Step by Step Guide to Building a Feedly API Integration in Python

Aug 14, 2024 • 5 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow dev! Ready to supercharge your content aggregation game? Let's dive into the world of Feedly API integration using Python. We'll be leveraging the awesome python-feedly package to make our lives easier. Buckle up!

Prerequisites

Before we jump in, make sure you've got:

A Python environment (3.6+ recommended)
A Feedly developer account with an API key (if you don't have one, hop over to Feedly's Developer site and grab it)

Installation

First things first, let's get that python-feedly package installed:

pip install python-feedly

Easy peasy, right?

Authentication

Now, let's set up our client with that shiny API key:

from feedly.client import FeedlyClient

FEEDLY_API_KEY = 'your_api_key_here'
client = FeedlyClient(token=FEEDLY_API_KEY)

Basic Operations

Let's start with some basic operations to get our feet wet:

Fetching User Profile

user = client.get_user_profile()
print(f"Hello, {user.full_name}!")

Retrieving User's Collections

collections = client.get_user_collections()
for collection in collections:
    print(f"Collection: {collection.label}")

Working with Feeds

Now we're cooking! Let's handle some feeds:

Adding a Feed

new_feed = client.add_feed('https://example.com/rss')
print(f"Added feed: {new_feed.title}")

Fetching Entries from a Feed

entries = client.get_feed_content(new_feed.id, max_count=10)
for entry in entries:
    print(f"Entry: {entry.title}")

Marking Entries as Read

client.mark_article_read(entry.id)

Advanced Features

Ready to level up? Let's explore some advanced features:

Searching for Content

search_results = client.search('python', max_count=5)
for result in search_results:
    print(f"Found: {result.title}")

Creating and Managing Boards

new_board = client.create_board('My Awesome Python Board')
client.add_to_board(new_board.id, entry.id)

Tagging Entries

client.tag_entry(entry.id, 'must-read')

Error Handling

Don't let errors catch you off guard. Here's a quick way to handle common issues:

from feedly.exceptions import FeedlyException

try:
    # Your Feedly API calls here
except FeedlyException as e:
    print(f"Oops! Something went wrong: {str(e)}")

Best Practices

Respect rate limits: Feedly's got 'em, so don't go too crazy with requests.
Batch operations when possible: It's more efficient and your API will thank you.
Cache responses when appropriate: No need to hit the API for data that rarely changes.

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now armed with the knowledge to build a robust Feedly API integration. Remember, this is just scratching the surface – there's so much more you can do. Keep exploring, keep coding, and most importantly, have fun with it!

Resources

Now go forth and aggregate content like a boss! 🚀