Glean: A Self-Hosted RSS Reader That Doubles as Your Knowledge Base

Remember when RSS was the primary way to keep up with the internet? For many of us, it still is. But the modern web is fragmented, and our reading habits are often siloed across different apps and services. What if you could not only read your feeds in one place but also seamlessly save, organize, and connect the best bits of what you discover? That's the dual-purpose idea behind Glean.

It's a single, self-hosted tool that tackles two common developer needs: staying informed and managing personal knowledge. Instead of juggling a feed reader and a separate note-taking app, Glean brings them together under your control.

What It Does

Glean is a self-hosted web application. At its core, it's a capable RSS and Atom feed reader. You add your subscriptions, and it fetches and displays the latest articles in a clean interface. Where it diverges from a typical reader is its integrated "knowledge management" layer. As you read an article, you can highlight passages or save the entire piece directly into your personal Glean library. This library becomes a searchable, taggable archive of everything you've found valuable.

Why It's Cool

The cool factor isn't about a single flashy feature; it's about the thoughtful integration of two workflows.

• One Tool, Two Jobs: The friction of moving from "reading" to "saving" is almost zero. You don't have to copy-paste URLs into a separate note app or rely on brittle browser extensions. If something is worth remembering, you can clip it right then and there.
• You Own Everything: As a self-hosted solution, your data—your feed list, your saved articles, your highlights—lives on your server. There are no subscription fees, no algorithms, and no risk of a service shutting down.
• Built for Depth: It's designed for people who consume information to learn and build. By encouraging you to save and tag content as you read, it helps transform passive scrolling into an active, curated knowledge base. Over time, you build a personalized reference library that's actually useful.
• Simple & Focused: The interface is clean and straightforward. It doesn't try to be a social network or a recommendation engine. It's a tool for your reading and your notes.

How to Try It

Glean is built with Go and React, and the setup process is standard for modern self-hosted apps. You'll need Docker and Docker Compose installed.

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/LeslieLeung/glean.git
   cd glean
   

2. Copy the example environment file and configure it (at minimum, set a SECRET_KEY):

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env with your favorite text editor
   

3. Start it up with Docker Compose:

   docker-compose up -d
   

The application should now be running on http://localhost:8000. Check out the project's README for more detailed configuration options, including database setup and Nginx proxying for production use.

Final Thoughts

As developers, we're constant learners. Glean appeals directly to that mindset. It's a pragmatic tool that respects your autonomy and intelligence. It won't gamify your reading or sell your attention. Instead, it gives you a quiet, focused space to follow interesting sources and build a lasting resource from what you learn.

If you're tired of closed platforms and want to reunite your reading and note-taking habits, Glean is definitely worth a weekend of tinkering. It's the kind of simple, powerful tool that quietly becomes indispensable.

Find more interesting projects from the community at @githubprojects.