bar.
If you don’t specify a style for this element, then the info style is used
• hint-separator (added in 2.25): the colon separating keys from their descriptions in
the hints bar. If you don’t specify a style for this element, then the info style is
used
• hint-description (added in 2.25): a description of a key in the hints bar. If you
don’t specify a style for this element, then the info style is used
• article: the article text
• end-of-text-marker: filler lines (~) below blocks of text
The default color configuration of Newsboat looks like this:
color background white black
color listnormal white black
color listfocus yellow blue bold
color listnormal_unread magenta black
color listfocus_unread magenta blue bold
color title yellow blue bold
color info yellow blue bold
color hint-key yellow blue bold
color hint-keys-delimiter yellow white
color hint-separator yellow white bold
color hint-description yellow white
color article white black
CONFIGURATION COMMANDS
always-display-description (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then the description will always be displayed even if e.g. a
<content:encoded> tag has been found. (example: always-display-description yes)
always-download (parameters: <url> [<url>...]; default value: n/a)
Specifies one or more feed URLs that should always be downloaded, regardless of their
Last-Modified timestamp and ETag header. This option can be specified multiple times.
(example: always-download "https://www.n-tv.de/23.rss")
article-sort-order (parameters: <sortfield>[-<direction>]; default value: date-asc)
The <sortfield> specifies which article property shall be used for sorting. Currently
available are: date, title, flags, author, link, guid, and random. The optional
<direction> can be either asc for ascending order, or desc for descending order. Note
that direction does not affect the random sorting. For date, desc order is the
default, i.e. date is the same as date-desc; for all others, asc is the default. Also,
the directions for date are reversed: desc means the newest items are first, whereas
asc means the oldest items are first. These inconsistencies will be fixed in a future
major version of Newsboat. (example: article-sort-order author-desc)
articlelist-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%4i %f %D %6L %?T?|%-17T|
?%t")
This variable defines the format of entries in the article list. See the respective
section in the documentation for more information on format strings. (example:
articlelist-format "%4i %f %D %?T?|%-17T| ?%t")
articlelist-title-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%N %V - Articles in feed
'%T' (%u unread, %t total)%?F? matching filter '%F'&? - %U" (localized))
Format of the title in article list. See "Format Strings" section of Newsboat manual
for details on available formats. (example: articlelist-title-format "Articles in feed
'%T' (%u unread)")
auto-reload (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, all feeds will be automatically reloaded at start up and then
continuously after a certain time has passed (see reload-time). See also
refresh-on-startup to only reload the feeds at start up, but not continuously.
Enabling suppress-first-reload omits the reload on start up. (example: auto-reload
yes)
bind-key (parameters: <key> <operation> [<dialog>]; default value: n/a)
Bind key <key> to <operation>. This means that whenever <key> is pressed, then
<operation> is executed (if applicable in the current dialog). For more information
see Key Bindings. See also unbind-key to remove a key binding. (example: bind-key ^R
reload-all)
bookmark-autopilot (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, the configured bookmark command is executed without any further input
asked from user, unless the url or the title cannot be found/guessed. (example:
bookmark-autopilot yes)
bookmark-cmd (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
If set, then <command> will be used as bookmarking plugin. See the documentation on
bookmarking for further information. (example: bookmark-cmd
"~/bin/delicious-bookmark.sh")
bookmark-interactive (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then the configured bookmark command is an interactive program.
(example: bookmark-interactive yes)
browser (parameters: <command>; default value: %BROWSER, otherwise lynx)
Set the browser command to use when opening an article in the browser. If the BROWSER
environment variable is set, it will be used as the default browser, otherwise lynx
will be used. For more information, see Using Browser. (example: browser "w3m %u")
cache-file (parameters: <path>; default value: "~/.newsboat/cache.db" or
"~/.local/share/cache.db" (see "Files" section))
This configuration option sets the cache file. This is especially useful if the
filesystem of your home directory doesn’t support proper locking (e.g. NFS). (example:
cache-file "/tmp/testcache.db")
cleanup-on-quit (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to yes, then the cache gets locked and superfluous feeds and items are removed,
such as feeds that can’t be found in the urls configuration file anymore. Run newsboat
--cleanup to do this manually. If you encounter a warning about unreachable feeds
having been found, you may see the feed urls listed by creating a log file via the
error-log option. (example: cleanup-on-quit no)
color (parameters: <element> <fgcolor> <bgcolor> [<attribute> ...]; default value: n/a)
Set the foreground color, background color and optional attributes for a certain
element. (example: color background white black)
confirm-delete-all-articles (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to yes, then Newsboat will ask for confirmation whether the user wants to
delete all articles. (example: confirm-delete-all-articles no)
confirm-exit (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then Newsboat will ask for confirmation whether the user really wants
to quit Newsboat. (example: confirm-exit yes)
confirm-mark-all-feeds-read (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to yes, then Newsboat will ask for confirmation whether the user wants to mark
all feeds as read. (example: confirm-mark-all-feeds-read no)
confirm-mark-feed-read (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to yes, then Newsboat will ask for confirmation on whether the user wants to
mark a feed as read. (example: confirm-mark-feed-read no)
cookie-cache (parameters: <path>; default value: "")
Set a cookie cache. If set, cookies will be cached in (i.e. read from and written to)
this file, using Netscape format <http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/#3.5>. (example:
cookie-cache "~/.newsboat/cookies.txt")
datetime-format (parameters: <date/time format>; default value: %b %d)
This format specifies the date/time format in the article list. For a detailed
documentation on most of the allowed formats, consult the manpage of strftime(3). %L
is a custom format not available in strftime which lists the days since the article
was published (e.g. "2 days ago"). (example: datetime-format "%D, %R")
define-filter (parameters: <name> <filterexpr>; default value: n/a)
With this command, you can predefine filters, which you can later select from a list,
and which are then applied after selection. This is especially useful for filters that
you need often and you don’t want to enter them every time you need them. (example:
define-filter "all feeds with 'fun' tag" "tags # \"fun\"")
delete-read-articles-on-quit (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, all read articles will be deleted when quiting Newsboat. This option
only applies if cleanup-on-quit is set to yes or if the —cleanup argument is passed.
(example: delete-read-articles-on-quit yes)
dialogs-title-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%N %V - Dialogs" (localized))
Format of the title in dialog list. See "Format Strings" section of Newsboat manual
for details on available formats. (example: dialogs-title-format "%N %V - Dialogs")
dirbrowser-title-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%N %V - %?O?Open
Directory&Save File? - %f" (localized))
Format of the title in directory browser. See "Format Strings" section of Newsboat
manual for details on available formats. (example: dirbrowser-file-format "%?O?Open
Directory&Save File? - %f")
display-article-progress (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to yes, then a read progress (in percent) is displayed in the article view.
Otherwise, no read progress is displayed. (example: display-article-progress no)
download-full-page (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then for all feed items with no content but with a link, the link is
downloaded and the result used as content instead. This may significantly increase the
download times of "empty" feeds. (example: download-full-page yes)
download-retries (parameters: <number>; default value: 1)
How many times Newsboat shall try to successfully download a feed before giving up.
This is an option to improve the success of downloads on slow and shaky connections
such as via a TOR proxy. (example: download-retries 4)
download-timeout (parameters: <number>; default value: 30)
The number of seconds Newsboat shall wait when downloading a feed before giving up.
This is an option to improve the success of downloads on slow and shaky connections
such as via a TOR proxy. (example: download-timeout 60)
error-log (parameters: <path>; default value: "")
If set, then user errors (e.g. errors regarding defunct RSS feeds) will be logged to
this file. (example: error-log "~/.newsboat/error.log")
external-url-viewer (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
If set, then show-urls will pipe the current article to a specific external tool
instead of using the internal URL viewer. This can be used to integrate tools such as
urlview. (example: external-url-viewer "urlview")
feed-sort-order (parameters: <sortfield>[-<direction>]; default value: none)
The <sortfield> specifies which feed property shall be used for sorting; currently
available are: firsttag, title, articlecount, unreadarticlecount, lastupdated and
none. The optional <direction> specifies the sort direction. asc specifies ascending
sorting, desc specifies descending sorting. desc is the default. (example:
feed-sort-order firsttag)
feedhq-flag-share (parameters: <flag>; default value: "")
If set and FeedHQ support is used, then all articles that are flagged with the
specified flag are being "shared" in FeedHQ so that people that follow you can see it.
(example: feedhq-flag-share "a")
feedhq-flag-star (parameters: <flag>; default value: "")
If set and FeedHQ support is used, then all articles that are flagged with the
specified flag are being "starred" in FeedHQ and appear in the list of "Starred
items". (example: feedhq-flag-star "b")
feedhq-login (parameters: <login>; default value: "")
This variable sets your FeedHQ login for FeedHQ support. (example: feedhq-login
"your-login")
feedhq-min-items (parameters: <number>; default value: 20)
This variable sets the number of articles that are loaded from FeedHQ per feed.
(example: feedhq-min-items 100)
feedhq-password (parameters: <password>; default value: "")
This variable sets your FeedHQ password for FeedHQ support. Double quotes and
backslashes within it should be escaped. (example: feedhq-password
"here_goesAquote:\"")
feedhq-passwordeval (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
A more secure alternative to the above, is providing your password from an external
command that is evaluated during login. This can be used to read your password from a
gpg encrypted file or your system keyring. (example: feedhq-passwordeval "gpg
--decrypt ~/.newsboat/feedhq-password.gpg")
feedhq-passwordfile (parameters: <path>; default value: "")
Another alternative, by storing your plaintext password elsewhere in your system.
(example: feedhq-passwordfile "~/.newsboat/feedhq-pw.txt")
feedhq-show-special-feeds (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set and FeedHQ support is used, then "special feeds" like "People you follow"
(articles shared by people you follow), "Starred items" (your starred articles) and
"Shared items" (your shared articles) appear in your subscription list. (example:
feedhq-show-special-feeds "no")
feedhq-url (parameters: <url>; default value: "https://feedhq.org/")
Configures the URL where your FeedHQ instance resides. (example: feedhq-url
"https://feedhq.example.com/")
feedlist-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%4i %n %11u %t")
This variable defines the format of entries in the feed list. See the respective
section in the documentation for more information on format strings. (example:
feedlist-format " %n %4i - %11u -%> %t")
feedlist-title-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%N %V - %?F?Feeds&Your feeds?
(%u unread, %t total)%?F? matching filter '%F'&?%?T? - tag '%T'&?" (localized))
Format of the title in feed list. See "Format Strings" section of Newsboat manual for
details on available formats. (example: feedlist-title-format "Feeds (%u unread, %t
total)")
filebrowser-title-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%N %V - %?O?Open File&Save
File? - %f" (localized))
Format of the title in file browser. See "Format Strings" section of Newsboat manual
for details on available formats. (example: filebrowser-title-format "%?O?Open
File&Save File? - %f")
freshrss-flag-star (parameters: <flag>; default value: "")
If set and FreshRSS support is used, then all articles that are flagged with the
specified flag are being "starred" in FreshRSS and appear in the list of "Starred
items". (example: freshrss-flag-star "b")
freshrss-login (parameters: <login>; default value: "")
This variable sets your FreshRSS login for FreshRSS support. (example: freshrss-login
"your-login")
freshrss-min-items (parameters: <number>; default value: 20)
This variable sets the number of articles that are loaded from FreshRSS per feed.
(example: freshrss-min-items 100)
freshrss-password (parameters: <password>; default value: "")
This variable sets your FreshRSS password for FreshRSS support. Double quotes and
backslashes within it should be escaped. (example: freshrss-password
"here_goesAquote:\"")
freshrss-passwordeval (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
A more secure alternative to the above, is providing your password from an external
command that is evaluated during login. This can be used to read your password from a
gpg encrypted file or your system keyring. (example: freshrss-passwordeval "gpg
--decrypt ~/.newsboat/freshrss-password.gpg")
freshrss-passwordfile (parameters: <path>; default value: "")
Another alternative, by storing your plaintext password elsewhere in your system.
(example: freshrss-passwordfile "~/.newsboat/freshrss-pw.txt")
freshrss-show-special-feeds (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set and FreshRSS support is used, then a "Starred items" feed (containing your
starred/favourited articles) appears in your subscription list. (example:
freshrss-show-special-feeds "no")
freshrss-url (parameters: <url>; default value: "")
Configures the URL for the Google Reader API endpoint of your FreshRSS instance.
(example: freshrss-url "https://freshrss.example.com/api/greader.php")
goto-first-unread (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to yes, then the first unread article will be selected whenever a feed is
entered. (example: goto-first-unread no)
goto-next-feed (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to yes, then the next-unread, prev-unread and random-unread keys will search in
other feeds for unread articles if all articles in the current feed are read. If set
to no, then these keys will stop in the current feed. (example: goto-next-feed no)
help-title-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%N %V - Help" (localized))
Format of the title in help window. See "Format Strings" section of Newsboat manual
for details on available formats. (example: help-title-format "%N %V - Help")
highlight (parameters: <target> <regex> <fgcolor> [<bgcolor> [<attribute> ...]]; default
value: n/a)
With this command, you can highlight text parts in the feed list, the article list and
the article view. (example: highlight all "newsboat" red)
highlight-article (parameters: <filterexpr> <fgcolor> <bgcolor> [<attribute> ...]; default
value: n/a)
With this command, you can highlight articles in the article list if they match a
filter expression. (example: highlight-article "author =~ \"Andreas Krennmair\"" white
red bold)
highlight-feed (parameters: <filterexpr> <fgcolor> <bgcolor> [<attribute> ...]; default
value: n/a)
With this command, you can highlight feeds in the feed list if they match a filter
expression. (example: highlight-feed unread › 100 white red bold)
history-limit (parameters: <number>; default value: 100)
Defines the maximum number of entries of commandline resp. search history to be saved.
To disable history saving, set it to 0. (example: history-limit 0)
html-renderer (parameters: <command>; default value: internal)
If set to internal, then the internal HTML renderer will be used. Otherwise, the
specified command will be executed, the HTML to be rendered will be written to the
command’s stdin, and the program’s output will be displayed. This makes it possible to
use other, external programs, such as w3m, links or lynx, to render HTML. (example:
html-renderer "w3m -dump -T text/html")
http-auth-method (parameters: <method>; default value: any)
Set HTTP authentication method. Allowed values: any, basic, digest, digest_ie (only
available with libcurl 7.19.3 and newer), gssnegotiate, ntlm and anysafe. (example:
http-auth-method digest)
ignore-article (parameters: <feed> <filterexpr>; default value: n/a)
If a downloaded article from <feed> matches <filterexpr>, then it is ignored and not
presented to the user. This command is further explained in the "kill file" section
below. (example: ignore-article "*" "title =~ \"Windows\"")
ignore-mode (parameters: [download/display]; default value: download)
This configuration option defines in what way an article is ignored (see
ignore-article). If set to download, then it is ignored in the download/parsing phase
and thus never written to the cache, if it set to display, it is ignored when
displaying articles but is kept in the cache. (example: ignore-mode "display")
include (parameters: <path>; default value: n/a)
With this command, you can include other files to be interpreted as configuration
files. This is especially useful to separate your configuration into several files,
e.g. key configuration, color configuration, ... (example: include
"~/.newsboat/colors")
inoreader-app-id (parameters: <string>; default value: "")
Unique application ID issued by Inoreader. See "Inoreader" section. (example:
inoreader-app-id "123456789")
inoreader-app-key (parameters: <string>; default value: "")
Application key issued by Inoreader. See "Inoreader" section. (example:
inoreader-app-key "TmV3c2JvYXQgcm9ja3MgOikK")
inoreader-flag-share (parameters: <flag>; default value: "")
If set and Inoreader support is used, then all articles that are flagged with the
specified flag are being "shared" in Inoreader so that people that follow you can see
it. (example: inoreader-flag-share "a")
inoreader-flag-star (parameters: <flag>; default value: "")
If set and Inoreader support is used, then all articles that are flagged with the
specified flag are being "starred" in Inoreader and appear in the list of "Starred
items". (example: inoreader-flag-star "b")
inoreader-login (parameters: <login>; default value: "")
This variable sets your Inoreader login for Inoreader support. (example:
inoreader-login "your-login")
inoreader-min-items (parameters: <number>; default value: 20)
This variable sets the number of articles that are loaded from Inoreader per feed.
(example: inoreader-min-items 100)
inoreader-password (parameters: <password>; default value: "")
This variable sets your Inoreader password for Inoreader support. Double quotes and
backslashes within it should be escaped. (example: inoreader-password
"here_goesAquote:\"")
inoreader-passwordeval (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
A more secure alternative to the above, is providing your password from an external
command that is evaluated during login. This can be used to read your password from a
gpg encrypted file or your system keyring. (example: inoreader-passwordeval "gpg
--decrypt ~/.newsboat/inoreader-password.gpg")
inoreader-passwordfile (parameters: <path>; default value: "")
Another alternative, by storing your plaintext password elsewhere in your system.
(example: inoreader-passwordfile "~/.newsboat/inoreader-pw.txt")
inoreader-show-special-feeds (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set and Inoreader support is used, then "special feeds" like "Starred items" (your
starred articles) and "Shared items" (your shared articles) appear in your
subscription list. (example: inoreader-show-special-feeds "no")
itemview-title-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%N %V - Article '%T' (%u
unread, %t total)" (localized))
Format of the title in article view. See "Format Strings" section of Newsboat manual
for details on available formats. (example: itemview-title-format "Article '%T'")
keep-articles-days (parameters: <number>; default value: 0)
If set to a number greater than 0, only articles that were published within the last
<number> days are kept, and older articles are deleted. If set to 0, this option is
not active. Note that changing this setting won’t bring back the articles that were
deleted earlier; currently, there’s no non-hacky way to bring back deleted articles.
(example: keep-articles-days 30)
macro (parameters: <macro key> <command list> [-- "<macro description>"]; default value:
n/a)
With this command, you can define a macro key and specify a list of commands that
shall be executed when the macro prefix and the macro key are pressed. Optionally, a
description can be added. If present, the description is shown in the help form.
(example: macro k open; reload; quit -- "enter feed to reload it")
mark-as-read-on-hover (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then all articles that get selected in the article list are marked as
read. (example: mark-as-read-on-hover yes)
max-browser-tabs (parameters: <number>; default value: 10)
Set the maximum number of articles to open in a browser when using the
open-all-unread-in-browser or open-all-unread-in-browser-and-mark-read commands.
(example: max-browser-tabs 4)
max-download-speed (parameters: <number>; default value: 0)
If set to a number greater than 0, the download speed per download is set to that
limit (in KB/s). (example: max-download-speed 50)
max-items (parameters: <number>; default value: 0)
Set the number of articles to maximally keep per feed. If the number is set to 0, then
all articles are kept. (example: max-items 100)
miniflux-login (parameters: <username>; default value: "")
Sets the username for use with Miniflux. (example: miniflux-login "admin")
miniflux-min-items (parameters: <number>; default value: 100)
This variable sets the number of articles that are loaded from Miniflux per feed.
(example: miniflux-min-items 20)
miniflux-password (parameters: <password>; default value: "")
Configures the password for use with Miniflux. Double quotes and backslashes within it
should be escaped. (example: miniflux-password "here_goesAquote:\"")
miniflux-passwordeval (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
A more secure alternative to the above, is providing your password from an external
command that is evaluated during login. This can be used to read your password from a
gpg encrypted file or your system keyring. (example: miniflux-passwordeval "gpg
--decrypt ~/.newsboat/miniflux-password.gpg")
miniflux-passwordfile (parameters: <path>; default value: "")
Another alternative, by storing your plaintext password elsewhere in your system.
(example: miniflux-passwordfile "~/.newsboat/miniflux-pw.txt")
miniflux-token (parameters: <API Token>; default value: "")
Sets the API Token for use with Miniflux. (example: miniflux-token
"E-uTqU8r55KucuHz26tJbXfrZVRndwY_mZAsEfcC8Bg=")
miniflux-tokeneval (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
A more secure alternative to the above, is providing your API token from an external
command that is evaluated during login. This can be used to read your token from a gpg
encrypted file or your system keyring. (example: miniflux-tokeneval "gpg --decrypt
~/.newsboat/miniflux-token.gpg")
miniflux-tokenfile (parameters: <API Token>; default value: "")
Another alternative, by storing your plaintext token elsewhere in your system.
(example: miniflux-tokenfile "~/.newsboat/miniflux-token.txt")
miniflux-url (parameters: <url>; default value: "")
Configures the URL where the Miniflux installation you want to use resides. (example:
miniflux-url "https://example.com/miniflux/")
newsblur-login (parameters: <login>; default value: "")
This variable sets your NewsBlur login for NewsBlur support. (example: newsblur-login
"your-login")
newsblur-min-items (parameters: <number>; default value: 20)
This variable sets the number of articles that are loaded from NewsBlur per feed.
(example: newsblur-min-items 100)
newsblur-password (parameters: <password>; default value: "")
This variable sets your NewsBlur password for NewsBlur support. Double quotes and
backslashes within it should be escaped. (example: newsblur-password
"here_goesAquote:\"")
newsblur-passwordeval (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
A more secure alternative to the above, is providing your password from an external
command that is evaluated during login. This can be used to read your password from a
gpg encrypted file or your system keyring. (example: newsblur-passwordeval "gpg
--decrypt ~/.newsboat/newsblur-password.gpg")
newsblur-passwordfile (parameters: <path>; default value: "")
Another alternative, by storing your plaintext password elsewhere in your system.
(example: newsblur-passwordfile "~/.newsboat/newsblur-pw.txt")
newsblur-url (parameters: <url>; default value: "https://newsblur.com")
Configures the URL where the NewsBlur instance resides. (example: newsblur-url
"https://localhost")
notify-always (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to no, notifications will only be made when there are new feeds or articles. If
set to yes, notifications will be made regardless. (example: notify-always yes)
notify-beep (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then the speaker will beep on new articles. (example: notify-beep yes)
notify-format (parameters: <string>; default value: "Newsboat: finished reload, %f unread
feeds (%n unread articles total)" (localized))
Format string that is used for formatting notifications. (example: notify-format "%d
new articles (%n unread articles, %f unread feeds)")
notify-program (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
If set, then the configured program will be executed if new articles arrived (through
a reload) or if notify-always is yes. The first parameter of the called program
contains the notification message. In order to pass other hard-coded arguments to the
program, write an appropriate wrapper shell script and use it as <command> instead.
(example: notify-program "~/bin/my-notifier")
notify-screen (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then a "privacy message" will be sent to the terminal, containing a
notification message about new articles. This is especially useful if you use terminal
emulations such as GNU screen which implement privacy messages. (example:
notify-screen yes)
notify-xterm (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then the xterm window title will be set to a notification message about
new articles. (example: notify-xterm yes)
ocnews-flag-star (parameters: <character>; default value: "")
If set and ownCloud News support is used, then all articles that are flagged with the
specified flag are being "starred" in ownCloud News. (example: ocnews-flag-star "s")
ocnews-login (parameters: <username>; default value: "")
Sets the username to use with the ownCloud instance. (example: ocnews-login "user")
ocnews-password (parameters: <password>; default value: "")
Configures the password to use with the ownCloud instance. Double quotes and
backslashes within it should be escaped. (example: ocnews-password
"here_goesAquote:\"")
ocnews-passwordeval (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
A more secure alternative to the above, is providing your password from an external
command that is evaluated during login. This can be used to read your password from a
gpg encrypted file or your system keyring. (example: ocnews-passwordeval "gpg
--decrypt ~/.newsboat/ocnews-password.gpg")
ocnews-passwordfile (parameters: <path>; default value: "")
Another alternative, by storing your plaintext password elsewhere in your system.
(example: ocnews-passwordfile "~/.newsboat/ocnews-pw.txt")
ocnews-url (parameters: <url>; default value: "")
Configures the URL where the ownCloud instance resides. (example: ocnews-url
"https://localhost/owncloud")
oldreader-flag-share (parameters: <flag>; default value: "")
If set and The Old Reader support is used, then all articles that are flagged with the
specified flag are being "shared" in The Old Reader so that people that follow you can
see it. (example: oldreader-flag-share "a")
oldreader-flag-star (parameters: <flag>; default value: "")
If set and The Old Reader support is used, then all articles that are flagged with the
specified flag are being "starred" in The Old Reader and appear in the list of
"Starred items". (example: oldreader-flag-star "b")
oldreader-login (parameters: <login>; default value: "")
This variable sets your The Old Reader login for The Older Reader support. (example:
oldreader-login "your-login")
oldreader-min-items (parameters: <number>; default value: 20)
This variable sets the number of articles that are loaded from The Old Reader per
feed. (example: oldreader-min-items 100)
oldreader-password (parameters: <password>; default value: "")
This variable sets your The Old Reader password for The Old Reader support. Double
quotes and backslashes within it should be escaped. (example: oldreader-password
"here_goesAquote:\"")
oldreader-passwordeval (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
A more secure alternative to the above, is providing your password from an external
command that is evaluated during login. This can be used to read your password from a
gpg encrypted file or your system keyring. (example: oldreader-passwordeval "gpg
--decrypt ~/.newsboat/oldreader-password.gpg")
oldreader-passwordfile (parameters: <path>; default value: "")
Another alternative, by storing your plaintext password elsewhere in your system.
(example: oldreader-passwordfile "~/.newsboat/oldreader-pw.txt")
oldreader-show-special-feeds (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set and The Old reader support is used, then "special feeds" like "People you
follow" (articles shared by people you follow), "Starred items" (your starred
articles) and "Shared items" (your shared articles) appear in your subscription list.
(example: oldreader-show-special-feeds "no")
openbrowser-and-mark-jumps-to-next-unread (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, jump to the next unread item when an item is opened in the browser and
marked as read. (example: openbrowser-and-mark-jumps-to-next-unread yes)
opml-url (parameters: <url> ...; default value: "")
If the OPML online subscription mode is enabled, then the list of feeds will be taken
from the OPML file found on this location. Optionally, you can specify more than one
URL. All the listed OPML URLs will then be taken into account when loading the feed
list. (example: opml-url "https://host.domain.tld/blogroll.opml"
"https://example.com/anotheropmlfile.opml")
pager (parameters: [<command>/internal]; default value: internal)
If set to internal, then the internal pager will be used. Otherwise, the article to be
displayed will be rendered to be a temporary file and then displayed with the
configured pager. If the command is set to an empty string, the content of the PAGER
environment variable will be used. If the command contains a placeholder %f, it will
be replaced with the temporary filename. (example: pager "less %f")
podcast-auto-enqueue (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then all podcast URLs that are found in articles are added to the
podcast download queue. See the respective section in the documentation for more
information on podcast support in Newsboat. (example: podcast-auto-enqueue yes)
prepopulate-query-feeds (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then all query feeds are prepopulated with articles on startup.
(example: prepopulate-query-feeds yes)
proxy (parameters: <server:port>; default value: n/a)
Set the proxy to use for downloading RSS feeds. (Don’t forget to actually enable the
proxy with use-proxy yes.) Note that the NO_PROXY environment variable can disable the
proxy for certain sites. (example: proxy localhost:3128)
proxy-auth (parameters: <auth>; default value: n/a)
Set the proxy authentication string. (example: proxy-auth user:password)
proxy-auth-method (parameters: <method>; default value: any)
Set proxy authentication method. Allowed values: any, basic, digest, digest_ie (only
available with libcurl 7.19.3 and newer), gssnegotiate, ntlm and anysafe. (example:
proxy-auth-method ntlm)
proxy-type (parameters: <type>; default value: http)
Set proxy type. Allowed values: http, socks4, socks4a, socks5 and socks5h. (example:
proxy-type socks5)
refresh-on-startup (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then all feeds will be reloaded when Newsboat starts up. This is
equivalent to the -r commandline option. See also auto-reload to additionally reload
the feeds continuously. (example: refresh-on-startup yes)
reload-only-visible-feeds (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then manually reloading all feeds will only reload the currently
visible feeds, e.g. if a filter or a tag is set. (example: reload-only-visible-feeds
yes)
reload-threads (parameters: <number>; default value: 1)
The number of parallel reload threads that shall be started when all feeds are
reloaded. (example: reload-threads 3)
reload-time (parameters: <number>; default value: 60)
The number of minutes between automatic reloads. (example: reload-time 120)
reset-unread-on-update (parameters: <url> [<url>...]; default value: n/a)
Specifies one or more feed URLs for whose articles the unread flag will be reset if an
article has been updated, i.e. its content has been changed. This is especially useful
for RSS feeds where single articles are updated after publication, and you want to be
notified of the updates. This option can be specified multiple times. (example:
reset-unread-on-update "https://blog.fefe.de/rss.xml?html")
restrict-filename (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to no, Newsboat will not limit saved article filenames to ASCII characters.
(example: restrict-filename no)
run-on-startup (parameters: <list of operations>; default value: n/a)
Specifies one or more Newsboat operations, separated by semicolons, which are executed
on Newsboat startup. (example: run-on-startup next-unread; open; random-unread; open)
save-path (parameters: <path-to-directory>; default value: ~/)
The default path where articles shall be saved to. If an invalid path is specified,
the current directory is used. (example: save-path "~/Saved Articles")
scrolloff (parameters: <number>; default value: 0)
Keep the configured number of lines above and below the selected item in lists.
Configure a high number to keep the selected item in the center of the screen.
(example: scrolloff 5)
search-highlight-colors (parameters: <fgcolor> <bgcolor> [<attribute> ...]; default value:
black yellow bold)
This configuration command specifies the highlighting colors when searching for text
from the article view. (example: search-highlight-colors white black bold)
searchresult-title-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%N %V - Search results
for '%s' (%u unread, %t total)%?F? matching filter '%F'&?" (localized))
Format of the title in search result. See "Format Strings" section of Newsboat manual
for details on available formats. (example: searchresult-title-format "Search result")
selectfilter-title-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%N %V - Select Filter"
(localized))
Format of the title in filter selection dialog. See "Format Strings" section of
Newsboat manual for details on available formats. (example: selectfilter-title-format
"Select Filter")
selecttag-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%4i %T (%u)")
Format of the lines in "Select tag" dialog. See the respective section in the
documentation for more information on format strings. (example: selecttag-format
"[%2i] %T (%n unread articles in %f feeds, %u feeds total)")
selecttag-title-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%N %V - Select Tag"
(localized))
Format of the title in tag selection dialog. See "Format Strings" section of Newsboat
manual for details on available formats. (example: selecttag-title-format "Select
Tag")
show-keymap-hint (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to no, then the keymap hints will not be displayed. (The keymap hints are
usually at the bottom of the screen, but see swap-title-and-hints setting.) (example:
show-keymap-hint no)
show-read-articles (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to yes, then all articles of a feed are listed in the article list. If set to
no, then only unread articles are listed. (example: show-read-articles no)
show-read-feeds (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to yes, then all feeds, including those without unread articles, are listed. If
set to no, then only feeds with one or more unread articles are list. (example:
show-read-feeds no)
show-title-bar (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to no, then the title bar will not be displayed. (The title bar is usually at
the top of the screen, but see swap-title-and-hints setting.) (example: show-title-bar
no)
ssl-verifyhost (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to no, skip verification of the certificate’s name against host. (example:
ssl-verifyhost no)
ssl-verifypeer (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: yes)
If set to no, skip verification of the peer’s SSL certificate. (example:
ssl-verifypeer no)
suppress-first-reload (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then the first automatic reload will be suppressed if auto-reload is
set to yes. (example: suppress-first-reload yes)
swap-title-and-hints (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then the title (which is usually at the top of the screen) and the
keymap hints (usually at the bottom) will exchange places. These bars can be hidden
entirely, via the show-keymap-hints and show-title-bar settings. (example:
swap-title-and-hints yes)
text-width (parameters: <number>; default value: 0)
If set to a number greater than 0, all HTML will be rendered to this maximum line
length or the terminal width (whichever is smaller). If set to 0, the terminal width
will always be used in the article view, while pipe-to, save, and save-all will wrap
at 80 columns instead. Does not apply when using external renderer or viewing the
source. Also note that "Link" header and "Links" section won’t be affected by it—they
contain URLs which are better not wrapped. (example: text-width 72)
toggleitemread-jumps-to-next-unread (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, jump to the next unread item when an item’s read status is toggled in
the article list. (example: toggleitemread-jumps-to-next-unread yes)
ttrss-flag-publish (parameters: <character>; default value: "")
If set and Tiny Tiny RSS support is used, then all articles that are flagged with the
specified flag are being marked as "published" in Tiny Tiny RSS. (example:
ttrss-flag-publish "b")
ttrss-flag-star (parameters: <character>; default value: "")
If set and Tiny Tiny RSS support is used, then all articles that are flagged with the
specified flag are being "starred" in Tiny Tiny RSS. (example: ttrss-flag-star "a")
ttrss-login (parameters: <username>; default value: "")
Sets the username for use with Tiny Tiny RSS. (example: ttrss-login "admin")
ttrss-mode (parameters: [multi/single]; default value: multi)
Configures the mode in which Tiny Tiny RSS is used. In single-user mode, login and
password are used for HTTP authentication, while in multi-user mode, they are used for
authenticating with Tiny Tiny RSS. (example: ttrss-mode "single")
ttrss-password (parameters: <password>; default value: "")
Configures the password for use with Tiny Tiny RSS. Double quotes and backslashes
within it should be escaped. (example: ttrss-password "here_goesAquote:\"")
ttrss-passwordeval (parameters: <command>; default value: "")
A more secure alternative to the above, is providing your password from an external
command that is evaluated during login. This can be used to read your password from a
gpg encrypted file or your system keyring. (example: ttrss-passwordeval "gpg --decrypt
~/.newsboat/ttrss-password.gpg")
ttrss-passwordfile (parameters: <path>; default value: "")
Another alternative, by storing your plaintext password elsewhere in your system.
(example: ttrss-passwordfile "~/.newsboat/ttrss-pw.txt")
ttrss-url (parameters: <url>; default value: "")
Configures the URL where the Tiny Tiny RSS installation you want to use resides.
(example: ttrss-url "https://example.com/ttrss/")
unbind-key (parameters: <key> [<dialog>]; default value: n/a)
Unbind key <key>. This means that no operation is called when <key> is pressed. If you
provide "-a" as <key>, all currently bound keys will become unbound. Optionally, you
can specify a dialog (for a list of available dialogs, see bind-key above). If you
specify one, the key binding will only be unbound for the specified dialog. (example:
unbind-key R)
urls-source (parameters: <source>; default value: "local")
This configuration command sets the source where URLs shall be retrieved from. By
default, this is the urls file. Alternatively, you can set it to opml, which enables
Newsboat’s OPML online subscription mode, to ttrss which enables Newsboat’s Tiny Tiny
RSS support, to oldreader, which enables Newsboat’s The Old Reader support, to
newsblur, which enables NewsBlur support, to feedhq for FeedHQ support, to freshrss
for FreshRSS support, to ocnews for ownCloud News support, to inoreader for Inoreader
support, or to miniflux for Miniflux support. Query feed specifications will be read
from the local urls file regardless of this setting. (example: urls-source
"oldreader")
urlview-title-format (parameters: <format>; default value: "%N %V - URLs" (localized))
Format of the title in URL view. See "Format Strings" section of Newsboat manual for
details on available formats. (example: urlview-title-format "URLs")
use-proxy (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, then the configured proxy will be used for downloading the RSS feeds.
(example: use-proxy yes)
user-agent (parameters: <string>; default value: "")
If set to a non-zero-length string, this value will be used as HTTP User-Agent header
for all HTTP requests. (example: user-agent "Lynx/2.8.5rel.1 libwww-FM/2.14")
wrap-scroll (parameters: [yes/no]; default value: no)
If set to yes, moving down while on the last item in a list will wrap around to the
top and vice versa. (example: wrap-scroll yes)
AVAILABLE OPERATIONS
open (default key: ENTER)
Open the currently selected feed or article.
quit (default key: Q)
Quit the program or return to the previous dialog (depending on the context).
hard-quit (default key: Shift + Q)
Quit the program without confirmation.
reload (default key: R)
Reload the currently selected feed.
reload-all (default key: Shift + R)
Reload all feeds.
mark-feed-read (default key: Shift + A)
Mark all articles in the currently selected feed read.
mark-all-feeds-read (default key: Shift + C)
Mark articles in all feeds read.
mark-all-above-as-read (default key: n/a)
Mark all above as read.
save (default key: S)
Export the currently selected article to a plain text file, word-wrapped according to
the text-width setting.
save-all (default key: n/a)
Export all articles from the currently selected feed to plain text files, word-wrapped
according to the text-width setting.
next-unread (default key: N)
Jump to the next unread article.
prev-unread (default key: P)
Jump to the previous unread article.
next (default key: Shift + J)
Jump to next list entry.
prev (default key: Shift + K)
Jump to previous list entry.
random-unread (default key: Ctrl + K)
Jump to a random unread article.
open-in-browser (default key: O)
Use browser to open the URL associated with the current article, feed, or entry in the
URL view.
open-in-browser-noninteractively (default key: n/a)
Use browser to open the URL associated with the current article, feed, or entry in the
URL view. This operation works similar to open-in-browser, but the output of the
browser (stdout and stderr) is not shown, and the browser doesn’t receive keyboard
input. You would probably add & at the end of the browser command to put it into
background, too.
open-in-browser-and-mark-read (default key: Shift + O)
Use browser to open the URL associated with the current article, or entry in the URL
view. When used in the article list, it will also mark the article as read.
open-all-unread-in-browser (default key: n/a)
Open all the unread URLs in the current feed.
open-all-unread-in-browser-and-mark-read (default key: n/a)
Open all the unread URLs in the current feed and mark them as read.
help (default key: ?)
Run the help screen.
toggle-source-view (default key: Ctrl + U)
Toggle between the HTML view and the source view in the article view.
toggle-article-read (default key: Shift + N)
Toggle the read flag for the currently selected article, and clear the delete flag if
set.
toggle-show-read-feeds (default key: L)
Toggle whether read feeds should be shown in the feed list.
show-urls (default key: U)
Show all URLs in the article in a list (similar to urlview).
clear-tag (default key: Ctrl + T)
Clear current tag.
set-tag (default key: T)
Select tag.
open-search (default key: /)
Open the search dialog. When a search is done in the article list, then the search
operation only applies to the articles of the current feed, otherwise to all articles.
goto-url (default key: #)
Open the URL dialog and then open a specified URL in the browser.
one (default key: 1)
Open URL 1 in the browser.
two (default key: 2)
Open URL 2 in the browser.
three (default key: 3)
Open URL 3 in the browser.
four (default key: 4)
Open URL 4 in the browser.
five (default key: 5)
Open URL 5 in the browser.
six (default key: 6)
Open URL 6 in the browser.
seven (default key: 7)
Open URL 7 in the browser.
eight (default key: 8)
Open URL 8 in the browser.
nine (default key: 9)
Open URL 9 in the browser.
zero (default key: 0)
Open URL 10 in the browser.
enqueue (default key: E)
Add the podcast download URL of the current article (if any is found) to the podcast
download queue (see the respective section in the documentation for more information
on podcast support).
edit-urls (default key: Shift + E)
Edit the list of subscribed URLs. Newsboat will start the editor configured through
the VISUAL environment variable (if unset, EDITOR is used; fallback: vi). When editing
is finished, Newsboat will reload the URLs file.
reload-urls (default key: Ctrl + R)
Reload the URLs configuration file.
redraw (default key: Ctrl + L)
Redraw the screen.
cmdline (default key: :)
Open the command line.
set-filter (default key: Shift + F)
Set a filter.
select-filter (default key: F)
Select a predefined filter.
clear-filter (default key: Ctrl + F)
Clear currently set filter.
bookmark (default key: Ctrl + B)
Bookmark currently selected article or URL.
edit-flags (default key: Ctrl + E)
Edit the flags of the currently selected article.
next-unread-feed (default key: Ctrl + N)
Go to the next feed with unread articles. This only works from the article list.
prev-unread-feed (default key: Ctrl + P)
Go to the previous feed with unread articles. This only works from the article list.
next-feed (default key: J)
Go to the next feed. This only works from the article list.
prev-feed (default key: K)
Go to the previous feed. This only works from the article list.
delete-article (default key: Shift + D)
Delete the currently selected article.
delete-all-articles (default key: Ctrl + D)
Delete all articles in the articlelist. Note that the articlelist might contain a
subset of feed’s articles (because of filters or show-read-articles no), or it might
contain a mix of articles from different feeds (if you’re viewing a query feed) — in
either case, delete-all-articles affects just those articles, not all articles of the
respective feed(s).
purge-deleted (default key: $)
Purge all articles that are marked as deleted from the article list.
view-dialogs (default key: V)
View list of open dialogs.
close-dialog (default key: Ctrl + X)
Close currently selected dialog.
next-dialog (default key: Ctrl + V)
Go to next dialog.
prev-dialog (default key: Ctrl + G)
Go to previous dialog.
pipe-to (default key: |)
Pipe article to command. The text will be word-wrapped according to the text-width
setting.
sort (default key: G)
Sort feeds/articles by interactively choosing the sort method.
rev-sort (default key: Shift + G)
Sort feeds/articles by interactively choosing the sort method (reversed).
up (default key: UP)
Go up one item in the list.
down (default key: DOWN)
Go down one item in the list.
pageup (default key: PPAGE)
Go up one page in the list.
pagedown (default key: NPAGE)
Go down one page in the list.
halfpageup (default key: n/a)
Go up half a page.
halfpagedown (default key: n/a)
Go down half a page.
home (default key: HOME)
Go to the first item in the list.
end (default key: END)
Go to the last item in the list.
macro-prefix (default key: ,)
Initiate macro execution. The next key press selects the actual macro and runs it.
switch-focus (default key: TAB)
Switch focus between widgets. This is currently only applicable to the filebrowser and
dirbrowser contexts.
goto-title (default key: n/a)
Go to item whose title contains the specified string (case-insensitive).
prevsearchresults (default key: Z)
Return to previous search results (if any). This only works from searchresultslist.
article-feed (default key: n/a)
Go to the feed of the currently selected article.
TAGGING
Newsboat comes with the possibility to categorize or "tag", as we call it, RSS feeds.
Every RSS feed can be assigned 0 or more tags. Within Newsboat, you can then select to
only show RSS feeds that match a certain tag. That makes it easy to categorize your feeds
in a flexible and powerful way.
Usually, the urls file contains one RSS feed URL per line. To assign a tag to an RSS feed,
simply attach it as a single word, separated by blanks such as space or tab. If the tag
needs to contain spaces, you must use quotes (") around the tag (see example below). An
example urls file may look like this:
https://blog.fefe.de/rss.xml?html interesting conspiracy news "cool stuff"
https://rss.orf.at/news.xml news orf
https://www.heise.de/newsticker/heise.rdf news interesting
When you now start Newsboat with this configuration, you can press T to select a tag. When
you select the tag "news", you will see all three RSS feeds. Pressing T again and e.g.
selecting the "conspiracy" tag, you will only see the https://blog.fefe.de/rss.xml?html
RSS feed. Pressing Ctrl + T clears the current tag, and again shows all RSS feeds,
regardless of their assigned tags.
A special type of tag are tags that start with the tilde character (~). When such a tag is
found, the feed title is set to the tag name (excluding the ~ character). These type of
tags are ignored when any kind of "first tag" property is used. With this feature, you can
give feeds any title you want in your feed list:
https://rss.orf.at/news.xml "~ORF News"
Another special type of tag are tags that start with the exclamation mark (!). When such a
tag is found, the feed is hidden from the regular list of feeds and its content can only
be found through a query feed.
https://rss.orf.at/news.xml ! news
http://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/world/rss.xml ! news
"query:News from around the globe:tags # \"news\""
In this example, the first two feeds won’t appear in the feedlist, but their articles will
still be accessible through the query feed titled "News from around the globe". The
"hidden" tags in this example don’t even have names, because their only use is to hide the
feed that they’re tagging.
SCRIPTS AND FILTERS
Newsboat contains support for Snownews extensions. The RSS feed readers Snownews and
Liferea share a common way of extending the readers with custom scripts. Two mechanisms,
namely "execurl" and "filter" type scripts, are available and supported by Newsboat.
An "execurl" script can be any program that gets executed and whose output is interpreted
as RSS feed, while "filter" scripts are fed with the content of a configured URL and whose
output is interpreted as RSS feed.
The configuration is simple and straight-forward. Just add to your urls file configuration
lines like the following ones:
exec:~/bin/execurl-script
filter:~/bin/filter-script:https://some.test/url
The first line shows how to add an execurl script to your configuration: start the line
with exec: and then immediately append the path of the script that shall be executed. If
this script requires additional parameters, simply use quotes (see Using Double Quotes for
details):
"exec:~/bin/execurl-script param1 param2"
The second line shows how to add a filter script to your configuration: start the line
with filter:, then immediately append the path of the script, then append a colon (:), and
then append the URL of the file that shall be fed to the script. Again, if the script
requires any parameters, simply quote the whole thing:
"filter:~/bin/filter-script param1 param2:https://url/foobar"
In both cases, the tagging feature as described above is still available:
exec:~/bin/execurl-script tag1 tag2 "quoted tag"
filter:~/bin/filter-script:https://some.test/url tag3 tag4 tag5
If you need to write your own extension, see this
<https://web.archive.org/web/20090724045314/http://kiza.kcore.de/software/snownews/snowscripts/writing>
short guide" for an introduction. A collection of existing scripts
<https://github.com/msharov/snownews/tree/de3bd8b28191c4d4bc1be18275786613bcbc0c94/docs/untested>
and filters
<https://github.com/msharov/snownews/tree/9fb45e4cdf1cf9dea55b9af66c13a4c238809851/docs/filters>
might help, too.
Newsboat comes with an example exec script which shows one way to generate an RSS channel.
It also includes a way to see which exact arguments are passed to the script by Newsboat.
This example can be found in the doc/examples subdirectory.
COMMAND LINE
Like other text-oriented software, Newsboat contains an internal commandline to modify
configuration variables ad hoc and to run own commands. It provides a flexible access to
the functionality of Newsboat which is especially useful for advanced users.
To start the commandline, type :. You will see a ":" prompt at the bottom of the screen,
similar to tools like vi(m) or mutt. You can now enter commands. Pressing the Enter key
executes the command (possibly giving feedback to the user) and closes the commandline.
You can cancel entering commands by pressing the Esc key. The history of all the commands
that you enter will be saved to the history.cmdline file, stored next to the cache.db
file. The backlog is limited to 100 entries by default, but can be influenced by setting
the history-limit configuration variable. To disable history saving, set the history-limit
to 0.
The commandline provides you with some help if you can’t remember the full names of
commandline commands. By pressing the Tab key, Newsboat will try to automatically complete
your command. If there is more than one possible completion, you can subsequently press
the Tab key to cycle through all results. If no match is found, no suggestion will be
inserted into the commandline. For the set command, the completion also works for
configuration variable names.
In addition, some common key combination such as Ctrl + G (to cancel input), Ctrl + K (to
delete text from the cursor position to the end of line), Ctrl + U (to clear the whole
line) and Ctrl + W (to delete the word before the current cursor position) were added.
Please be aware that the input history of both the command line and the search functions
are saved to the filesystems, to the files history.cmdline resp. history.search (stored
next to the cache.db file). By default, the last 100 entries are saved, but this can be
configured (configuration variable history-limit) and also totally disabled (by setting
said variable to 0).
Currently, the following command line commands are available:
quit
Quit Newsboat
q
Alias for quit
save <filename>
Save current article to <filename>
set <variable>[=<value>|&|!]
Set (or get) configuration variable value. Specifying a ! after the name of a boolean
configuration variable toggles their values, a & directly after the name of a
configuration variable of any type resets its value to the documented default value.
tag <tagname>
Select a certain tag
goto <case-insensitive substring>
Go to the next feed whose name contains the case-insensitive substring.
source <filename> [...]
Load the specified configuration files. This allows it to load alternative
configuration files or reload already loaded configuration files on-the-fly from the
filesystem.
dumpconfig <filename>
Save current internal state of configuration to file, so that it can be instantly
reused as configuration file.
<number>
Jump to the <number>th entry in the current dialog
FILES
By default, Newsboat stores all the files in a traditional Unix fashion, i.e. in a
"dotdir" located at ~/.newsboat. However, it also supports a modern way, XDG Base
Directory Specification
<https://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html>, which splits
the files between the following locations:
1. $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/newsboat/ (XDG_CONFIG_HOME defaults to ~/.config)
2. $XDG_DATA_HOME/newsboat/ (XDG_DATA_HOME defaults to ~/.local/share)
If the newsboat directory exists under XDG_CONFIG_HOME, then Newsboat will use XDG
directories (creating the data directory if necessary). Otherwise, Newsboat will default
to ~/.newsboat.
If you’re currently using ~/.newsboat/ but wish to migrate to XDG directories, you should
move the files as follows:
config, urls
to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/newsboat/
cache.db, history.search, history.cmdline, queue
to $XDG_DATA_HOME/newsboat/
Newsboat and Podboat also create "lock files". These prevent you from starting two
instances of the same program, and thus from corrupting your data. Newsboat and Podboat
remove these files when you quit the program, so there is no need to copy them anywhere —
just be aware of them in case you write scripts that work with cache.db or queue. By
default, lock files are located as follows:
┌─────────┬───────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │ │ │
│ │ dotdir │ XDG │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │ │ │
│Newsboat │ ~/.newsboat/cache.db.lock │ $XDG_DATA_HOME/newsboat/cache.db.lock │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │ │ │
│Podboat │ ~/.newsboat/pb-lock.pid │ $XDG_DATA_HOME/newsboat/.lock │
└─────────┴───────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┘
Newsboat places the lock file next to the cache file, so if you specify cache-file setting
or pass —cache-file command-line argument, the path to the lock file will change too.
Podboat, on the other hand, always places its lock file as shown above.
dotfiles
~/.newsboat/config
~/.newsboat/urls
XDG
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/newsboat/config
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/newsboat/urls
Note: if the XDG_CONFIG_HOME environment variable is not set, Newsboat behaves as if
it was set to ~/.config.
ENVIRONMENT
BROWSER
Tells Newsboat what browser to use if there is no browser setting in the config file.
If this variable doesn’t exist, a default of lynx(1) will be used.
CURL_CA_BUNDLE
Tells Newsboat to use the specified certificate file to verify the peer. The file may
contain multiple certificates. The certificate(s) must be in PEM format.
This option is useful if your libcurl is built without useful certificate information,
and you can’t rebuild the library yourself.
EDITOR
Tells Newsboat what fallback editor to use when editing the urls file via the
edit-urls operation and no VISUAL environment variable is set. If this variable
doesn’t exist either, a default of vi(1) will be used.
NO_PROXY
Tells Newsboat to ignore proxy setting for certain sites.
This variable contains a comma-separated list of hostnames, domain names, and IP
addresses.
Domain names match subdomains, i.e. "example.com" also matches "foo.example.com".
Domain names that start with a dot only match subdomains, e.g. ".example.com" matches
"bar.example.com" but not "example.com" itself.
IPv6 addresses are written without square brackets, and are matched as strings. Thus
"::1" doesn’t match "::0:1" even though this is the same address.
PAGER
Tells Newsboat what pager to use if the pager setting in the config file is explicitly
set to an empty string.
TMPDIR
Tells Newsboat to use the specified directory for storing temporary files. If this
variable doesn’t exist, a default of /tmp will be used.
VISUAL
Tells Newsboat what editor to use when editing the urls file via the edit-urls
operation. If this variable doesn’t exist, the EDITOR environment variable will be
used.
XDG_CONFIG_HOME
Tells Newsboat which base directory to use for the configuration files. See also the
section on files for more information.
XDG_DATA_HOME
Tells Newsboat which base directory to use for the data files. See also the section on
files for more information.
SEE ALSO
podboat(1)
AUTHOR
Alexander Batischev
2023-07-30 NEWSBOAT(1)