Exa RSS Feed

A cross-platform mobile application that creates a curated RSS feed using the Exa AI API. Built with React Native and Expo for iOS and web deployment.

Features

• Topic Management: Add, edit, and manage topics of interest
• Real-time Updates: Automatic fetching of new articles based on your topics
• Smart Notifications: Configurable notification settings with quiet hours
• User Profiles: Manage personal information and preferences
• Cross-platform: Runs on both iOS and web
• Offline Support: Articles are cached locally for offline reading
• AI-powered Search: Uses Exa AI's semantic search capabilities
• No Setup Required: Works immediately without API key configuration

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• Expo CLI (npm install -g @expo/cli)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/gautamsirdeshmukh/exa-rss-prototype.git
cd exa-rss-feed

2. Configure your Exa API key (Required):

   • Open src/services/ExaApiService.ts
   • Replace 'your-company-exa-api-key-here' on line 5 with your actual Exa AI API key
   • Save the file

3. Install dependencies:

npm install --legacy-peer-deps

4. Start the development server:

npm start

Running the App

• Web: Press w in the terminal or visit http://localhost:19006
• iOS: Press i in the terminal (requires Xcode)
• Android: Press a in the terminal (requires Android Studio)

User Guide

1. Getting Started:

   • The app launches with all features immediately available
   • No API key setup required from users

2. Set Up Your Profile:

   • Go to Settings tab
   • Enter your email, username, and name
   • Configure notification preferences

3. Add Topics:

   • Navigate to the Topics tab
   • Tap "Add Topic" to create new topics
   • Enter a topic name and search query (e.g., "AI Technology" with query "latest AI breakthroughs")
   • Toggle notifications as needed

4. Browse Articles:

   • Go to Feed tab
   • Pull down to refresh and fetch new articles
   • Tap articles to read them in your browser

Project Structure

src/
├── components/          # Reusable UI components
├── screens/            # Main app screens
│   ├── FeedScreen.tsx   # Article feed display
│   ├── TopicsScreen.tsx # Topic management
│   └── SettingsScreen.tsx # User profile & app settings
├── services/           # API and utility services
│   ├── ExaApiService.ts    # Exa AI API integration
│   ├── StorageService.ts   # Local data persistence
│   └── NotificationService.ts # Background notifications
├── types/              # TypeScript type definitions
└── utils/              # Utility functions

Key Features Explained

Topic Management

• Create topics with custom search queries
• Enable/disable topics individually
• Configure per-topic notification settings
• Topics are automatically synced in the background

Smart Notifications

• Background fetch for new articles
• Configurable notification frequency (immediate, hourly, daily)
• Quiet hours support
• Rich notifications with article counts

Article Feed

• Chronological display of articles
• Topic-based categorization
• Pull-to-refresh functionality
• Mark articles as read
• Direct links to original sources

User Profile Management

• Personal information storage
• Email and username management
• Local data persistence
• Cache size monitoring

API Integration

The app uses the Exa AI API for intelligent content discovery:

• Neural Search: Semantic search for more relevant results
• Content Extraction: Automatic article summarization from full text
• Time-based Filtering: Fetch only recent articles
• Company API Key Model: Uses a single company API key for all users

Storage and Privacy

• All data is stored locally on the device using AsyncStorage
• User profiles and preferences are kept private
• No external database required
• Users can clear all data at any time
• Cache management tools available in Settings

Development

Company API Key Model

This app is designed to use a single company Exa API key rather than requiring users to provide their own keys. This approach:

• Simplifies onboarding: Users can start using the app immediately
• Enables usage tracking: Monitor API usage across all users
• Supports billing models: Implement tiered pricing based on usage
• Improves security: API keys are never exposed to users

Building for Production

Web Build

npx expo build:web

iOS Build

npx expo build:ios

Environment Variables

For production deployments, consider using environment variables for the API key:

const COMPANY_EXA_API_KEY = process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_EXA_API_KEY || 'fallback-key';

Usage Analytics

The app is structured to support usage analytics and billing:

• User identification through profile system
• Local storage for offline functionality
• Ready for backend integration
• Scalable architecture for multi-tenant usage

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly on both web and iOS
5. Submit a pull request

Deployment Considerations

• API Key Security: Store production API keys securely
• Rate Limiting: Monitor Exa API usage to avoid limits
• User Management: Consider adding authentication for production
• Analytics: Implement usage tracking for business insights

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Support

For issues and feature requests, please create an issue in the GitHub repository.

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Note: Remember to replace the placeholder API key in src/services/ExaApiService.ts with your actual Exa AI API key before running the application.