MachReader Help

MachReader is an RSS reader for your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. It reads from a self-hosted FreshRSS server, with optional on-device local feeds, and keeps a local cache so your articles are there when you are offline. This page covers the main features at a high level.

Getting started

MachReader connects to a FreshRSS server. During onboarding you enter your connection details, and the app verifies them before the first sync. Until you connect, it shows a setup prompt instead of feeds.

What you need

Server URL: The address of your FreshRSS install, over HTTPS. Self-signed certificates are accepted for self-hosted servers.
Username: Your FreshRSS username.
API password: The API password from your FreshRSS profile, which is separate from your account login password.

Credentials are stored in your device Keychain. With iCloud Keychain on, they sync across your Apple devices, end-to-end encrypted. Change the server or disconnect later in Settings → FreshRSS.

Feeds

Your feeds and their categories come from FreshRSS and sync both ways.

Adding a feed: Add a feed by its website or feed URL and assign it to a category. On Mac, right-click a feed for its menu; on iPhone and iPad, long-press.
Categories: Group feeds into categories. Drag a feed between categories to move it, and the change is pushed to the server.
Local feeds: Local feeds are fetched on the device itself, separate from FreshRSS, and do not go through your server. They live in their own sidebar section. Drag a feed between the FreshRSS and local sections to convert it in either direction.
OPML: Import and export your feed list as OPML from the File menu or the sidebar. Imported feeds are added to FreshRSS.

Reading

The article list sorts by each article's publish date and can show thumbnails.

Reader Mode: Extracts the main article text with Mozilla's Readability.js. Turn it on per article, or set it as the default for a feed.
AI summaries: A short headline and paragraph generated on the device with Apple's Foundation Models. This needs a device with Apple Intelligence on macOS 26 or iOS 26; where that is not available, the button is hidden and no cloud service is used instead.
Article analysis: Sentiment, topics, and named entities, computed on the device with Apple's NaturalLanguage framework.
Pinned & starred: Pin an article to keep it at the top of a feed, category, Today, and Everything. Star articles to find them again in the Starred list.

Tip: Menu commands for reading and feed actions have keyboard shortcuts you can change in Settings → Shortcuts. Changes take effect after you restart the app.

Organizing

A few tools cut the list down to what you want to see.

Smart Filters: Saved searches with boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT, quoted phrases, and =term for exact word matches). They appear in the sidebar with a match count.
Muted keywords: Hide articles that contain a keyword from your article lists. Sidebar unread counts are not changed.
Article rules: Act on new articles as they arrive by matching a field (title, author, or summary) and taking one action: star, mark as read, pin, or notify.
Trending: Topics and entities mentioned often in recent articles. Needs article analysis turned on and a retention window longer than 7 days.
Related articles: Suggests articles that share entities and topics with the one you are reading. Needs article analysis turned on.
Search: Searches your feeds and cached articles, then falls back to your FreshRSS server's search.

Notifications

You can get a notification when new articles arrive from a feed you choose. Turn it on per feed from the feed's menu or its info sheet. The system asks for permission the first time, and you can change that later in System Settings. Notifications stay off until you enable them for a feed.

Widgets

MachReader includes three widgets: Unread Count, Latest Headlines, and Smart Filter (which shows one filter you pick). Add them from your system's widget gallery. They read from the app's local database and refresh after each sync.

iCloud sync

Two kinds of iCloud sync are off by default. You can opt in during onboarding or in Settings → iCloud.

Settings Sync: Your smart filters, muted keywords, article rules, pinned articles, hidden trending topics, and per-feed settings sync through your own iCloud, end-to-end encrypted. Simple preferences (sort order, badges, font sizes) sync through iCloud Key-Value storage.
Local Feeds sync: Uses CloudKit for your local feed list and its categories, end-to-end encrypted. Articles for local feeds are fetched on each device and are not synced.
Credentials: FreshRSS credentials sync separately through iCloud Keychain when it is enabled.

Article content, thumbnails, favicons, and AI summaries stay on each device and are not uploaded to iCloud. The one exception is pinned articles: their saved copy (text and images) syncs end-to-end encrypted so your pins open offline on every device.

If the iCloud account on a device changes, or you use Remove All iCloud Data on another device, MachReader pauses sync on the affected device and shows a notice in Settings → iCloud. Toggle sync off and on there to resume. Removing all iCloud data also stops your other devices from re-uploading it.

Storage & offline

MachReader keeps a local cache so you can read without a connection. Read articles are removed from the cache after a retention window (30 days by default); starred, pinned, and unread articles are kept. When the server is unreachable, your read and star changes are queued and pushed once the connection returns, and local feeds keep refreshing.

Privacy

Your data stays on your device and your server. MachReader talks to the FreshRSS server you set and, when showing articles, to the feed websites the articles come from (for images, favicons, and Reader-Mode page fetches). There are no analytics and no tracking, and nothing is sent to the app's developer.

Full details are in the Privacy Policy.

FAQ

Do I need a FreshRSS server?: Yes. MachReader is a client for a FreshRSS server that you or someone else runs. Local feeds work on the device without the server, but the app is built around FreshRSS.
Is iCloud sync on by default?: No. Both Settings Sync and Local Feeds sync are off until you opt in, and you can turn them off again in Settings, iCloud.
Which devices support AI summaries?: Devices with Apple Intelligence on macOS 26 or iOS 26. Where that is not available, the summary button is hidden. Article analysis (sentiment, topics, and entities) runs more widely through Apple's NaturalLanguage framework.
Can I read offline?: Yes, cached articles are available offline. Read and star changes you make offline are queued and pushed when the connection returns.
Does disconnecting FreshRSS delete my local feeds?: No. Disconnecting, even with the option to remove data, only removes FreshRSS feeds and their articles. Local feeds, their articles, and their folders stay on the device.
Is it one app or three?: One app for macOS 26 and iOS/iPadOS 26, with widgets on both platforms.