infinite-rss-reader

Infinite RSS Reader for Thunderbird

Infinite RSS Reader is a modern, web-based interface for reading your Thunderbird RSS feeds. It transforms your email client’s RSS data into a beautiful, infinite-scrolling news stream, similar to Feedly or Google Reader, but powered entirely by your local Thunderbird instance.

While technically a Thunderbird extension, the primary goal of this project is to provide a superior reading experience:

• 🚀 Infinite Scroll: Seamlessly browse through hundreds of news items without pagination.
• ⚡ Lightning Fast: Pre-fetches content and renders instantly.
• 🌗 Dark Mode: Auto-detects your system theme for comfortable night reading.
• 📸 Visual-First: Optimized layout for media-rich feeds with one-click screenshots.
• ✅ Auto-Mark as Read: Items are automatically marked as read with visual distinction as you scroll past them.

Table of Contents

• How It Works
• Features
• Prerequisites
• Installation
• Usage
• Technical Architecture
• Troubleshooting
• Privacy & Security

How It Works

This tool bridges the gap between Thunderbird’s robust RSS management and modern web UI standards.

1. You run Thunderbird as your RSS aggregator (it handles fetching, storage, and filters).
2. Infinite RSS Reader runs a lightweight local server that talks to Thunderbird.
3. You open http://localhost:7654 in your favorite browser (Chrome, Safari, Edge) to read your news in a distraction-free infinite stream.

Features

• Infinite Scrolling Stream: No more clicking “Next” or opening individual item. Just scroll.
• Syncs with Thunderbird: Actions are two-way. Scrolling past an item in the browser marks it as read in Thunderbird.
• Distraction-Free UI: Clean, responsive interface built with React and Ant Design.
• Mobile Optimized: Fully adaptive design ensuring a smooth reading experience on mobile phones and tablets.
• Multi-Device Ready: Host on your PC and access via your local network IP to read seamlessly on any device in your home.
• Security First:
  • Runs locally on your machine.
  • No external servers.
  • Sanitizes HTML to prevent XSS.
• Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Prerequisites

• Mozilla Thunderbird (version 91.0 or higher)
• Python 3 (3.6 or higher)
• Operating System: Windows, macOS, or Linux

Installation

We provide an automated installer to set up the bridge between Thunderbird and the web interface.

1. Run the Installer

Open your terminal/command prompt in the project directory:

git clone https://github.com/AwesomeDog/infinite-rss-reader.git
cd infinite-rss-reader
python install.py

The installer will:

1. Configure the native messaging manifest.
2. Install the necessary Thunderbird extension (.xpi).
3. Set up the local bridge server.

2. Configure Thunderbird

Since this is a developer tool, the extension is unsigned. You need to enable unsigned extensions:

1. Open Thunderbird.
2. Go to Settings -> General -> Config Editor (at the bottom).
3. Search for: xpinstall.signatures.required
4. Set it to false (double-click).
5. Restart Thunderbird.

3. Enable the Extension

1. Go to Tools -> Add-ons and Themes.
2. Find “RSS HTTP API” and ensure it is Enabled.

Usage

1. Start Thunderbird: The bridge starts automatically in the background.
2. Open the Reader: Go to http://localhost:7654 in your web browser.
3. Enjoy Reading:
   • Scroll down to auto load more items.
   • Use the Statistics Panel on the left to view reading stats and settings.
   • Toggle Theme (☀️/🌙) and Screenshot Mode (Full/Body) in the panel.
   • Click the Camera (📸) icon to copy screenshot to clipboard.
   • Click the Magnifier (🔍) icon to view source page.

Technical Architecture

For developers interested in how this works:

graph LR
    TB[Thunderbird RSS] <-->|Native Messaging via stdio| Py[Python Bridge]
    Py <-->|HTTP JSON API| Web[React Web UI]

• Frontend: React 18, Ant Design (Single HTML file, no build step required).
• Backend: Python 3 http.server (Standard library only, no pip install needed).
• Communication: Native Messaging API (Stdio) + REST API.

Troubleshooting

“Connection Refused” / Web Interface Not Loading

• Ensure Thunderbird is running.
• Check if the “RSS HTTP API” extension is enabled.

“No Items Found”

• Ensure you have unread RSS items in Thunderbird.
• Check the logs:
  • Windows: %TEMP%\thunderbird_rss_bridge.log
  • macOS/Linux: /tmp/thunderbird_rss_bridge.log

Privacy & Security

• Local Only: This tool does not connect to the internet. All data stays on your machine.
• Sanitization: All RSS content is sanitized to remove malicious scripts before rendering.
• Open Source: You can inspect app/rss_bridge.py and add-on/background.js to verify no data is exfiltrated.

License

MIT License. Feel free to fork and modify!

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