NetNewsWire
A free, open-source feed reader for macOS and iOS that reads RSS, Atom, and JSON Feed.
- Stars
- 10.5k
- Forks
- 782
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Swift
- Last update
- 12 days ago
- Type
- App
What it is
NetNewsWire is a free, open-source app for reading news feeds on macOS and iOS. A feed reader collects updates from websites and blogs into one place so you can read them without visiting each site. It supports the RSS, Atom, JSON Feed, and RSS-in-JSON formats.
- Subscribe to blogs and news sites that publish RSS, Atom, or JSON Feed
- Read new articles from many sources in a single list
- Build and run NetNewsWire yourself from source in Xcode
Great for
- People who want to follow blogs and news sites in one free app on a Mac or iPhone
- Users who prefer open-source software they can inspect
- Developers who want to build or modify a feed reader in Swift and Xcode
Not ideal for
- People who need Windows, Android, or Linux support, since the README only names macOS and iOS
- Users who need Reader View or iCloud and Feedly account sync in a self-built copy, because the README says these are disabled in builds made without the project's API keys
How to get it
- 1
Download the app
You'll need: Xcode (required for building from source; the README does not name a version)
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Ranchero-Software/NetNewsWire.git - 2
Run it
- Download the latest release, NetNewsWire7.2.1.zip, from the project's releases page, or build from source
- To build from source, clone the repository and open NetNewsWire.xcodeproj in Xcode
- Optionally create a DeveloperSettings.xcconfig file to set code signing before building
- Build and run the app from Xcode
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use the forum at discourse.netnewswire.com to ask questions and get help
- Read the release notes on the GitHub releases page to see what changed in each version
- Report bugs or request features through the GitHub issues page
Downloads
Strengths
- Free and open source under the MIT license
- Supports several common feed formats
- Actively maintained, with a recent release listed (mac-7.2.1)
Trade-offs
- The README does not describe features in detail, so the full feature set is unclear from this source
- Source builds have some features disabled, including iCloud, Feedly, and Reader View
- Development contributions require asking first before starting work, per the contributing guide
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NetNewsWire (this) | 10.5k | App | beginner | 12 days ago | People who want to follow blogs and news sites in one free app on a Mac or iPhone |
| super-productivity | 23.4k | App | beginner | 4 days ago | People who want a personal task list with built-in time tracking |
| CodeEdit | 23.1k | App | beginner | 20 days ago | Developers on a Mac who work on non-Apple projects and want a native macOS editor |
| popcorntime | 10.7k | App | intermediate | 2 months ago | People who want one app to browse movies and TV shows across platforms |
| MonitorControl | 34.6k | App | beginner | 23 days ago | Mac users with an external monitor who want keyboard brightness keys to work on it |
| SDWebImage | 25.6k | Library | intermediate | 7 months ago | iOS or macOS app developers who need to show remote images in lists or grids |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.