Beaver Reader: Your News, One Space at a Time### A simple RSS reader for Mac and iOS, with offline reading and iCloud sync.
I used RSS readers for years. They gave me a straightforward way to follow websites without visiting each one separately.
Then an update changed the interface of the reader I was using. The experience no longer felt as comfortable as before.
That became the starting point for Beaver Reader. I wanted a clean interface, quick navigation and articles available when I had no internet connection.
Reading with one key
On the Mac, Beaver Reader’s central idea is simple: you can work through your unread articles with the Space bar.
Press Space to move down a page. When you reach the bottom, the next press opens the next unread article.
Already-read articles are skipped. After the last unread article in one feed, reading continues into the next feed.
You don’t have to keep returning to the article list or choosing another source. You can sit down and read.
The distinction at the bottom matters: the press that reveals the final paragraph keeps you in the current article. Another press takes you onward, giving you time to finish what you’re reading.
A sidebar that follows along
Feeds appear as folders in the sidebar, with their articles underneath. The selected article is displayed in the reading area beside it.
As you move through articles, the corresponding feed expands and the current article is selected. On the Mac, the sidebar remains part of the interface, so your sources are always within reach.
Opening an article marks it as read. If you want to return to it later, you can mark it unread from its context menu.
Adding a source takes a click on the plus button. You can enter an RSS or Atom feed URL, or a website address when the site advertises a discoverable feed. Both formats serve the same purpose: delivering new posts from sources you choose.
Ready before you disconnect
Offline reading needs more than a saved headline and a link.
Beaver Reader downloads available article text and images while you’re online. Once those downloads have finished, you can continue reading without a connection.
Your reading progress and changes to read status are stored locally. You don’t lose them just because the network disappears.
There are practical limits. Some feeds contain only excerpts, and some websites restrict access or use layouts that are difficult to extract. Beaver Reader does not bypass paywalls. When a full article cannot be retrieved, the feed content and a link to the publisher remain available.
Mac and iOS, connected through iCloud
Optional iCloud sync keeps your subscriptions, read status and reading positions synchronized between devices using the same Apple Account.
Each device maintains its own article cache. Before reading offline on a particular device, let it finish downloading the content.
Feeds refresh automatically while the app is active and online. A manual refresh button sits beside the plus button, with the update time alongside it.
A small scope, deliberately
Beaver Reader focuses on three things: a clear interface, fast navigation and offline reading, with iCloud connecting your devices.
On the Mac, that means keeping your hands on the keyboard and moving through your news with Space. On iOS, it means having your feeds and downloaded articles ready to read wherever you are.
The goal is the experience I wanted from my own RSS reader: open the app, find the next unread article and start reading.
Get Beaver Reader on the Mac App Store
More Beaver Tools: https://beavertools.app/
Disclosure: I am the developer of Beaver Reader.
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