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Searching Elfeed RSS Database

@markus1189/nixos-config
5
0

Autonomously search the user's elfeed RSS feed database when researching topics they've read about, finding specific articles they mention, analyzing their reading patterns, or gathering context from their curated information sources. Invoke when the user references articles, asks about past reads, or when conversation topics overlap with likely RSS feed content (tech, programming, AI, security, etc.).

Install Skill

1Download skill
2Enable skills in Claude

Open claude.ai/settings/capabilities and find the "Skills" section

3Upload to Claude

Click "Upload skill" and select the downloaded ZIP file

Note: Please verify skill by going through its instructions before using it.

SKILL.md

name Searching Elfeed RSS Database
description Autonomously search the user's elfeed RSS feed database when researching topics they've read about, finding specific articles they mention, analyzing their reading patterns, or gathering context from their curated information sources. Invoke when the user references articles, asks about past reads, or when conversation topics overlap with likely RSS feed content (tech, programming, AI, security, etc.).
allowed-tools Bash

Searching Elfeed RSS Database

This skill provides access to the user's elfeed RSS feed database through a command-line interface. Elfeed is their primary information aggregation system, containing curated feeds from Reddit, blogs, YouTube channels, GitHub releases, and newsletters.

When to Invoke This Skill

Use this skill when:

  • Topic research: User asks about topics likely covered in their feeds (programming, AI, security, NixOS, Emacs, etc.)
  • Article recall: User references "something I read" or "an article about..."
  • Pattern analysis: Understanding what they've been reading recently
  • Context gathering: Building background on topics from their curated sources
  • Unread triage: Helping prioritize or summarize unread items

Do NOT invoke for:

  • General web searches (use WebSearch instead)
  • Information not likely in RSS feeds
  • Real-time news (elfeed may not have fetched yet)

Quick Start

The primary tool is elfeed-cli located at:

~/.claude/skills/elfeed/scripts/elfeed-cli

Or use the absolute path from this repo:

/home/markus/repos/nixos-config/nixos-shared/claude/skills/elfeed/scripts/elfeed-cli

Most common usage:

# Search recent unread items about a topic
elfeed-cli query "topic +unread @1-week-ago" simple 20

# Get database statistics
elfeed-cli stats

# List all feeds
elfeed-cli feeds

# List all tags
elfeed-cli tags

Filter Syntax Quick Reference

Combine these operators to build queries:

Operator Meaning Example
+tag Must have tag +unread, +programming, +reddit
-tag Must not have tag -unread, -youtube
@time Newer than time @1-week-ago, @3-days-ago, @1-month-ago
#N Limit to N entries #10, #50
text Title/link matches (regex) nixos, claude.*ai
!regex Title/link doesn't match !advertisement
=regex Feed URL/title matches =simonwillison
~regex Feed URL/title doesn't match ~reddit

Combine operators with spaces:

"+programming +unread @1-week-ago #20"
"+reddit -unread ai.*agents"
"+github =anthropic"

Common Workflows

1. Research a Topic

# Find recent articles about a topic
elfeed-cli query "topic-keyword +unread @2-weeks-ago" simple 30

2. Check Unread by Category

# Recent unread programming articles
elfeed-cli query "+programming +unread @1-week-ago" simple 20

# YouTube videos unwatched
elfeed-cli query "+youtube +unread" simple 10

3. Analyze Reading Patterns

# Get overall statistics
elfeed-cli stats

# See all feed sources
elfeed-cli feeds

# Check what tags are used
elfeed-cli tags

4. Find Specific Article

# Search by keyword across all entries
elfeed-cli query "specific-term" simple 50

# From specific source
elfeed-cli query "=simonwillison llm" simple 20

Output Formats

The query command supports three formats:

  1. simple (default, most readable):

    2025-10-19 14:30 | Blog Name | Article Title | https://example.com/article

  2. json (for parsing):

    [{"title":"...","link":"...","date":...,"tags":[...],"feed_title":"...","feed_url":"..."}]

  3. sexp (Emacs s-expression):

    ((:title "..." :link "..." :date ... :tags (...) :feed-title "..." :feed-url "..."))

Important Notes

  • Requires running Emacs: The CLI uses emacsclient to query the live database
  • Real-time data: Queries reflect current database state (may include recently fetched items)
  • Tag system: Feeds are tagged by category (programming, reddit, youtube, github, etc.)
  • No side effects: Queries are read-only and don't modify read/unread status

Advanced Usage

For detailed filter syntax, regex patterns, and complex query construction, see reference.md.

Integration with Existing Command

The /mh:elfeed-search slash command is a convenience wrapper that calls this same tooling. You can invoke the skill autonomously or users can explicitly call the command.