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What is rss-bridge.org?
rss-bridge.org is the home of RSS-Bridge, a PHP project that generates RSS and Atom feeds for websites that don't offer one themselves. It can run on a web server or as a stand-alone application in CLI mode, so you can either host it yourself or use an existing public bridge instance.
What it does
- Takes a page or service that lacks a feed and converts its content into a standard feed.
- Produces RSS and Atom, which most feed readers already understand.
- Runs in two main ways: as a web service (for on-demand feed URLs) or from the command line (useful for scheduled jobs that write feed files).
Who it's for
- People who want to follow sites, blogs or updates that have no built-in feed.
- Self-hosters comfortable running PHP and pointing a web server at it.
- Anyone who prefers to keep their reading in a feed reader rather than checking sites manually.
Trade-offs to consider
- Self-hosting means you handle installation, updates and server maintenance.
- A public instance is easier to try, but you depend on someone else's uptime and limits.
- Bridges depend on the target site's structure; if that site changes, a bridge may need updating.
Next step
If you just want to test the idea, start with a public bridge instance and paste in the URL of a site you wish had a feed. If you want reliability and control, run your own instance and check the project's documentation and GitHub repository for setup details.
How do I set up my own RSS-Bridge instance on a web server?
RSS-Bridge is a PHP application that generates RSS or Atom feeds for sites that don't offer one. To run your own instance, you install it on a PHP-capable web server (or run it from the command line) and expose the bridge pages you need.
RSS-Bridge
What you need
- A web server with PHP support.
- The RSS-Bridge code, taken from its public repository or documentation.
- A decision about which bridges to enable, since a public instance exposes every bridge to anyone who finds it.
Typical setup path
- Get the code onto the server (clone the repository or download a release).
- Place it in a web-accessible directory and confirm PHP can execute its entry script.
- Open the instance in a browser and check that the bridge list loads.
- Pick the bridges you actually want and remove or disable the rest.
- Add the generated feed URLs to your reader.
Public vs. private instance
| Public instance | Private instance | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup effort | None | Moderate: server, PHP, updates |
| Bridge choice | Everything the operator enables | Only what you enable |
| Abuse risk | Shared with strangers | Limited to your own use |
| Maintenance | Someone else's job | Yours |
A private instance makes sense if you rely on a bridge that a public instance blocks, rate-limits or removes, or if you want to control which sites your server contacts. If you only need one or two feeds occasionally, a public instance is less work.
Practical checks
- Confirm your host allows outbound HTTP requests; many cheap shared hosts do not, and bridges will fail silently.
- Keep the installation updated, since bridge code changes as target sites change.
- Restrict access if the instance is only for you, so it doesn't become an open proxy for feed scraping.
- Test each bridge against a real page before adding it to your reader; a bridge that returns an empty feed usually means the target site changed its markup.
Next step: install it, open the bridge list, and generate one feed from a site you read daily. If that feed loads in your reader, expand from there rather than enabling every bridge at once.
Which websites can RSS-Bridge generate feeds for?
RSS-Bridge generates feeds for sites that don't publish their own RSS or Atom feeds, but it does so through individual "bridges" rather than universal support. Each bridge targets a specific site or a common web pattern, so the answer is best understood as "sites covered by an existing bridge" rather than any arbitrary website.
What the project itself says
The project describes itself as a PHP tool that creates RSS and Atom feeds for websites lacking them, usable on a web server or standalone in CLI mode. It points you to a public bridge instance, the GitHub repository, and documentation — the documentation is where the actual bridge list lives, and that list changes as contributors add or retire bridges.
Categories you'll typically find
- Social and community platforms — profile, hashtag, or search feeds where the site offers no native feed.
- Video and audio platforms — channel or search-based feeds.
- News, blogs, and CMS-driven sites — often via generic pattern bridges that parse listing pages.
- Forums and image boards — thread or board feeds.
- E-commerce and listings — search results or category pages, useful for tracking new items.
- Generic/pattern bridges — CSS-selector or feed-expansion bridges that can be pointed at many sites without a dedicated bridge, provided the page structure is stable.
Practical trade-offs
Dedicated bridges tend to be more reliable because they're written for one site's markup. Generic bridges are more flexible but break more easily when a site redesigns or adds bot protection. Sites requiring login, heavy JavaScript rendering, or aggressive anti-scraping measures are the hardest cases — some bridges support cookies or sessions, others don't.
A useful next step
If you have a specific site in mind, check the bridge list in the project's documentation first. If a dedicated bridge exists, use it; if not, try a generic bridge and test whether the output updates correctly over a few days before relying on it. For a quick trial without installing anything, the public instance is the fastest way to confirm coverage.
Can I use RSS-Bridge from the command line without a web server?
Yes. RSS-Bridge can run as a stand-alone application in CLI mode, so you do not need a web server to use it. The same PHP project that generates RSS and Atom feeds for sites lacking them can be invoked from the command line instead of through a browser.
What CLI mode changes
- No web server required: You run the PHP script directly from a terminal.
- Feeds go to standard output: Instead of loading a page in a browser, you capture the generated feed as text, which you can redirect to a file or pipe to another program.
- Same bridge logic: The feed-generation behavior for a given site is the same; only the delivery method differs.
Practical example
A common pattern is a scheduled job that writes a feed to a local file, which a feed reader or another script then consumes. You would call the CLI entry point with the bridge and parameters you want, then redirect the output to a .xml file. This is useful on a machine where you cannot or do not want to expose a web service.
Web server vs. CLI at a glance
| Aspect | Web server mode | CLI mode |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Browser or feed reader via URL | Terminal command |
| Output | HTTP response | Standard output |
| Typical use | Shared instance for many readers | Scheduled jobs, scripts, local files |
| Setup | Needs a PHP-capable web server | Needs PHP CLI only |
Decision criterion
Choose CLI mode if you want feeds generated on a schedule, stored locally, or piped into another tool, and you are comfortable running commands. Choose a web server instance if multiple people or feed readers need to fetch feeds over HTTP.
For exact syntax and available bridges, see the official documentation linked from RSS-Bridge and the project's GitHub repository.
What are the security considerations when running a public RSS-Bridge instance?
Running a public RSS-Bridge instance means strangers can make your server fetch URLs on their behalf, so the main security work is limiting what those requests can reach and how much of your server they can consume.
Key risks
- SSRF (server-side request forgery). Because RSS-Bridge fetches remote pages, a public instance can be pointed at internal addresses (localhost, private IP ranges, cloud metadata endpoints). That is the highest-severity concern; treat the bridge as an untrusted network client.
- Resource abuse. Feed generation is CPU- and bandwidth-heavy. Open instances attract scrapers and bots, so expect load spikes unless you rate-limit.
- Caching and data exposure. Generated feeds and any cached HTML may include cookies, tokens, or private content if someone configures a bridge against an authenticated page. A public cache is a public cache.
- Bridge-specific behavior. Each bridge targets a different site; some may accept parameters that broaden requests beyond what you intended.
- Software currency. As with any PHP web app, unpatched dependencies are an entry point.
Practical hardening
- Run it behind a reverse proxy with request rate limits and a response size cap.
- Restrict outbound access with firewall or egress rules so the process cannot reach private ranges or metadata services.
- Disable bridges you do not need; fewer code paths means less surface.
- Keep the instance updated and monitor logs for repeated failures or unusual targets.
- Prefer running it for yourself or a small trusted group if you do not need public access.
Decision criterion
If your goal is personal or team use, a private instance removes most of this risk. Go public only if you can apply network-level egress filtering and rate limiting; otherwise the convenience is not worth the exposure.
A useful next step is to read the project's own documentation and deployment notes on RSS-Bridge and review the code on its repository before exposing it.
How do I create a custom bridge for a website that isn't supported?
You write a small PHP class ("bridge") that turns the site's pages into feed items, then place it in the bridges/ folder of your RSS-Bridge installation. RSS-Bridge is a PHP project that generates RSS and Atom feeds for sites that don't offer one, and it runs either on a webserver or as a stand-alone CLI application.
RSS-Bridge · GitHub
What a bridge actually does
A bridge is a thin adapter between an unsupported site and a feed reader. It fetches one or more URLs, extracts the fields a feed needs, and returns them as items. Typical fields:
- Title — the headline or subject of each entry
- URI — the canonical link to the entry
- Timestamp — when it was published or updated
- Content or author — the body text, byline, or both
- Feed metadata — name, maintainer, parameters, cache lifetime
Practical route for a new site
- Inspect the site's markup. Open the listing page in a browser, look at the HTML structure, and note stable selectors for each item. Prefer server-rendered markup over anything injected by scripts.
- Check whether a generic bridge already fits. Search the existing bridge list for a generic HTML or feed-oriented bridge before writing new code; adapting parameters is far less work than a new class.
- Create the class. Follow the pattern of the closest existing bridge: define the bridge name, description, parameters, and a
collectDatamethod that builds the item array. - Test locally. Run it through your own instance first, both in the browser and in CLI mode, and confirm the output is valid XML with correct dates and links.
- Handle failure honestly. If the site blocks automated requests or requires a login, the bridge will be fragile; document that limitation rather than shipping something that silently returns nothing.
Decision criteria
| Situation | Sensible choice |
|---|---|
| Site has a JSON or XML endpoint | Parse that instead of scraping HTML |
| Site only renders content with JavaScript | Look for an underlying API; scraping alone usually fails |
| Layout changes often | Keep selectors narrow and expect maintenance |
| Content behind a login | Consider whether a bridge is appropriate at all |
A realistic scenario
Suppose a small local news site publishes articles only as static HTML pages with no feed. You write one bridge that fetches the section page, extracts each article's headline, URL and date, and returns them as items. Your reader then polls the bridge's URL instead of the site, and the bridge's cache setting keeps request volume low.
Start by copying the simplest existing bridge whose target resembles your site, change its URL and selectors, and iterate until the feed validates.
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