5-Minute Quick Start

Goal: within 5 minutes, go from download to your first taste of sip's value — add a feed, see today's list, track an article revision.

Minute 0: Download and run

Download the latest single-file executable from Releases (no extraction needed, no pile of DLLs):

Platform	File
Windows x64	sip-v1.2.0-win-x64.exe
Linux x64	sip-v1.2.0-linux-x64
macOS Intel / Apple Silicon	sip-v1.2.0-osx-x64 / sip-v1.2.0-osx-arm64

Artifact names carry version + architecture (sip-v<version>-<platform>, no more overwriting); older releases used names like sip-win-x64.exe. First run creates the readwithhotsoup/ data directory next to the exe.

./sip.exe            # Windows: enter TUI (creates readwithhotsoup/ data dir on first launch)
./sip.exe --help     # or use the CLI directly
./sip.exe --version  # show the version (since v1.1.4 it also shows the build time, e.g. sip v1.2.0 (built 2026-08-17 09:39))

• Single file + built-in official translations: language files are embedded into the exe, auto-restored when the data directory is missing — a single exe works even if that's all you copy
• Framework dependency: requires the .NET 10 runtime to be preinstalled on the target machine (small footprint); to skip the runtime use a self-contained publish (see Build from Source)
• Data directory: on first run, readwithhotsoup/ is auto-created next to the exe — the SQLite database rss.db, AI config, language files, full-text cache, reading progress, telemetry, and all data live here; back up or migrate by copying the whole folder

Minute 1: Add your first feed

sip -d https://blog.hotsouprealm.top/atom.xml     # add a feed (press D inside the TUI too)
sip -l                                            # list all feeds, confirm it's in

You can also batch-import with sip --import-opml file.xml (e.g. exported from FreshRSS).

Minute 2: Update, then read

sip -u 1             # update feed 1, fetch the latest articles
sip -l 1             # list that feed's articles
sip --show 42        # open an article in full-screen read mode (W → full TUI, Esc → back)

Inside the TUI, press Enter to read, j/k to move, Space to page, i for immersive reading. Full keyboard, no ads, no recommendation feed.

Minute 3: See what to read today

sip --today          # 5 rule-based picks for today, with estimated reading time and reasons

This is sip's "one bowl a day" — a fixed 5 articles, read and close. The top section also lists today's changes (who added, who edited).

Minute 4: Track an "article revision"

sip --versions 42    # this article's version history
sip --diff 42        # what changed in the last two versions

When you see diff output (added/removed lines with before/after context), you've touched sip's core capability that distinguishes it from FreshRSS.

Minute 5: Next steps

• Want AI search/summaries: sip --init configure model → sip --index vectorize → sip --search "topic" --json
• Want a group bot: Bot Integration (OpenClaw / Cherry Studio, QQ/WeChat/Discord/Telegram)
• Want scheduled auto-updates: sip --schedule 1 daily@08:00
• Want a whitelist for family: Practical Scenario 4

AI skill

The .opencode/skills/sip-rss directory in the source contains a skill you can hand directly to AI. You can also download sip-skill.zip directly from Releases (shipped alongside the single-file builds for each platform).

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More workflows in Practical Scenarios; why sip over other readers in Competitors.