Quick Start
Get started with Current and have your first sources flowing in minutes.
Step 1: Download Current
Current is available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Download it and open the app to begin.
Step 2: Add Your First Sources
On first launch, you have several options for adding sources:
Option A: Start with Recommendations
Current offers a curated set of starter sources across categories like Technology, Culture, and News. These are hand-picked to demonstrate the app's philosophy: high-quality, thoughtfully written content.
Option B: Add Sources Manually
- Tap the Sources button in Settings
- Tap the + button to add a new source
- Enter the URL of any website or blog. Current will automatically find the RSS feed
- Tap Subscribe to add it to your river
Option C: Import from Another Reader
If you're coming from another RSS reader, you can import your subscriptions via OPML:
- Export an OPML file from your current reader
- In Current, go to Settings → Sources → Import OPML
- Select your OPML file
- All your sources will be imported
Option D: Connect a Sync Service
Current supports syncing with popular RSS services. If you use one of these, your sources will sync automatically:
- Feedbin
- Newsblur
- Inoreader
- FreshRSS (self-hosted)
- The Old Reader
- Miniflux (self-hosted)
- Any Google Reader-compatible service
See Sync Services for setup instructions.
Step 3: Explore the River
Once you have sources, articles will begin flowing into your river.
Basic Navigation
- Scroll to browse articles
- Tap any article to read it
- Swipe back (or tap the back button) to return to the river
The Waterline
The subtle blue line in your river is the waterline. It shows where new content begins. Everything above the line arrived since you last checked.
Step 4: Learn the Gestures
Current is designed around intuitive gestures:
Swipe Actions
Swipe left or right on articles for quick actions like release, save, share, or mark read. All four swipe actions are configurable in Settings.
Step 5: Customize Your Experience
Current offers several ways to tailor the reading experience:
- Themes: Choose from nine color palettes: Bright, Paper, Ocean, Dusk, Ember, Midnight, Slate, Terminal, or Solarized
- Font Scale: Adjust reading text size from 0.8x to 1.4x
Visit Settings to explore all customization options, or see the Themes documentation for details.
Step 6: Keyboard Shortcuts (iPad & Mac)
If you are using an iPad with an external keyboard or a Mac, Current is fully keyboard-navigable:
- j / k: Move between articles
- Return: Open the selected article
- s: Save or unsave
- r: Release
- o: Open in browser
On macOS, you also get Sift Mode (⌘T) for two-column triage and a Command Palette (⌘K) for quick actions. See Keyboard Shortcuts for the full reference.
You're Ready!
That's the basics. As you use Current, you'll discover more features like Currents (smart collections) and Voices (following writers). But for now, just enjoy the flow.