How to sync RSS feeds to a Kindle

The Kindle Paperwhite is my go-to device for reading as I simply love the display. In contrast to my tablet or phone, I can use the device outdoors in direct sun-light without any issues which is a huge plus. However, I like to read different news feeds any the Kindle does not support them out of the box. Calibre, an open-source e-book library manager, offers the possibility to sync RSS feeds to your Kindle using your Kindle e-mail address. In the following, I’ll explain the setup and how to get started.

Things you need

Before we get started, make sure to download and install all required apps and have your Kindle at hand. In detail, you’ll need the following:

1. Kindle
2. Calibre
3. Kindle e-mail address
4. RSS feed URLs

Attention: Your Amazon.com e-mail address is not your Kindle e-mail address. You may find the correct one via Your Devices in the Manage Your Content and Devices menu. You can also try this link.

E-Mail sync setup

First, you need to setup your Kindle email so that Calibre is able to send the synched content to your Kindle. When opening Calibre for the first time, the Welcome Wizard will guide you trough all necessary steps. You can always restart the wizard using the preferences menu. That’s it!

Add news feeds to Calibre

Next, you have to add news feeds to sync to Calibre. The program itself offers tons of possibilities out of the box, so your favourite news website might be already in there. To do so, head over to the Fetch news menu.

You’ll find a selection of feeds which you can simply select. The search function lets you search for your favourite feeds, make sure to hit to Go button or Calibre won’t perform a search query. Next, you have to define a sync schedule. For news feeds I would suggest to simply leave the standard values. As for deleting older content, I keep downloaded content for 2 days.

Don’t worry if you can’t find your favourite feed in the list. Head over to the Add a custom news source menu and enter a feed title and a feed URL. Don’t forget to set the sync schedule and you’re good to go.

That’s it. You’re basically done. Keep in mind that Calibre needs to run in order to download the RSS feed and sync it to your Kindle. So if your computer is off – syncing to your Kindle won’t work. I hope that I was able to help you – please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.