rssTD

If you’re one of those who have wandered around the internet once or twice, you sure have heard about RSS Feeds and Torrents. And you probably also know that these two can work together to get content downloaded to your computer automatically. Programs who bring these up are usually known as RSS Feed Scanners. Here, I present you my own version called rssTD (RSS Feed Scanner and Torrent Downloader) for Windows.

So, what exactly does it do?

rssTD works with just one or more RSS URLs and one or more Filters that you set. The program will run minimized, checking every few minutes for the content you’ve set to look for, and download the matching torrent files to a directory (that you can specify). This is the basic function of this program, as it relies on a BitTorrent client to pick up the torrent files and do the actual content download. All major BitTorrent clients, like Azureus or uTorrent, have the option to continuously monitor a folder and automatically load every torrent file they find there; so all you have to do is point rssTD to that folder, and the circuit is complete.

But some BitTorrent clients already come with an RSS Feed Scanner

It’s true, and I’ve used them for a while, but sometimes I’ve come across certain inconveniences with them, some bug related, and some even about the very fact that they’re built into the client, so if the client isn’t running, the scanner isn’t either. As an alternative, this standalone RSS Feed Scanner merges simplicity with user settings as comprehensible as possible, with the use of the powerful Regular Expressions to get just the content you want.

What do I need to get started?

To get started, you’ll need:
- A copy of rssTD
- A BitTorrent client (that supports monitoring a folder for new torrents)
- An RSS Feed URL (most torrent indexing sites offer one nowadays)
- A list of your favorite content
- A crash course on Regular Expressions

Once you have everything you need, you can try this quick start flash video, to get you up and running right away.

Where do I get it?
Right here

FAQ

Can I add more than one RSS Feed URL
Yes. You can add several RSS Feed URLs to the list, and have each Filter try to match either all of them, or one specifically, depending on your needs.

Does rssTD support Excluding Filters?
Instead of Excluding Filters, rssTD uses a separate feature called the Deny List. The deny list will be checked as soon as a filter matches, and before the download begins.

Does rssTD support Unicode
rssTD does not currently support Unicode and chances are it will not in the future.

Is the Source Code available?
This project is not currently Open Source, so no code is available for now. I might consider releasing it someday. For now, you can direct all bug reports and feature suggestions to the blog entry here.