BazQux Reader
Fast hosted feed reader with filtering, comments, and full-text reading
BazQux Reader's solo core is compact: build a private RSS reader workspace that imports user-supplied URLs or files, extracts metadata, supports notes, and searches the local corpus. A competent builder can reach a useful personal version in one sitting, while the paid product mainly wins on data, import reliability.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- team libraries and institutional access
- resilient polling of malformed and rate-limited feeds
- licensed scholarly metadata
- publisher-specific import reliability
- citation graph scale
Why people still pay
BazQux Reader: Researchers pay for correct metadata, resilient importers, citation coverage, and workflows that survive publisher and browser changes.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- A supported Node release, a writable local data directory and a separate backup location. Bind to localhost; remote use requires authentication and HTTPS first.
- Implementation components: Node.js, TypeScript and Express with server-rendered HTML and small browser modules. SQLite through better-sqlite3 with migrations, prepared statements and a single background worker.
- Scope boundary: team libraries and institutional access; resilient polling of malformed and rate-limited feeds
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Optional external skill: web-design-guidelines — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: sharp-edges — Review security-sensitive APIs and configuration for dangerous defaults and easy-to-misuse interfaces. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Project rule — data model: feeds, fetch validators, article GUIDs, read states, tags, folders and OPML import records
Project rule — preserve this invariant: A feed GUID is scoped to its feed; unread counts cannot change merely because a retry reimports the same item.
Project rule — acceptance evidence: Import the same OPML twice and retain one feed subscription; a malformed feed reports an error while previously saved articles remain readable.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Import OPML, poll selected feeds conditionally, de-duplicate items and read sanitized articles in a compact keyboard interface. Add saved searches and an optional permitted full-text extraction action. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: team libraries and institutional access; resilient polling of malformed and rate-limited feeds
Phase 2
Durable model. Model feeds, fetch validators, article GUIDs, read states, tags, folders and OPML import records Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: A feed GUID is scoped to its feed; unread counts cannot change merely because a retry reimports the same item.
Phase 3
Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Use short SQLite transactions and persist job state before starting work. Give retries stable operation IDs; report incomplete or unknown results instead of silently repeating them.
Phase 4
Permissions and integration failure. Reject unexpected origins and unbounded request bodies even on localhost. Keep credentials outside the database export and redact sensitive text from logs. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results.
Phase 5
Portable handoff. Use a consistent SQLite backup and an attachment manifest. Export portable JSON/CSV, then restore to a new directory without overwriting the original data. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README.
Phase 6
Acceptance scenarios. Import the same OPML twice and retain one feed subscription; a malformed feed reports an error while previously saved articles remain readable. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder.
WORKING SLICE Import OPML, poll selected feeds conditionally, de-duplicate items and read sanitized articles in a compact keyboard interface. Add saved searches and an optional permitted full-text extraction action. Build this scoped BazQux Reader-inspired workflow with a documented data model and visible failure states. Architecture - Node.js, TypeScript and Express with server-rendered HTML and small browser modules. - SQLite through better-sqlite3 with migrations, prepared statements and a single background worker. Prerequisites and limits A supported Node release, a writable local data directory and a separate backup location. Bind to localhost; remote use requires authentication and HTTPS first. Outside this release: team libraries and institutional access; resilient polling of malformed and rate-limited feeds Data model and correctness feeds, fetch validators, article GUIDs, read states, tags, folders and OPML import records Invariant: A feed GUID is scoped to its feed; unread counts cannot change merely because a retry reimports the same item. Use short SQLite transactions and persist job state before starting work. Give retries stable operation IDs; report incomplete or unknown results instead of silently repeating them. Security and privacy Reject unexpected origins and unbounded request bodies even on localhost. Keep credentials outside the database export and redact sensitive text from logs. Recovery and export Use a consistent SQLite backup and an attachment manifest. Export portable JSON/CSV, then restore to a new directory without overwriting the original data. Implementation order 1. Phase 1 — Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Import OPML, poll selected feeds conditionally, de-duplicate items and read sanitized articles in a compact keyboard interface. Add saved searches and an optional permitted full-text extraction action. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: team libraries and institutional access; resilient polling of malformed and rate-limited feeds 2. Phase 2 — Durable model. Model feeds, fetch validators, article GUIDs, read states, tags, folders and OPML import records Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: A feed GUID is scoped to its feed; unread counts cannot change merely because a retry reimports the same item. 3. Phase 3 — Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Use short SQLite transactions and persist job state before starting work. Give retries stable operation IDs; report incomplete or unknown results instead of silently repeating them. 4. Phase 4 — Permissions and integration failure. Reject unexpected origins and unbounded request bodies even on localhost. Keep credentials outside the database export and redact sensitive text from logs. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results. 5. Phase 5 — Portable handoff. Use a consistent SQLite backup and an attachment manifest. Export portable JSON/CSV, then restore to a new directory without overwriting the original data. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README. 6. Phase 6 — Acceptance scenarios. Import the same OPML twice and retain one feed subscription; a malformed feed reports an error while previously saved articles remain readable. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder. Acceptance Import the same OPML twice and retain one feed subscription; a malformed feed reports an error while previously saved articles remain readable. Use real source data or clearly labeled fixtures. Explain unsupported input and provider failures; do not fabricate analytics, delivery receipts, accuracy claims or security guarantees. Optional agent guidance Optional external skill: [web-design-guidelines](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/web-design-guidelines/SKILL.md) — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [sharp-edges](https://github.com/trailofbits/skills/blob/main/plugins/sharp-edges/skills/sharp-edges/SKILL.md) — Review security-sensitive APIs and configuration for dangerous defaults and easy-to-misuse interfaces. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Project rule — data model: feeds, fetch validators, article GUIDs, read states, tags, folders and OPML import records Project rule — preserve this invariant: A feed GUID is scoped to its feed; unread counts cannot change merely because a retry reimports the same item. Project rule — acceptance evidence: Import the same OPML twice and retain one feed subscription; a malformed feed reports an error while previously saved articles remain readable.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md
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Alternatives to building your own
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BazQux Reader pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| standard | — | $2.50/user | Up to 3,000 feeds; 500 filters/smart streams; up to 500 retained articles/feed.Annual-only: $30/year. |
| supporter | — | $4.17/user | Same product limits as Standard; higher payment supports development.Annual-only: $50/year. |
| lifetime | — | — | Lifetime hosted account; same core product limits as the subscription.One-time purchase: $249. |
free tierno free tier; 30-day trial
billingannual-only subscriptions plus a one-time lifetime purchase; no month-to-month plan
hidden costsVAT/GST can be added based on location
price historyAnnual subscription: $19 → $30 (2020-03)
pricing sources checked 2026-08-13 · pricing source ↗
Questions about BazQux Reader
Can you build your own BazQux Reader with AI?
The verdict is yes for the scoped workflow. BazQux Reader's solo core is compact: build a private RSS reader workspace that imports user-supplied URLs or files, extracts metadata, supports notes, and searches the local corpus. A competent builder can reach a useful personal version in one sitting, while the paid product mainly wins on data, import reliability.
What does the BazQux Reader build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Import OPML, poll selected feeds conditionally, de-duplicate items and read sanitized articles in a compact keyboard interface. Add saved searches and an optional permitted full-text extraction action. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: team libraries and institutional access; resilient polling of malformed and rate-limited feeds; licensed scholarly metadata. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the BazQux Reader prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this BazQux Reader project take?
The catalogue estimate is one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing BazQux Reader?
team libraries and institutional access; resilient polling of malformed and rate-limited feeds; licensed scholarly metadata; publisher-specific import reliability; citation graph scale. BazQux Reader: Researchers pay for correct metadata, resilient importers, citation coverage, and workflows that survive publisher and browser changes.
What price is this guide comparing against?
The recorded Standard plan is $2.5/mo (annual-equivalent subscription), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.
What can I use instead of building BazQux Reader?
Folo: A modern hosted feed reader with 150 free feeds; self-hosting the backend is not on the menu. FreshRSS: Filtering, folders and full-text reading in a well-kept self-hosted package. Miniflux: Fast reading, regex filters and full-content fetching with very little ceremony. Compare all listed options at https://howtovibecodeit.dev/bazqux-reader/alternatives. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.