This is a text-only version of the following page on https://raymii.org:
---
Title       :   totext.py - Convert URL or RSS feed to text with readability
Author      :   Remy van Elst
Date        :   18-04-2019
URL         :   https://raymii.org/s/software/totext.py-Convert_URL_or_RSS_feed_to_plaintext_with_readability.html
Format      :   Markdown/HTML
---



Love plaintext? This script downloads an URL, parses it with readability and
returns the plaintext (as markdown). It supports RSS feeds (will convert every
article in the feed) and saves every article.

My usecase is twofold. One is to convert RSS feeds to a [Gopher site][1], the
second is to get full text in my RSS reader.

The script contains a few workarounds for so-called cookiewalls. It also pauses
between RSS feed articles to not do excessive requests.

The readability part is handled by Python, no external services are used.

<p class="ad"> <b>Recently I removed all Google Ads from this site due to their invasive tracking, as well as Google Analytics. Please, if you found this content useful, consider a small donation using any of the options below:</b><br><br> <a href="https://leafnode.nl">I'm developing an open source monitoring app called  Leaf Node Monitoring, for windows, linux & android. Go check it out!</a><br><br> <a href="https://github.com/sponsors/RaymiiOrg/">Consider sponsoring me on Github. It means the world to me if you show your appreciation and you'll help pay the server costs.</a><br><br> <a href="https://www.digitalocean.com/?refcode=7435ae6b8212">You can also sponsor me by getting a Digital Ocean VPS. With this referral link you'll get $100 credit for 60 days. </a><br><br> </p>


Here's an example of a news article. On the left, the text-only parsed version,
on the right, the webpage:

![][3]

[Github repo with source code][4]

## Installation

First install the required libraries.

On Ubuntu:



   apt-get install python python-pip #python2
   pip install html2text requests readability-lxml feedparser


Other distro's, use the `pip` command above.

Clone the repository:



   git clone https://github.com/RaymiiOrg/to-text.py


## Usage



   usage: totext.py [-h] -u URL [-s SLEEP] [-r] [-n]

   Convert HTML page to text using readability and html2text.

   arguments:
     -h, --help            show this help message and exit
     -u URL, --url URL     URL to convert (Required)
     -s SLEEP, --sleep SLEEP
                           Sleep X seconds between URLs (only in rss)
     -r, --rss             URL is RSS feed. Parse every item in feed
     -n, --noprint         Dont print converted contents


If you want to run the script via a cronjob, use the `-n` option to not have
output.

If the parsing failed, the article will contain the text: `parsing failed`.

## Examples



   python totext.py --rss --url https://raymii.org/s/feed.xml
   python totext.py --url https://www.rd.nl/vandaag/binnenland/grootste-stijging-verkeersdoden-in-jaren-1.1562067


## Saved text

Every file converted will also be saved to the folder `saved/$hostname`. The
filenames are sorted by date.

## License

GNU GPLv2.

  [1]: https://raymii.org/s/blog/Site_updates_raymii.org_now_on_gopher.html
  [2]: https://www.digitalocean.com/?refcode=7435ae6b8212
  [3]: https://raymii.org/s/inc/img/txtnws.png
  [4]: https://github.com/RaymiiOrg/to-text.py

---

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