October 2026 – The Idea Place

The App

RSSQuick is a vibe coded basic RSS reader I created more than a year ago. I think of it a bit like turning on the radio but for RSS feeds. It is aimed at giving you a quick way to catch up on whatever’s the latest from the feeds you want to follow. It started as a Windows app but is now available on the Mac and in public testing on iPhone and iPad.

Background

It was one of the first projects I vibe coded, and the concept was straightforward. Take an OPML file (the file that lists RSS feeds) and show the headlines for all the feeds with basic folder grouping. No feed management, no synchronization across devices and such. The point really was to keep it simple.

I do my vibe coding for a range of reasons. These include:

Make programs I want to use and that I feel others will find of value, without having to battle accessibility.
Understand how AI does or doesn’t understand accessibility.
Understand the process of putting an app through the end-to-end process of the app stores and related platforms for different operating systems.
Build apps that allow the focus to be on content, not complex user experiences.

I’ve been using my Windows version of RSSQuick for more than a year with great success. For some reason, the main RSS reader I use on the Mac and iPhone has started crashing regularly, even after updating. I used this as an opportunity to both enhance RSSQuick and make Mac and iOS versions of the app.

Enhancements

Keeping the app uncomplicated is still one of the cornerstones I use for what I add to the app. That said, dusting off the code was an opportunity to add some enhancements.

Feed Management

You can now add and remove individual feeds in RSSQuick. The app has always come with a default set of feeds and allowed you to import your own OPML file. If you do this, which I suspect most will, you can now set that OPML file to be the default for the app. You can also export your OPML file for use on other machines or apps.

Automatic Updating

The Microsoft Store version of the app is kept up to date by Windows. If you use the stand-alone Windows installer instead, RSSQuick now checks for a newer version a few seconds after it starts, downloads it in the background and installs it when you close the app. A Restart and Update button installs it right away if you would rather not wait.

The Mac version and the portable Windows version tell you when a new version is available and take you to the download page, but they don’t replace themselves. On the Mac, Check for Updates is on the RSSQuick menu. On iPhone and iPad, TestFlight delivers the updates.

Search

RSSQuick now allows you to enter search phrases and search across all the headlines from your feeds.

Microsoft Store Availability

This is the first app I’ve submitted and had approved to the Microsoft Store. The process was fairly straightforward but has resulted in a few issues being reported to my former colleagues at Microsoft’s enterprise Disability Answer Desk for some nameless buttons and more on some of the pages you have to use to submit apps.

What’s Available

RSSQuick 1.4 is now available for Windows and the Mac, and in public testing on iPhone and iPad through TestFlight. You can find the full release details at this GitHub release page.

Installers for the various platforms can be found at:

The Experiment

I’ve tried multiple development platforms that claim you can write code once and use it on multiple platforms. Windows, Mac and iOS are obviously different and frankly at least to me none of the cross-platform tools allow the level of accessibility I want. This isn’t to say they are wrong choices but I’ve taken a different approach and am creating versions of the app specific to each platform and using AI to help keep the functionality the same across each app as appropriate.

This is definitely a bit of an experiment because at the end of the day these are three different apps. It is a good opportunity to experiment with AI for this sort of a task.

So far the experiment has gone better than I expected. AI, Claude in this case, has been surprisingly good at paying attention to ensuring functionality is added appropriately in all versions of the app and respecting operating system expectations on each platform.

Feedback and Contributions

As with all of my projects, RSSQuick is open source on GitHub. Feedback, issues and code contributions are all welcome.

Other Projects

You can find details on my other projects for email, weather, sports scores, card games and more on my projects page.

Month: October 2026

RSSQuick In More Places