NetNewsWire, the once quintessential RSS reader app for Mac, is back on the market. Released by Brent Simmons and friends as NetNewsWire 5.0, it is an Open Source app that’s available for Free for anyone to download.

NetNewsWire has a long history behind it. Back in the day, it was the most popular RSS app available for Mac, and for many Mac users, it was the app that they began their RSS journey with. It was acquired by NewsGator, who also launched an iOS version along the way, then by the folks at Black Pixel who ultimately decided to shut down the project and sold the ‘NetNewsWire’ name to Brent Simmons last year. Today, NetNewsWire 5.0 is back on the scene and promises to fill some very important shoes. The app has been available in beta for a few weeks now and has received several improvements thanks to the meticulous work of contributors on the Github project.

NetNewsWire 5.0 for Mac Light Theme Screenshot

NetNewsWire 5.0 for Mac Dark Theme Screenshot

The latest version of NetNewsWire 5.0 ships with the following features:

• Safari extension for easy feed-adding
• Direct feed-downloading
• Syncing via Feedbin
• Sharing to Mail, MarsEdit, Micro.blog, Notes, Messages, and so on
• Easy keyboard navigation
• Single-key keyboard shortcuts
• AppleScript support
• Dark Mode
• Starred articles
• All Unread and Today smart feeds
• Folders
• Importing and exporting OPML feed lists
• Searching
• Help book
• Multiple accounts
• Customizable toolbar

…and a lot of features are currently in the works, thanks to the awesome open source developers’ community.

The 5.0 release is quite basic when it comes to features, but that’s not the point. NetNewsWire coming back to the scene is an important and notable step for the revival of the RSS ecosystem as we once knew it. Even though NetNewsWire 5.0 lacks several features compared to apps like Reeder or ReadKit, what it does have going for it is the backing of a very passionate set of users and developers.

Download NetNewsWire 5.0 →