Liveboat

Liveboat is a powerful static page generator designed specifically for Newsboat RSS Reader users. It allows you to create and host static pages that present your RSS feeds, making them accessible online, even when you're away from your terminal.

Key Features

• Automatic Web Hosting: Easily deploy your feed pages to GitHub Pages via GitHub Actions, enabling seamless updates and immediate availability. Explore the Demo to see it in action.

• Local and Remote Operation: Whether you're running Liveboat locally on your machine or through an automated CI/CD pipeline, you can always generate up-to-date feed pages effortlessly.

Getting Started

To initialize Liveboat, simply execute:

liveboat -x init

This command will set up the configuration and download the necessary build templates.

Integration with Newsboat

You can configure Liveboat to automatically rebuild your feed page whenever Newsboat updates its feed list. To enable this feature, add the following lines to your Newsboat configuration file (commonly located at ~/.newsboat/config):

notify-always yes
notify-format "/path/to/liveboat/build_directory"
notify-program "liveboat"

This setup ensures that your web pages stay current with the latest articles, enhancing the seamless experience of using both tools.

Flexible Rebuild Scheduling

For users who prefer scheduled updates, you can set up a cron job to run Liveboat periodically. For instance, to regenerate your feed pages every 30 minutes, insert the following line into your crontab:

*/30 * * * * newsboat -x reload && liveboat

Configuration Options

Liveboat allows extensive customization through its options file located at ~/.config/liveboat/config.toml. You can modify settings like:

• title: The main title for your feed page.
• site_path: Base path for hosting your feed page.
• show_read_articles: Option to include or exclude read articles from display.
• time_threshold: Specify the time range for article retrieval.
• More options to tailor how Liveboat generates your pages to fit your needs.

Easy Updates

Keep your Liveboat installation up to date effortlessly by executing:

liveboat -x update

Git Integration

Implementing version control is simple. You can automate the process of pushing updates to your GitHub repository using a shell script like:

#!/bin/sh
build_dir="$HOME/liveboat_build";
timestamp=$(date +%s);
liveboat $build_dir;
cd $build_dir && git add -A . && git commit -a -m "Liveboat build @ $timestamp" && git push;
cd -

This ensures your latest generated feed pages are always backed up and available in your repository.

Template Development

Customize your feed's layout by referring to the Template Development Guide where you can learn how to create or modify existing templates.

With Liveboat, transform your RSS feed experience into a dynamic, online platform that is easy to maintain and customize.