Topics and sources
Adding and changing topics and sources, the limits, what counts as a valid source, and what happens when one breaks
A topic is a folder for sources, and every topic becomes one section in your digest. Sources without a topic are grouped as Uncategorized. How a feed is found and read is on Feeds and fetching.
Limits
| Limit | Trial | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Feeds | 2 | 50 |
| Topics | 5 | 10 |
| Manual digests per day | 1 | 3 |
| Fetch window for a new source | 7 days | 30 days |
These are the current values; they can change without a new app version. When you hit one, the app says so: Trial includes up to 2 feeds and all of them are in use. Remove a feed to add a new one. The five-topic cap in Owl training is a focus suggestion, not a plan limit.
Add a source
- Open Sources. The panel Feed the digest. is at the top.
- Paste the address of the site, newsletter, channel or show into the URL field.
- Pick a topic, or type a new one under Category.
- Press Add feed. While it says Sniffing for a feed…, the feed is detected and checked.
What counts as a valid source
Anything that publishes a feed. You do not need the feed URL itself; the site address is enough:
- a Substack, blog or news site (the feed is discovered from the page, or found at the usual
/feedand/rsspaths), - a YouTube channel (
youtube.com/@nameor a/channel/…URL; not a single video or playlist), - a podcast, including an Apple Podcasts show page,
- a subreddit.
When it does not work, the message tells you why:
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| That doesn't look like a web address. Try something like stratechery.com. | The text is not a URL |
| The page is there, but it has no feed I can subscribe to. Try the site's homepage, or its /feed or /rss address. | The site publishes no feed, or hides it. Try the homepage or a known feed path |
| I couldn't reach that site — it may be down or blocking visitors. Check the address, or try again in a minute. | Network error or timeout; Retry |
Rename, move, pause or remove a source
Every row on Sources has its own controls:
- the pencil renames the source,
- the folder icon moves it to another topic,
- pause stops fetching it without losing anything; resume starts again,
- remove asks Unsubscribe for good? Its past items leave the nest too. and deletes the source with its items.
When a source breaks
A feed that fails five times in a row is marked as needing attention; the Needs attention count on the Sources page and a line under the source show what went wrong: This feed keeps slipping away (5 tries): … — retry it, or check whether it moved.
Nothing else happens: the other sources keep going, and the broken one is retried automatically once a day. Press Retry to try immediately. If the site moved its feed, remove the source and add the new address.
Manage topics
Topics are managed on the same page. Renaming a topic renames the digest section. Deleting one keeps its feeds: Delete this category? The feeds inside stay — they just become uncategorized.
No OPML
There is no OPML import or export. Moving in from another reader means pasting its URLs one by one; the curated suggestions in Owl training cover the common ones.