Feed Aggregator

Rnews is a server-side news aggregator. It resides on a web server (local to your PC, home network, or on the web somewhere) with access to a database. You connect from a normal web browser. This requires:

• Apache 1.x or 2.x web server.
• PHP 4.3.0, PHP 5, or later. GD library is optional.
• MySQL 4.1 or later.

A web installation wizard makes it simple to install and configure Rnews. Steps to install:

1. Untar rnews into a folder on your web-server. (E.g., /somedir/rnews)
   Preserve file permissions, like this: tar xpzf rnews-1.01.tar.gz or unzip rnews-1.01.zip
2. Browse to install.php in that folder on your web-server. (E.g., http://your.site/somedir/rnews/install.php)
3. Enter the database and configuration information as prompted and follow the instructions.
4. After successful installation, two files must be protected:
   
   1. install.php — remove read permissions from this file, since it exposes your database and add-user information. You can remove it completely, remove world read permissions, or deny access to it using Apache's .htaccess file.
   2. inc/config_user.php — remove write permissions from this file, which holds your configuration data.
5. Add a user account and you're ready to add/import feeds!

In general, read the release notes to see if there are any specific instructions for upgrading a particular release. We do test upgrades, but it is nonetheless prudent to make a backup of your database before upgrading.

For “drop-in” upgrades of minor revisions (if release notes allow it—otherwise follow full upgrade process):

• Copy your inc/config_user.php to a safe place.
• Unpack the new code over top of your existing distribution folder (as in step 1 above).
• Copy inc/config_user.php back into the distribution to restore your DB settings.

For upgrading from 0.8x, 0.9x, or 1.00 (full upgrade process):

• Unpack the latest code into a new folder as in step 1 of the new installation instructions above.
• Copy your inc/config_user.php over from the old folder to the new folder.
• Copy your image cache (default img/feeds) to the new folder, if you are using image caching.
• Follow steps 2–4 of the new installation instructions, and the database will automatically be upgraded.

For upgrading older releases, you should export your feeds to OPML and import them into a new installation.