How to Install Miniflux (Minimal RSS Reader) on Ubuntu 24.04

Miniflux (Minimal RSS Reader) on Ubuntu 24.04 (PostgreSQL + Nginx + SSL)

Miniflux is a fast, lightweight, and opinionated self-hosted RSS reader designed for users who want a distraction-free reading experience. Unlike feature-heavy feed aggregators, Miniflux focuses on speed, reliability, and simplicity, providing a clean web interface, powerful filtering rules, and first-class keyboard navigation. It supports RSS, Atom, and JSON feeds and exposes a REST API compatible with multiple mobile and desktop clients.

Running Miniflux on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) provides a modern, secure, and long-term supported platform. Ubuntu 24.04 includes systemd 255, OpenSSL 3, and up-to-date PostgreSQL and Nginx packages, making it an excellent choice for a production-ready Miniflux deployment with HTTPS and strong performance.

Architecture Overview

Layer	Component	Role
OS	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	Stable, long-term supported Linux base
Application	Miniflux (Go binary)	Core RSS reader and feed processing engine
Database	PostgreSQL 15/16	Stores users, feeds, entries, and metadata
Reverse Proxy	Nginx	HTTPS termination, compression, routing
TLS	Let’s Encrypt / PKI	Secure HTTPS access to the web interface

Miniflux runs as a single static Go binary, making it extremely efficient and easy to operate.

Why Use Miniflux?

Minimalist by design – no ads, no tracking, no unnecessary UI elements
Extremely fast – written in Go, optimized for low resource usage
Self-hosted & private – your reading habits stay on your server
Powerful filtering rules – auto-tag, auto-remove, or rewrite feed content
Keyboard-driven workflow – ideal for power users
REST API – compatible with mobile apps and third-party clients
Reliable feed fetching – handles flaky or malformed feeds gracefully

Miniflux vs Other RSS Readers

Feature / Capability	Miniflux	FreshRSS	Tiny Tiny RSS	Feedly
Hosting	Self-hosted	Self-hosted	Self-hosted	Cloud only
Backend	Go + PostgreSQL	PHP + MySQL	PHP + PostgreSQL	Proprietary
Resource usage	Very low	Medium	Medium–High	N/A
Ads / tracking	❌ None	❌ None	❌ None	✅ Yes
API support	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Limited
Philosophy	Minimal & fast	Feature-rich	Feature-rich	SaaS

Miniflux is ideal for users who value speed, clarity, and reliability over visual clutter and social features.

Security & Best Practices

Run Miniflux behind Nginx with HTTPS enabled.
Store database credentials using environment variables, not hardcoded values.
Bind Miniflux to 127.0.0.1 and expose only Nginx publicly.
Use strong admin credentials and rotate API tokens periodically.
Keep PostgreSQL vacuuming and backups scheduled.
Enable UFW and allow only ports 80 and 443.
Automate SSL renewals with Certbot.
Regularly update Miniflux to benefit from security and feed parser improvements.

Typical Use Cases

Personal RSS reader replacing Google Reader or Feedly
Developers and DevOps engineers tracking blogs, changelogs, and security advisories
Journalists and researchers monitoring multiple news sources
Privacy-focused users avoiding cloud-based feed readers
Automation workflows consuming feeds via Miniflux API

Deploying Miniflux on Ubuntu 24.04 with PostgreSQL, Nginx, and SSL gives you a fast, secure, and distraction-free RSS reading platform that scales effortlessly, consumes minimal resources, and keeps full control of your data in your hands.

Create a Cloud Server Instance on Shape.Host

Before installing Miniflux, you need a clean Ubuntu 24.04 VPS.

Go to https://shape.host and log in.

Click Create.

Select Instance.

Choose a data center close to your location or users.

Shape.host instance form with the data center location selector highlighted.

Select Ubuntu 24.04 (64-bit) as the operating system.

Choose a plan (recommended minimum):

2 vCPUs

4 GB RAM

20 GB NVMe SSD

Shape.host instance form with the operating system image selector highlighted.

Click Create Instance.

Wait for provisioning to complete (about 30 seconds).

Shape.host instance form with the Create Instance button highlighted.

Copy the public IP address of the instance.

Your server is now ready.

Shape.host Resources dashboard with the server IP address highlighted.

Step 1: Connect to the Server via SSH

Linux / macOS

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Windows (PowerShell or Windows Terminal)

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Confirm the fingerprint when prompted. You are now logged in as root.

Step 2: Update the System

apt update
apt upgrade

These commands update package lists and upgrade installed software to the latest versions.
Running them twice ensures the system is fully synchronized.

Terminal showing APT package management commands and output.

Step 3: Install Required Packages

apt install curl wget ca-certificates gnupg2 lsb-release unzip nginx postgresql postgresql-contrib

This installs:

curl / wget – download tools
ca-certificates / gnupg2 – secure package verification
nginx – web server / reverse proxy
postgresql – database engine required by Miniflux

Step 4: Verify PostgreSQL Installation

psql --version

Confirms PostgreSQL is installed correctly.

Terminal displaying the PostgreSQL client version.

Step 5: Create the Miniflux Database and User

Switch to the PostgreSQL system user:

su - postgres

Inside PostgreSQL, run:

CREATE DATABASE miniflux;
CREATE USER miniflux WITH PASSWORD 'STRONG_DB_PASSWORD';
ALTER DATABASE miniflux OWNER TO miniflux;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE miniflux TO miniflux;
\q

Exit the PostgreSQL shell and user:

exit

This creates a dedicated database and user for Miniflux.

Terminal showing SQL database and user configuration commands.

Step 6: Download the Miniflux Binary

cd /usr/local/bin
wget https://github.com/miniflux/v2/releases/latest/download/miniflux-linux-amd64

Step 7: Make Miniflux Executable

chmod +x miniflux-linux-amd64
mv miniflux-linux-amd64 miniflux

Moves Miniflux into your system PATH.

Terminal showing file download commands and transfer output.

Step 8: Verify Miniflux Installation

miniflux -version

Confirms Miniflux runs correctly.

Terminal displaying the Miniflux version.

Step 9: Create Miniflux Configuration Directory

mkdir /etc/miniflux

Step 10: Create Miniflux Configuration File

nano /etc/miniflux/miniflux.conf

Paste your configuration exactly as in history:

DATABASE_URL=postgres://miniflux:STRONG_DB_PASSWORD@localhost/miniflux?sslmode=disable
LISTEN_ADDR=127.0.0.1:8080

# MUST MATCH NGINX DOMAIN
BASE_URL=https://rss.example.com

RUN_MIGRATIONS=1
CREATE_ADMIN=1
ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
ADMIN_PASSWORD=STRONG_ADMIN_PASSWORD

Save and exit.

Terminal showing application configuration fields.

Step 11: Set Secure Permissions

chown -R miniflux:miniflux /etc/miniflux
chmod 600 /etc/miniflux/miniflux.conf

Restricts access to sensitive credentials.

Step 12: Create Miniflux System User

useradd -r -s /usr/sbin/nologin miniflux
id miniflux

Creates a dedicated system user for security.

Step 13: Reapply Ownership

chown -R miniflux:miniflux /etc/miniflux

Terminal showing Linux user account management commands.

Step 14: Create systemd Service

nano /etc/systemd/system/miniflux.service

Paste:

[Unit]
Description=Miniflux RSS Reader
After=network.target postgresql.service

[Service]
User=miniflux
Group=miniflux
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/miniflux -config-file /etc/miniflux/miniflux.conf
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
LimitNOFILE=65536

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Terminal showing a systemd service unit configuration.

Step 15: Start Miniflux

systemctl start miniflux
systemctl status miniflux

Step 16: Manual Test as Miniflux User

su -s /bin/sh miniflux -c "miniflux -config-file /etc/miniflux/miniflux.conf"

Used to validate configuration.

Terminal showing su commands or output during Manual Test as Miniflux User.

Step 17: Reload systemd and Recheck

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl status miniflux

Terminal showing systemd service management commands or output.

Step 18: Test Miniflux from Browser (Before Nginx)

Open your browser and visit:

http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8080

If Miniflux is running correctly, the login page should load.

Step 19: Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/miniflux

Paste:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name rss.example.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Terminal showing web server configuration text.

Step 20: Enable Nginx Site

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/miniflux /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/miniflux
rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

Step 21: Test and Reload Nginx

nginx -t
systemctl reload nginx

Step 22: Install Certbot and Enable SSL

apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
certbot --nginx -d ubuntu-tutorials.shape.host

Certbot automatically configures HTTPS.

Terminal showing Certbot certificate commands and messages.

Access Miniflux Securely

https://yourdomain.com

Your Miniflux RSS reader is now fully installed and secured.

Miniflux unread items page with an empty feed list.

Miniflux, Ghostfolio, NocoDB, HedgeDoc, Paperless-ngx, and similar self-hosted apps require fast and stable infrastructure.

Shape.Host offers:

NVMe Cloud VPS
Instant provisioning
Clean OS templates
Excellent uptime
Scalable resources

Visit https://shape.host to deploy your next application with confidence.