First steps
Creating your account
Depending on how your instance is set up, you create your account from Create an account on the sign-in page, or from the invitation link sent by the administrator. An invitation link works only once. Your password needs at least 10 characters.
If the page shows Registration closed, ask the administrator of the instance for access.
Finding your way
The sidebar gathers the three spaces, each with its colour: Reader in green, Bookmarks in purple, Archives in brown. Each space folds away. The sidebar also leads to Settings, to Help, to Administration for administrators, and to Sign out. A dot on Help marks a new version: it leads to what’s new. Drag its edge to set its width; a double-click resets it.
Forgotten password
On the sign-in page, Forgot your password? sends a link to your e-mail address, if it is confirmed and if the instance can send e-mail. Otherwise the administrator can give you a link directly.
Reader
The reader gathers the articles of the sites you follow. All articles shows the unread articles of all your feeds; Starred keeps the articles you have marked.
Subscribing to a feed
- Open Reader → Manage subscriptions.
- In Add a feed, paste the address of a site or feed (for example
example.com), then Subscribe. - Peristyle looks for the page’s feed: RSS, Atom, JSON Feed, or the feed of a YouTube channel.
On the same page, you create Folders, rename a feed (Custom title) or unsubscribe. Articles arrive within a minute, then every 30 minutes by default.
Reading
Choose a folder or a feed: the article list appears and the selected article opens next to it. In the list toolbar:
- Show unread only or Show all articles;
- Mark all as read (Shift + A);
- the list layout: List (excerpt and thumbnail), Titles only or Cards. Each folder or feed keeps its own.
Above the article, the Starred, Save to bookmarks, Archive, Mark as unread and Original ↗ buttons each have their key (see Keyboard shortcuts).
When a feed only gives an excerpt, Full article loads the whole page of the article, in a readable version. Feed version goes back to the original text.
Podcasts and attached videos play directly in the article. A YouTube video first appears as a plain image: YouTube is only contacted when you click it.
Feed settings
The … menu of a feed in the sidebar offers Refresh, Mark all as read, Unsubscribe and Feed settings…. The settings panel gathers:
- General: title, folder, feed address (Change if the site has moved: your starred articles are kept);
- Display: the list layout for this feed;
- Content: Always load the full article, and the extensions that can be turned on per feed, such as the slideshow for gallery pages.
OPML import and export
To move from another reader, export your subscriptions as OPML (in Feedly: Organize → Export OPML), then in Manage subscriptions, choose Import an OPML file.
A preview shows each feed: new, already followed, already followed, in “…” or duplicate. Uncheck what you do not want, then start the import; it carries on in the background. Export as OPML saves all your subscriptions, and a folder’s menu exports that folder alone.
Failing feeds
When a feed fails several times in a row, it appears in Failing feeds, with the date of the first failure and the next attempt. Peristyle tries less and less often, then gives up after 30 days. Retry tries immediately; Change address fixes a feed that has moved.
Bookmarks
A bookmark is a link set aside for later. Paste an address at the top of All bookmarks and choose Save: title, description, image and icon are read from the page and kept on your instance. From the reader, the b key saves the open article.
If the page is already in your bookmarks, Peristyle says so: View bookmark or Add anyway.
A bookmark’s details let you change its title, collection and tags, and add a Note. Archive keeps a full copy in the archives.
Collections and tags
Collections nest up to ten levels deep. Create them from Bookmarks → Manage collections or from a collection’s menu (New sub-collection). Deleting a collection keeps its bookmarks, which move to Unsorted.
Tags cut across collections: a bookmark can carry several, and each one has its page in the sidebar.
Bulk operations
Select brings up checkboxes. On the selection: Move to…, Favorite, adding or removing tags, Archive and Delete selection. You can also drag bookmarks onto a collection in the sidebar.
Broken links
Every week, Peristyle checks that the address of each bookmark still answers. Those that no longer do are gathered in Broken links. Check now runs the test again for one bookmark.
Import and export
In Import / export, import the bookmarks exported from Firefox, Chrome or Edge (HTML), or a Raindrop or Pocket export (HTML or CSV). Folders become collections, merged with those that already have the same name. A preview separates new, already saved and duplicate bookmarks.
Export comes as HTML (readable by browsers) or CSV, for all bookmarks or for a collection and its sub-collections.
Archives
An archive is a full copy of a page, kept as it is and readable even if the original disappears. It keeps a readable version and the original HTML.
To archive:
- paste an address into Archive a page, at the top of All archives;
- from the reader, press a;
- from a bookmark, choose Archive.
The page is downloaded in the background; the archive shows pending in the meantime. Then Download copy gets the archived HTML and Archive again replaces the copy with the current version of the page.
Archives have their own collections, tags, favorites and notes, which work like those of bookmarks.
Search
Search everywhere, in the sidebar, goes through articles, bookmarks and archives. Results are ranked by relevance, with the matching passages highlighted. In the reader, / opens the search in the current list.
| Input | Finds |
|---|---|
sourdough bread | items containing both words, ignoring accents and plurals |
"sourdough bread" | the exact phrase |
bread -rye | “bread” without “rye” |
sourdough or poolish | either word |
tag:recipe | items with the tag “recipe” |
site:example.com | items from this site |
collection:"Cooking" | items in this collection |
Keyboard shortcuts
In the reader:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| j / k | next / previous article |
| s | star or unstar |
| m | mark as read or unread |
| v | open the original |
| b | save to bookmarks |
| a | archive the page |
| / | search |
| Shift + A | mark all as read |
| Esc | close the article |
| ? | show the shortcuts, from any page |
In the slideshow of a gallery: arrows to change image, Space for autoplay, F for full screen.
Settings
Settings adjusts Peristyle for your account only.
- Reading: article order (Newest first or Oldest first), default layout of articles, bookmarks and archives, Mark as read when scrolling the list, and Open external links in a new tab.
- Appearance: Theme (Same as system, Light, Dark or an installed theme) and Language.
- E-mail address: a confirmed address lets you receive a link if you forget your password. It serves no other purpose.
Applications
A token lets an application (mobile RSS reader, browser extension) access your account without your password. Create one per application from Settings → Applications: give it a name and, if you wish, an expiry date.
Install on your phone
Peristyle installs like an application, with its icon on the home screen and no address bar. The instance must be served over HTTPS.
- Android (Chrome, Edge, Firefox): open the instance, then the browser menu, Install app or Add to Home screen.
- iPhone and iPad (Safari): the Share button, then Add to Home Screen.