Automate GReader to Kindle with greader2kindle — Step-by-Stepgreader2kindle is a small tool that helps you send read-it-later or RSS content from GReader-like sources to your Kindle as nicely formatted eBooks or documents. This guide walks through a complete, practical automation setup so you can receive daily digests on your Kindle without manual copying and pasting.
What you’ll achieve
By the end of this guide you will have:
- An automated pipeline that fetches articles from GReader-style RSS/JSON sources.
- Content processed and cleaned for readability (HTML cleaning, images handling, basic CSS).
- Compiled eBook or MOBI/EPUB files compatible with Kindle.
- Automatic delivery to your Kindle via its Send-to-Kindle email address or via other delivery methods (Calibre, Kindle personal documents service).
Requirements
- A computer or server that can run scripts (Linux, macOS, or Windows).
- Python 3.8+ installed.
- Access to your GReader API or an RSS/Atom feed export. If you’re using another RSS reader, ensure it exposes feeds or an export (e.g., OPML, JSON).
- A Kindle device or Kindle app with a Send-to-Kindle email address.
- Optional: Calibre (for advanced conversion and delivery), Git (for installing greader2kindle if from source).
Overview of steps
- Obtain feed access (GReader or RSS).
- Install greader2kindle and dependencies.
- Configure feed selection, templates, and frequency.
- Fetch, clean, and convert articles into an eBook or document.
- Deliver to Kindle automatically.
- Schedule the automation (cron, systemd timer, or Windows Task Scheduler).
Step 1 — Obtain feed access
If using a GReader-compatible service, get the feed URL(s) or connect via its API. Common options:
- Public RSS/Atom feed URL for a specific folder/tag.
- Export OPML and select feeds you want.
- Some readers provide JSON APIs — greader2kindle can be adapted to parse JSON.
Make a list of the feed URLs you want in your Kindle digest.
Step 2 — Install greader2kindle and dependencies
Install Python 3.8+ and pip. Then create a virtual environment:
python3 -m venv g2k-env source g2k-env/bin/activate Install greader2kindle (if available on PyPI) or clone from its repository:
pip install greader2kindle # or git clone https://example.com/greader2kindle.git cd greader2kindle pip install -r requirements.txt python setup.py install Common dependencies you may need: requests, feedparser, beautifulsoup4, ebooklib, html5lib, weasyprint or calibre’s ebook-convert.
Step 3 — Configure feeds, templates, and metadata
Create a configuration file (YAML or JSON). Example YAML:
feeds: - title: "Tech News" url: "https://example.com/tech/rss" - title: "My GReader Starred" url: "https://greader.example/api/starred.json" max_articles: 50 include_images: true template: "templates/kindle_template.html" output_format: "mobi" # or epub send_to_kindle: true kindle_email: "[email protected]" from_email: "[email protected]" smtp: host: "smtp.example.com" port: 587 username: "[email protected]" password: "app-password" Template tips:
- Keep a clean CSS for readable fonts and spacing.
- Use a simple header with date and feed titles.
- Inline critical CSS; Kindle rendering can be inconsistent with external stylesheets.
Step 4 — Fetch and clean articles
Core tasks:
- Use feedparser or requests to fetch entries.
- Deduplicate by GUID/link.
- Clean HTML with BeautifulSoup: remove scripts, trackers, banner ads; convert relative links to absolute; optionally strip inline styles.
- Optionally summarize or truncate long articles (e.g., keep first N words or use readability algorithms like Readability or Mercury Parser).
Example Python snippet to fetch and clean:
import feedparser from bs4 import BeautifulSoup import requests from urllib.parse import urljoin def fetch_feed(url): return feedparser.parse(url) def clean_html(content, base_url): soup = BeautifulSoup(content, "html.parser") for tag in soup(["script", "style", "iframe", "noscript", "form", "header", "footer", "aside", "nav"]): tag.decompose() for img in soup.find_all("img"): if img.get("src"): img["src"] = urljoin(base_url, img["src"]) return str(soup) Step 5 — Convert to Kindle-friendly format
Options:
- Use ebooklib or WeasyPrint to assemble HTML files into EPUB, then convert to MOBI/AZW3 with Calibre’s ebook-convert (recommended for best Kindle compatibility).
- Or use KindleGen (deprecated) if you have older workflows.
Basic workflow:
- Create an EPUB from templated HTML files (one per article or a single combined HTML).
- Run ebook-convert to produce MOBI/AZW3:
ebook-convert digest.epub digest.mobi --output-profile=kindle Conversion tips:
- Test with a few articles first.
- Use –output-profile=kindle or kindle_pw for best results.
- Embed fonts sparingly; Kindle handles a few system fonts better.
Step 6 — Deliver to Kindle
Simplest: email the converted file to your Kindle’s Send-to-Kindle address. Use SMTP with your configured from_email (must be an authorized sender in Amazon settings).
Python example using smtplib:
import smtplib from email.message import EmailMessage def send_to_kindle(smtp_conf, from_addr, to_addr, file_path): msg = EmailMessage() msg["From"] = from_addr msg["To"] = to_addr msg["Subject"] = "GReader Digest" msg.set_content("Attached is your daily digest.") with open(file_path, "rb") as f: data = f.read() msg.add_attachment(data, maintype="application", subtype="octet-stream", filename=file_path) with smtplib.SMTP(smtp_conf["host"], smtp_conf["port"]) as s: s.starttls() s.login(smtp_conf["username"], smtp_conf["password"]) s.send_message(msg) Alternative deliveries:
- Calibre’s content server + Kindle over USB.
- Use Amazon’s Personal Documents Service with approved email only.
Step 7 — Schedule the job
Linux/macOS: use cron or systemd timer. Example cron (daily at 7 AM):
0 7 * * * /path/to/g2k-env/bin/python /path/to/greader2kindle/run.py >> /var/log/g2k.log 2>&1 Windows: Task Scheduler to run the Python script on a schedule.
Include logging and error notifications (email or a webhook) for reliability.
Troubleshooting & tips
- If images fail to appear, ensure remote image links are absolute and not blocked by hotlink protection. Consider embedding small images as data URIs.
- For long feeds, implement pagination and a max-articles cap.
- Use a unique identifier (feed+GUID) to avoid duplicate deliveries.
- Test with your Kindle email using small sample files before full runs.
Security & privacy
- Keep your SMTP credentials and Kindle email private. Use app-specific passwords where possible.
- If processing personal or sensitive articles, consider running the pipeline on a local machine or trusted VPS.
Example project structure
greader2kindle/ ├─ config.yml ├─ templates/ │ └─ kindle_template.html ├─ scripts/ │ └─ fetch_and_build.py ├─ output/ │ └─ digest-2025-08-29.epub └─ logs/ └─ run.log Final notes
Once set up, greader2kindle can save time and turn your favorite feeds into a pleasant, offline reading experience on Kindle. Iterate on templates and conversion settings for the best typography and image handling for your device.
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