How do I add RSS feeds?

Subscribe to RSS, Atom, and JSON Feed sources to fill your galleries.

LightWatch is built on RSS — a technology websites use to publish content for feed readers. A website isn’t guaranteed to have an RSS feed, but they’re common on blogging platforms and sites that publish content regularly. If a site has one, LightWatch can pull in the images and videos from it.

Adding a feed

  1. From the Home tab (or Bookmarks or Feeds), tap the More menu in the top right.
  2. Tap Add feed. The add feed screen appears.
  3. Enter a website or feed URL in the text field and tap Search for Feeds.
  4. LightWatch searches the URL and shows a list of any feeds it finds.
  5. Select the feeds you want and tap Add Selected.

LightWatch supports RSS, Atom, and JSON Feed formats.

Choosing from search results

Many websites have more than one feed. A photography blog might have a main feed and a separate comments feed, for example. LightWatch shows you everything it finds and lets you pick which ones to add.

Each feed in the list shows its title and URL. Feeds that have no images or haven’t been updated in a long time are flagged so you know what you’re getting. Feeds you’ve already added are marked so you can tell them apart.

To configure a feed before adding it:

  1. Tap the info button next to a feed in the search results.
  2. A settings screen appears where you can adjust the feed’s title, filters, and other options.
  3. Tap Save to apply your changes and return to the search results.
  4. Tap Add Selected Feeds to subscribe.

When no feed is found

Not every website publishes a feed. When LightWatch can’t find one, you have a couple of options:

  • Make a feed from a webpage — LightWatch can create a feed from any webpage using CSS selectors. See How do I make a feed from a webpage? for details.
  • Check with the site — Some sites don’t advertise their feeds in a way that LightWatch can locate them. Try searching the site’s help docs or reaching out to ask if they offer an RSS feed. If they don’t, ask them to add one — the more people ask, the more likely it is to happen.
  • Create your own feed — If you’re comfortable with code or coding agents, you can build and host a feed yourself. See How do I create my own feed? for a walkthrough.

Discovery feeds

If you’re not sure what to follow, the Add feed screen includes discovery feeds — curated collections of sources I’ve hand-picked across different topics. It’s a good way to get your gallery going quickly while you figure out what you want to follow long-term.

  1. Open the Add feed screen (see steps above).
  2. Scroll down to the Need ideas? section.
  3. Tap a collection to browse its feeds.
  4. Select the feeds you want and add them.