Sources and Connections
The Weekly Edition connects to services you choose for saved links, synchronisation, summaries, email, and YouTube. The core reading workflow and book generation run on your device.
This page explains what each connection is for. Hands-on setup lives in Settings and in the setup guides. For product rhythm, see How The Weekly Edition Works; for triage labels, see Pruning and Triage; for email digests, see The Daily.
Raindrop
Section titled “Raindrop”Raindrop provides the shared lists used for articles, videos, Maybes, TLDRs, and Actions. Its browser extensions and mobile apps also let you save links into the workflow without opening The Weekly Edition first.
Typical collections:
| Collection | Role |
|---|---|
| Articles | Full pieces waiting for next week’s Short Reads and Long Reads |
| YouTube | Videos waiting to ship to a playlist |
| Maybes / TLDRs | Deferred reads for optional summary books |
| Actionables | Tasks and links that need action |
Actionables and other lists stay usable in Raindrop itself while the app generates books and ships editions from those same collections.
Configure under Settings → Integrations. Without Raindrop, Next Edition, Actions, Maybe/TLDR queues, and weekly article books have little to work with.
You keep your Raindrop account and tokens; the app talks to Raindrop from your device.
RSS and YouTube
Section titled “RSS and YouTube”Subscriptions enter the app as feeds you chose, usually via OPML, under Settings → RSS Import.
RSS and OPML
Section titled “RSS and OPML”- Export an OPML file (or equivalent) from an existing RSS reader.
- Direct Import: pick the file on the device.
- WebDAV path: place files in the OPML folder on your server and import from there.
Feeds power catch-up booklets and the prune-then-read workflow described in How The Weekly Edition Works. The app works from your subscription list, triaged into books.
YouTube
Section titled “YouTube”YouTube keeps its own queue and is shipped to a playlist when you close the week:
- Export channel subscriptions to OPML (for example public tools such as ytsubs).
- Import as a YouTube group (optional YouTube OPML next to RSS, or via WebDAV).
- Queue videos into the Raindrop YouTube collection during the week.
- Connect Google and pick a destination playlist under RSS Import → YouTube Queue.
- Run Ship Weekly Edition so queued videos land on that playlist.
The app selects and organizes videos; it does not download video files or turn them into EPUB substitutes for watching. Full steps: Import YouTube subscriptions.
WebDAV
Section titled “WebDAV”Cloud Storage (Settings → Cloud Storage) uses your WebDAV server.
Typical layout under the folder you choose:
- EPUBs/ — generated books for multi-device download
- State/ — supported reading and streak-related state the app syncs
- OPML/ — subscription files for RSS / YouTube import
Provider templates include Fastmail Files, GMX, pCloud, Yandex Disk, or custom. Combined with Reader and Pruner profiles, this is how prune-on-phone / read-on-e-ink stays coherent across devices.
WebDAV is optional for a single-device setup. It is the intended bridge for multi-device books and shared OPML.
OpenAI
Section titled “OpenAI”OpenAI is optional under Settings → Integrations. It powers Maybe and TLDR summary books: short titles and summaries so you can decide whether the original deserves time.
- No key → queues can still hold links; summary generation will not run.
- With a key → generation uses the model from your account; billing is between you and OpenAI.
Summaries support triage decisions. See Maybe and TLDR.
EPUB export
Section titled “EPUB export”Generated books use the EPUB format. You can read them in the app or open the files in another compatible reader when needed.
Files live in local cache and, when configured, under WebDAV EPUBs/. The in-app reader remains the main experience — progress, Archive, streaks, and URL actions. Appearance (including custom fonts) applies when new books are generated; see Use your own reading fonts.
What remains on your device
Section titled “What remains on your device”You choose the external services the app connects to, while book generation and the core reading workflow run on your device.
On the device:
- IMAP mail fetch and credentials (see The Daily)
- Book generation (HTML cleanup, EPUB assembly)
- Local book list and reader until you sync
- Appearance settings
- Feed fetch from public RSS/Atom URLs for your OPML
Sent only to services you configure:
- Raindrop API (queues and bookmarks)
- OpenAI API (summary text when you generate Maybe/TLDR books)
- WebDAV (books and state you enable)
- Google / YouTube (playlist ship when connected)
The app sends information only to the services you configure for a particular function. Book generation, reading, and the local library remain on the device unless you enable synchronisation.