# AGENTS.md — Build guide for Inoreader

## Project scope
Fetch selected feeds, run ordered keyword rules, apply tags and send a digest of matched items with an inspectable rule trace.

Catalogue verdict: yes. A single-user RSS reader with rules and alerts can be built quickly on top of existing parsers, though not with Inoreader's scale and polish.
Use the implementation prompt below to define the deliverable. Complete each phase's acceptance checks before extending the scope.

## Working agreement
- Inspect the repository and its existing instructions before choosing paths, dependencies or commands. Keep one coherent stack and explain changes to the proposed architecture.
- Plan a vertical slice that accepts a real input and produces the useful output described below. Persist only the state the prompt calls for; respect memory-only and upstream-managed workflows. Use fixtures only when they are clearly labelled.
- After scaffolding, document the actual install, development, check and build commands in README and keep them synchronized with the package or project manifest. Do not report commands as successful unless they ran.
- Work in small steps. At handoff, list implemented flows, checks actually performed, remaining blockers, and any credentials or provider setup the owner must supply.
- Do not publish, spend money, contact customers, delete source data or run irreversible migrations without the project owner's authorization.

## Prerequisites
- Runtime and tools: Python, a bounded HTTP worker, feedparser, SQLite FTS5 and a small local web reader.
- Before starting: A reviewed list of permitted RSS/Atom feeds and OPML examples; a running worker is required for scheduled refresh.

## Stack and architecture
- Python, a bounded HTTP worker, feedparser, SQLite FTS5 and a small local web reader
- Data design: Store Item, RuleVersion, MatchTrace, Tag and AlertReceipt; reprocessing a new rule version can update tags but cannot resend an already acknowledged alert without confirmation.
- Setup: A reviewed list of permitted RSS/Atom feeds and OPML examples; a running worker is required for scheduled refresh

## Security and data integrity
- Preserve feed GUIDs with a canonical URL fallback. Use conditional requests, per-host backoff and separate fetch errors from empty feeds; sanitize article HTML and prevent private-network URL fetches.
- Support transparent title/body matching first. Failed feeds are not zero matches, and full-text retrieval remains subject to source permissions and extraction limits.
- Keep secrets outside client bundles and exported projects; document what leaves the device and make retention/deletion controls visible.

## Agent implementation rules
- Project rule — domain: Store Item, RuleVersion, MatchTrace, Tag and AlertReceipt; reprocessing a new rule version can update tags but cannot resend an already acknowledged alert without confirmation.
- Project rule — scope and recovery: Support transparent title/body matching first. Failed feeds are not zero matches, and full-text retrieval remains subject to source permissions and extraction limits.
- Project rule — acceptance: Add a broad include rule and a later exclusion for sponsored posts; show why a matching item was suppressed and preserve the decision after restart.
- Project rule — delivery: document real setup commands and permissions; do not claim a build, accuracy level, performance result or security certification that has not been demonstrated.

## Optional agent skills and references
- Recommended skill: [modern-python](https://github.com/trailofbits/skills/blob/main/plugins/modern-python/skills/modern-python/SKILL.md) — structure the Python worker or explicitly optional read-only utility with pinned dependencies, typed boundaries and clear failure handling. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.
- Recommended skill: [web-design-guidelines](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/web-design-guidelines/SKILL.md) — review keyboard access, focus, validation, error recovery and the readable work/review interface or HTML report. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.

Read the linked SKILL.md and its dependencies before adding a skill. Select only the skills matching this project's runtime and task; their documentation does not supply API access, credentials or approval to perform external actions. Pin the reviewed revision where the tool supports it. Follow the chosen agent's documented project-level installation mechanism.

## Distribution ideas
These are optional planning notes. Obtain the owner's approval before publishing or contacting anyone.
- Demonstrate this working slice using synthetic or explicitly authorized non-sensitive examples: Fetch selected feeds, run ordered keyword rules, apply tags and send a digest of matched items with an inspectable rule trace.
- Share a synthetic example export and the acceptance walkthrough; keep real customer, health, financial and source data private: Add a broad include rule and a later exclusion for sponsored posts; show why a matching item was suppressed and preserve the decision after restart.
- State the limits before asking someone to replace their existing tool: Support transparent title/body matching first. Failed feeds are not zero matches, and full-text retrieval remains subject to source permissions and extraction limits.

## Engineering roadmap
1. Phase 1 — Pin the working slice and create its example input: Fetch selected feeds, run ordered keyword rules, apply tags and send a digest of matched items with an inspectable rule trace. Confirm setup: A reviewed list of permitted RSS/Atom feeds and OPML examples; a running worker is required for scheduled refresh.
2. Phase 2 — Implement persistence and write-time invariants before decorating the UI: Store Item, RuleVersion, MatchTrace, Tag and AlertReceipt; reprocessing a new rule version can update tags but cannot resend an already acknowledged alert without confirmation.
3. Phase 3 — Connect the working view to real saved state. Preserve feed GUIDs with a canonical URL fallback. Use conditional requests, per-host backoff and separate fetch errors from empty feeds; sanitize article HTML and prevent private-network URL fetches.
4. Phase 4 — Expose the app-specific limits and recovery path in context: Support transparent title/body matching first. Failed feeds are not zero matches, and full-text retrieval remains subject to source permissions and extraction limits.
5. Phase 5 — Walk through this concrete acceptance case and preserve its exported evidence: Add a broad include rule and a later exclusion for sponsored posts; show why a matching item was suppressed and preserve the decision after restart. Finish the README and backup/restore instructions; report unfinished capabilities explicitly.

## Paid-product capabilities outside this build
- enterprise-scale feed handling
- mobile apps
- integrations
- article translation
- polished search
- support

## Implementation prompt
Build the following focused alternative to Inoreader. Implement the focused workflow below first; the verdict is not evidence of a completed or production-certified build.

WORKING SLICE
Fetch selected feeds, run ordered keyword rules, apply tags and send a digest of matched items with an inspectable rule trace.

SETUP AND ARCHITECTURE
Use Python, a bounded HTTP worker, feedparser, SQLite FTS5 and a small local web reader. Prerequisites: A reviewed list of permitted RSS/Atom feeds and OPML examples; a running worker is required for scheduled refresh. Before integrating anything, record actual versions and permissions, plus model files or provider limits only where used, in the README; make unavailable dependencies visible rather than simulating success.

DOMAIN MODEL AND INVARIANTS
Store Item, RuleVersion, MatchTrace, Tag and AlertReceipt; reprocessing a new rule version can update tags but cannot resend an already acknowledged alert without confirmation.

IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACT
Preserve feed GUIDs with a canonical URL fallback. Use conditional requests, per-host backoff and separate fetch errors from empty feeds; sanitize article HTML and prevent private-network URL fetches. Provide an input/setup view, the main work view, and a review/export view appropriate to this workflow. Preserve the last saved state if a job or save fails. Include empty, loading, permission-denied, partial and retryable-error states. Log identifiers and error categories without secret values or unnecessary private content.

APP-SPECIFIC BOUNDARY AND RECOVERY
Support transparent title/body matching first. Failed feeds are not zero matches, and full-text retrieval remains subject to source permissions and extraction limits.

ACCEPTANCE SCENARIO
Add a broad include rule and a later exclusion for sponsored posts; show why a matching item was suppressed and preserve the decision after restart. Also reopen the app after an interrupted operation, confirm the saved record/export remains inspectable, and document the recovery action. These are implementation acceptance requirements, not a claim that this guide has been tested.

DELIVERY
Deliver a runnable repository with migrations or project-format versioning, a non-sensitive example, environment/permission setup, the exact manual acceptance steps, and a backup/export-and-restore walkthrough. Implement the working slice before optional integrations; list any deferred paid-product capabilities honestly. Do not add capabilities outside the working slice just to resemble the original product.

PROJECT RULES FOR AGENTS.md
Keep the domain invariants above executable at the write boundary. Propose scope changes before adding providers or permissions. Never fabricate source evidence, publish results, identity matches or successful delivery. Preserve user originals and require an explicit confirmation for destructive changes or external publication.

## Completion evidence
Demonstrate the prompt's acceptance scenarios against the scoped workflow. Include setup from a clean checkout and failure recovery. Check persistence across restart and export/restore only for the state the prompt says to store; for memory-only tools, confirm that temporary content is discarded as specified. Record actual results and remaining limitations. A detailed plan alone does not establish a working replacement.