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Turns RSS feeds into numbered text lines and JPG images for TV tickers and playout graphics. By OnAir Garage.
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Downloads RSS feeds on a schedule and turns each one into numbered text lines and JPG images for TV tickers and playout graphics. Free desktop app (Electron) from OnAir Garage.
• Tool page: https://onairgarage.com/tools/ticker-feed-builder/
• Author: Graziano Melzi · OnAir Garage — [email protected]
• License: MIT (see LICENSE)
• Systems: Windows (installer), macOS (dmg, Apple silicon and Intel), Linux (AppImage, x64). Built for all three; only macOS has been run so far (see Validation).
Downloads RSS feeds on a schedule and turns each one into numbered text lines and JPG images for TV tickers and playout graphics. Free desktop app (Electron) from OnAir Garage.
Systems: Windows (installer), macOS (dmg, Apple silicon and Intel), Linux (AppImage, x64). Built for all three; Windows and macOS have been run by the author (declared 17 October 2026); Linux has only been run in the automated tests and the end-to-end run under a virtual screen (see Validation).
Manual: attached to every release as three PDFs, English (Ticker-Feed-Builder-Manual-EN-<version>.pdf), Italian (-IT-) and Spanish (-ES-); the source is in docs/manual/ (python3 docs/manual/build.py <version> <folder> makes the PDFs; it needs Chrome or Chromium).
Screenshots use invented demo feeds, taken from the real app (version 26.10.9, running on Linux; dark and light themes).
What it does
It replaces the rss_ticker_downloader.py scripts that fed NeMedia Morpheus from Windows Task Scheduler. The app lives in the tray, runs 24/7 and, for every feed of every profile, writes:
File
Content
<Name>_Title.Txt
one headline per line
<Name>_Description.Txt
one description per line, same order
<Name>/00001.JPG, 00002.JPG…
one JPG per story, same order
<Name>_metadata.json
counters of the last run (optional)
Profiles: one destination each (output folder, feeds, interval, placeholder image, format). Use several if different screens read different folders.
Sync guarantee: story N is line N of both text files and image N. Line breaks and invisible characters inside a text are removed; an empty title/description becomes - (configurable); a missing or unreadable image becomes the placeholder image.
Safe writes: each file is written under a temporary name and renamed; unchanged files are not touched; if a download fails the previous files stay as they were; a missing output folder is reported and never created (an unplugged drive must not become a local folder); numbered images left over from a longer previous run are removed.
Configurable format (the defaults reproduce the original scripts): text encoding (UTF-8, UTF-8 with BOM, Windows-1252), line ending, file name templates ({folder}), image number start/digits/extension, JPEG quality, optional resize (fill or fit), title/description length limits.
Checks: each profile has a check interval (default 5 min) and each feed can have its own. A check first asks the server whether the feed changed (ETag / Last-Modified; answer 304 = nothing is downloaded). If the server cannot say, the feed is downloaded and its content compared with the previous copy (same content = no image download, no file touched). Images are downloaded and files written only when something is new; a failed image is retried at the next check, and a deleted output file or an edited setting triggers a rebuild. "Run now" always rebuilds everything.
Schedule of a profile, three ways: every N minutes after the previous check; every N minutes on the clock (counted from midnight: 15 = :00 :15 :30 :45, 60 = every full hour); or at fixed times on the days you choose (one time = once a day). At a fixed time every enabled feed is checked, whatever its own interval; a time missed while the app was closed is made up once at start-up (if the schedules start at launch); time windows always apply. Stagger the profiles (Settings, off by default) spreads profiles that share an interval evenly inside it instead of starting together (two profiles every 5 min: 2 min 30 s apart).
Dashboard (its own button above the profile list): date and time, schedule state, feeds OK / with problems, a time-ordered list of the next checks (what will be checked and when, with countdown), per profile and per feed last check and last file update with date and time, recent warnings and errors, and for every feed a strip with the last 24 hours, one bar per hour (new stories / checked, nothing new / failed / no check), kept across restarts. Profiles show in the order of the left column and say in words if they are OK, partial or have a problem.
The default layout is the one the original scripts produced for NeMedia Morpheus. It has not been checked against NeMedia documentation (none was read); other ticker systems may need other names, encodings or sizes, which is why everything is configurable.
Feeds and publishers' terms
A feed that is free to download is not necessarily free to broadcast. Publishers usually offer RSS for personal reading; showing their headlines publicly on TV, screens or websites normally needs an agreement with the publisher. That responsibility is the user's; this is not legal advice. The app ships without any feed; the examples below come from the pages read on 8 October 2026 (paraphrased; the pages carry no version or date, so read the current text before relying on it).
Publisher
What its RSS page says
Page
ANSA
Non-commercial use by individuals and non-profit organisations, only to view the feeds in RSS reader programs; using them to publish the latest headlines on websites or blogs is not allowed; any other use must be requested and expressly authorised.
Non-commercial use by individuals and non-profit organisations; the feeds may not be made public (websites, blogs, outdoor communication systems, any other means that spreads the news publicly) without a prior agreement with Adnkronos.
Both pages list their feeds by section (politics, foreign news, sport…); use them as examples of what to ask for in an agreement.
Formulas and sources
No measurements or standards-based formulas. The external rules used:
Value / rule
Source
Status
RSS 2.0 item fields (title, description, enclosure), Atom entry, Media RSS media:content / media:thumbnail
feed formats as found in the feeds themselves (Adnkronos, ANSA); no specification was read for this release
recommended (practice, not verified against the specifications)
Characters not allowed in a file name, reserved names (CON, PRN, NUL, COM1…)
Microsoft Learn, Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces — same rules as in File Renamer
official (read in the File Renamer project, not re-read for this release)
Default output layout and file names
original scripts v3.2 supplied by the author
reference implementation
Telegram sendMessage
Telegram Bot API
not re-read for this release
SMTP submission (STARTTLS / TLS), Bcc
nodemailer library defaults; no RFC read for this release
recommended (practice)
Terms of use of the ANSA and Adnkronos RSS feeds
the two RSS pages above
official (read 2026-10-08, summarised)
Assumptions and limits
Images are decoded without native modules: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP and TIFF with a JavaScript library (jimp), WebP and AVIF with WebAssembly decoders (@jsquash, Apache-2.0). A very large AVIF can take a few seconds; an image that cannot be read gets the placeholder.
Images on private network addresses (localhost, 10.x, 172.16–31.x, 192.168.x…) are ignored for feeds on the public internet; DNS names that resolve to private addresses are not detected.
"Skip certificate check" keeps the connection encrypted but does not verify the server; it is off by default and meant only for feeds you trust (some publishers serve their feeds with a broken certificate).
The computer must stay on and awake. The app asks the system not to sleep (option), but cannot stop a forced sleep or shutdown.
Whether a server supports conditional requests depends on the server; without it every check downloads the feed XML (small) but still skips images and writes when the content is identical. Stories are taken in the order of the feed; there is no de-duplication across feeds.
Validation and references
Results as of October 2026.
Reference
What it validates
Result
How to re-run
Automated tests (82)
text cleaning, text changes (replacements, capital letters, text before / after, own limits), the ad-hoc signature hook, RSS/Atom parsing, line/image sync, empty values, orphan removal, unchanged files, change detection (304, same content, failed-image retry, deleted output, per-feed interval), WebP/AVIF decoding, time windows, filters, merged feeds, duplicates across feeds, file check, remembered state, frozen-feed alert, daily summary, headless CLI, failure keeps old files, missing folder not created, private image addresses, scheduler, alerts
pass
npm test
Original Python script v3.2 on 8 live feeds (2026-10-08, macOS; a one-off development check with the feeds the script used, not part of the app)
same titles and descriptions as the original for the same feeds
14 of 16 text files byte-identical; the other 2 differ only because the feeds changed between the two runs (stories shifted by one); one title carried an invisible BOM character in the original, which the app removes
run both on the same feeds and compare (cmp)
Same run
number of images per feed
equal for all 8 feeds
same
End-to-end on the real Electron app (macOS; Linux for the 26.10.10 interface)
create profile, run, files on disk, status in the UI, language switch, Settings tabs, show / hide password, backup box, Help & About, feed options, no console errors
pass
node dev/e2e-electron.mjs [screenshotDir]
Not validated: WebP/AVIF with real-world files from publishers (only synthetic images in the tests); the headless mode on Windows and as a service; playback in NeMedia Morpheus or any other ticker system; Linux on a real desktop; runs lasting days; Telegram and email delivery against real services (unit-tested with fakes; the email envelope is checked with the real Nodemailer message builder, not with a mail server); Windows-1252 output beyond a unit test. Opening the ad-hoc signed app on an Apple Silicon Mac (only the build job checks the signature; the author tries the preview by hand); a click on the tip jar opening the system browser on Windows and macOS; the text changes on a live ticker. This is not a certified tool.
Sources to re-check
Document
Version read
RSS 2.0 specification, Atom (RFC 4287), Media RSS
not read for this release
Telegram Bot API
not read for this release
SMTP (RFC 5321 / 6409)
not read for this release
NeMedia Morpheus manual (expected file layout)
not read
ANSA RSS page (ansa.it/sito/static/ansa_rss.html)
read 2026-10-08, no version or date on the page
Adnkronos RSS page (adnkronos.com/rss)
read 2026-10-08, no version on the page
Run locally
npm install
npm start # the app
npm test # unit tests (Node 20+)
node dev/e2e-electron.mjs # end-to-end on the real app
npm run dist:mac # or dist:win / dist:linux
Headless mode
src/cli.js runs the same engine, schedules, filters, alerts (Telegram, email) and daily summary without a window or tray (no desktop notifications).
node src/cli.js --settings exported-settings.json --data ./tfb-data # runs until stopped (Ctrl+C)
node src/cli.js --settings exported-settings.json --data ./tfb-data --once # one run, then exit
The installed app can run it without Node.js: ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1 "<app executable>" "<resources>/app.asar/src/cli.js" --settings … --data … (the exact command for this computer is shown in Settings → Headless mode). --once exits with 0 (all feeds fine), 1 (some problem) or 2 (settings unusable). Use the file written by "Export settings"; it contains no secrets, so set TFB_TELEGRAM_TOKEN and TFB_SMTP_PASS in the environment. The file is read again every 30 seconds. On Windows start it with Task Scheduler at startup ("run whether the user is logged on or not"), on Linux with a systemd service, on macOS with launchd. Logs and the remembered state go to the --data folder.
Structure
main.js, preload.cjs — Electron main process and bridge.
src/ — the engine, independent of Electron: engine.js (download → filter → convert → write → check), runtime.js (engine + scheduler + alerts + summary + remembered state, shared by the app and the headless mode), cli.js, feed.js, filters.js, schedule-rules.js, digest.js, text.js, image.js, image-modern.js, output.js, format.js, http.js, scheduler.js, notify.js, messages.js, settings.js, logger.js, updater.js, secrets.js (the one list of every secret) and backup.js (the backup file and its import). updater.js, secrets.js and backup.js start with // garage-common: <name> <version>: they are copies of modules shared by the OnAir Garage apps.
renderer/ — the interface (strict CSP, no inline scripts or styles, no CDN, system fonts).
assets/ — the logo as SVG (logo.svg app icon, tray.svg single-colour menu-bar glyph), the generated icons and the built-in placeholder. node dev/make-icons.mjs regenerates every icon from the two SVGs (needs Playwright with a Chromium; see the top of the script).
dev/ — tests, end-to-end script, icon and placeholder generators.
Profile order: drag the profiles in the left column, use the ▲▼ buttons or Alt + arrow keys, or press A–Z for alphabetical order. The order is saved and the dashboard follows it.
Choosing the stories: per feed, keep only stories with certain words or leave out others (case and accents ignored, title only or title + description), remove same-title duplicates, order newest first; the filters work before the item limit. A profile can leave out a story already used by an earlier feed. Merged feeds put the latest stories of several feeds in one folder (newest first, no duplicates). The test dialog shows the stories exactly as they would be written (file names, title and description lines, image). Not older than: stories older than a limit (hours or days, from the publication date) are left out, a story without a date is kept or left out as you choose; with it on the feed is downloaded at every check, because a story can grow too old while the feed does not change.
Time windows: a profile can be checked only in certain hours and days (e.g. 06:00–24:00), and a window can have its own interval. Outside the windows nothing is checked and the files stay as they are.
Frozen-feed alert: alert when a feed answers but has had no new stories for N hours (per profile or per feed), and again on recovery. Daily summary at chosen times on Telegram and/or email.
File check: after writing, the files are read back (as many title and description lines as stories, every image a real JPEG); a failed check or a file locked by a player counts as a failed feed.
Memory between restarts: what each feed looked like is saved, so after a restart an unchanged feed is not rebuilt and no image is downloaded again.
WebP and AVIF images are converted to JPEG with WebAssembly decoders (can be switched off per profile).
Headless mode (src/cli.js): the same engine without a window, for a server or a machine that must update the ticker after a restart before anyone logs in. See "Headless mode" below.
Alerts: desktop notification, Telegram and/or email (SMTP) when a feed fails N runs in a row, when an output folder disappears, and on recovery. Telegram and email take several recipients; the email goes out as one message with all recipients in Bcc (the sender gets no copy unless it is also a recipient). Passwords, tokens and feed credentials stay on the computer, encrypted with the system keystore when available, and leave it only in a backup you ask for with the box ticked. With an SMTP user name the connection must be encrypted (STARTTLS or TLS). Each channel has a test button. Once for each new release published on GitHub, a notice on the enabled channels (Settings, Updates; can be switched off). Every alert starts with [Ticker Feed Builder · installation name] (Settings, General; default the computer name).
Feed test with preview (nothing is written), live log with daily log files (7 days kept, up to 5 MB each), configuration backup and restore (see below), update check against the public GitHub releases with a download verified against SHA256SUMS.txt, start with the computer, keep-awake option.
Guided update: a banner offers Download and install, Remind me later (24 h) and Skip this version; a progress bar with Cancel; the installer is verified against SHA256SUMS.txt. Close and install is refused while a profile is running, saves a safety copy of the settings first (last 3 kept) and starts the installer (Windows), opens the disk image (macOS) or shows the AppImage (Linux). A What's new window shows once after an update. Nothing installs without a click.
Backup (Settings → Backup): ticker-feed-builder-backup-YYYY-MM-DD.json with profiles, feeds, formats and settings. The box Include passwords and tokens is off by default; ticked, the SMTP password, the Telegram token and feed credentials (user:password@) are written in plain text (red warning) and the file is created with mode 0600. Import replaces everything or adds only the missing profiles, keeps a password already on the computer when the mail server and user are the same, and lists what must be typed again. Alert state, check history, logs and window position are never in a backup.
Text changes (per feed, in Options): replace pieces of text (search → replace with, one per line, plain text, capital letters count), ALL CAPITALS / lowercase / only the first letter capital, a text before and/or after the title (e.g. ANSA – ), own title and description limits. Applied just before the length limits (order: replacements, capital letters, text before / after, length limit with "…" at the end of a word); the test dialog shows the result. Off by default; no regular expressions.
macOS first start: the app is signed ad hoc during the build (no Apple account), so Apple Silicon Macs can open it: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway. If a version older than 26.10.12 says the app is "damaged", run once in Terminal: xattr -cr "/Applications/Ticker Feed Builder.app" && codesign --force --deep -s - "/Applications/Ticker Feed Builder.app".
Help & About (Settings): version, system, licence, credits, links, Copy info for support (version, system, language, installation name, last update check and error; no addresses, passwords or file names) and Open logs folder. Show / hide buttons on the SMTP password, the Telegram token and feed addresses with credentials. The window size and place are remembered.
Languages: English (default, the app always opens in English), Italiano, Español; the choice is remembered. Theme: dark (default), light, or follow the system.
