A spinner on the feed being checked, not toasts; check only your own feeds

The scan's events reach everyone, so every browser showed "<feed>: N new" and
"Scanning…" toasts, and refreshed, for everyone's feeds. Now a feed's row, and
its folder's, carries a spinner between feed_start and its done, skip or error;
the list refreshes only for the reader's own feeds; the scan toasts are gone, and
"Downloaded" is said only for a file on screen.

"Check every feed" from the web UI sent a scan of every feed on the server.
Command::Fetch takes an optional `feeds` list -- those feeds and the feeds
inside any OPML among them -- and the web fills it with the asker's
subscriptions. The schedule and the CLI send none, meaning every feed.

Closes #37.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,13 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Changed
+
+- A feed being checked shows a small spinner at the end of its row (and its folder's), instead of
+  toasts: no more "Scanning…" or "1 new" pop-ups, and none at all for feeds you do not read. A
+  "Downloaded" toast is only for a file on your screen.
+- "Check every feed" checks every feed you subscribe to, not every feed on the server.
+
 ## [0.8.0] - 2026-09-18
 
 ### Added

src/ipc.rs

@@ -88,6 +88,11 @@ pub enum Command {
         feed: Option<String>,
         #[serde(default)]
         force: bool,
+        /// Only these feeds, and the feeds inside any of them that is an OPML: "check every feed"
+        /// from the web UI is every feed of the person asking, not of everyone (issue #37).
+        /// Empty is every feed, as the schedule and the CLI mean it.
+        #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Vec::is_empty")]
+        feeds: Vec<String>,
     },
     Reap {
         #[serde(default)]
@@ -301,10 +306,10 @@ mod tests {
     #[test]
     fn commands_parse_from_the_wire_form() {
         let got: Command = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"cmd":"fetch"}"#).unwrap();
-        assert!(matches!(got, Command::Fetch { feed: None, force: false }));
+        assert!(matches!(got, Command::Fetch { feed: None, force: false, .. }));
 
         let got: Command = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"cmd":"fetch","feed":"atp","force":true}"#).unwrap();
-        assert!(matches!(got, Command::Fetch { feed: Some(f), force: true } if f == "atp"));
+        assert!(matches!(got, Command::Fetch { feed: Some(f), force: true, .. } if f == "atp"));
 
         let got: Command = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"cmd":"reap","dry_run":true}"#).unwrap();
         assert!(matches!(got, Command::Reap { dry_run: true }));

src/main.rs

@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
     // A daemon owns the state; don't have two processes downloading the same thing.
     let wire_cmd = match &cli.command {
         Command::Fetch { feed, force } => {
-            Some(Cmd::Fetch { feed: feed.clone(), force: *force })
+            Some(Cmd::Fetch { feed: feed.clone(), force: *force, feeds: vec![] })
         }
         Command::Reap { dry_run } => Some(Cmd::Reap { dry_run: *dry_run }),
         Command::Status => Some(Cmd::Status),
@@ -354,10 +354,10 @@ async fn user_cmd(ctx: &Arc<Ctx>, cmd: UserCmd) -> Result<()> {
 
 async fn run(ctx: &Arc<Ctx>, cmd: Cmd) -> Result<()> {
     match cmd {
-        Cmd::Fetch { feed, force } => {
+        Cmd::Fetch { feed, force, feeds } => {
             // Make room before pulling more down, as the original did per download.
             reap(ctx, false, false).await?;
-            fetch(ctx, feed.as_deref(), force).await
+            fetch(ctx, feed.as_deref(), force, &feeds).await
         }
         Cmd::Reap { dry_run } => reap(ctx, dry_run, true).await,
         Cmd::Download { enclosure } => download_one(ctx, enclosure).await,
@@ -510,7 +510,7 @@ async fn daemon(
             }
             _ = ticker.tick() => {
                 // Per-feed schedule and TTL decide what actually gets polled.
-                let job = run(&ctx, Cmd::Fetch { feed: None, force: false });
+                let job = run(&ctx, Cmd::Fetch { feed: None, force: false, feeds: vec![] });
                 if !until_stopped(&ctx, &rx_stop, job).await {
                     break;
                 }
@@ -892,7 +892,8 @@ async fn reap(ctx: &Ctx, dry_run: bool, standalone: bool) -> Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
-async fn fetch(ctx: &Arc<Ctx>, only: Option<&str>, force: bool) -> Result<()> {
+/// `scope`, when not empty, narrows the scan to those feeds and the feeds inside any of them.
+async fn fetch(ctx: &Arc<Ctx>, only: Option<&str>, force: bool, scope: &[String]) -> Result<()> {
     let cfg = ctx.cfg();
     let subs = subscriptions(ctx).await?;
     if let Some(id) = only
@@ -903,7 +904,10 @@ async fn fetch(ctx: &Arc<Ctx>, only: Option<&str>, force: bool) -> Result<()> {
 
     let mut scanned = 0;
     let mut fresh: Vec<String> = vec![];
-    for sub in subs.iter().filter(|s| only.is_none_or(|o| o == s.id)) {
+    let in_scope = |s: &Sub| {
+        scope.is_empty() || scope.contains(&s.id) || s.cfg.group.as_ref().is_some_and(|g| scope.contains(g))
+    };
+    for sub in subs.iter().filter(|s| only.is_none_or(|o| o == s.id) && in_scope(s)) {
         let (id, feed_cfg) = (&sub.id, &sub.cfg);
         let state = ctx.db.http_state(id).await?;
 

src/web.rs

@@ -1239,7 +1239,7 @@ async fn add_feed(
 /// succeeded either way, so a daemon not taking commands is only logged.
 async fn scan_soon(state: &WebState, feed: Option<String>) {
     let force = feed.is_some();
-    if state.cmds.send(Command::Fetch { feed, force }).await.is_err() {
+    if state.cmds.send(Command::Fetch { feed, force, feeds: vec![] }).await.is_err() {
         tracing::warn!("could not queue a scan: the daemon is not accepting commands");
     }
 }
@@ -1527,11 +1527,21 @@ struct FetchBody {
 
 async fn fetch_now(
     State(state): State<WebState>,
+    user: crate::db::User,
     Json(body): Json<FetchBody>,
 ) -> Result<StatusCode, ApiError> {
+    // "Check every feed" is every feed this person reads, not everyone's (issue #37).
+    let feeds = if body.feed.is_some() {
+        vec![]
+    } else {
+        state.ctx.db.subscriptions_for(user.id).await?.into_iter().map(|s| s.feed_id).collect()
+    };
+    if body.feed.is_none() && feeds.is_empty() {
+        return Ok(StatusCode::ACCEPTED); // nothing of theirs to check; an empty list would mean all
+    }
     state
         .cmds
-        .send(Command::Fetch { feed: body.feed, force: body.force })
+        .send(Command::Fetch { feed: body.feed, force: body.force, feeds })
         .await
         .map_err(|_| anyhow::anyhow!("the daemon is not accepting commands"))?;
     Ok(StatusCode::ACCEPTED)

tests/ui/app.spec.js

@@ -1299,3 +1299,43 @@ test('a pinned feed, even one from inside a folder, goes to the top of the list'
   await expect(page.locator('.feed.pinned')).toHaveCount(0);
   await expect(page.locator('.feed.child', { hasText: name })).toHaveCount(1);
 });
+
+test('a feed being checked shows a spinner on its row, and no toast', async ({ page }) => {
+  const row = page.locator('#feedlist .feed', { hasText: 'Test Show' });
+  await expect(row).toBeVisible();
+  await page.evaluate(() => setScanning('test-show', true));
+  await expect(row).toHaveClass(/\bscanning\b/);
+  await page.evaluate(() => setScanning('test-show', false));
+  await expect(row).not.toHaveClass(/\bscanning\b/);
+  // Checking every feed says so on the rows, not in a toast (issue #37).
+  await page.locator('#scanAll').click();
+  await page.waitForTimeout(1500);
+  await expect(page.locator('.toast', { hasText: /Scanning|Checking| new/ })).toHaveCount(0);
+});
+
+test('"check every feed" checks only the feeds of the person asking', async ({ browser }) => {
+  // piper, made in an earlier test, subscribes to Test Show alone.
+  const ctx = await browser.newContext();
+  const piper = await ctx.newPage();
+  await piper.goto('/login');
+  await piper.locator('#name').fill('piper');
+  await piper.locator('#pw').fill('piperpassword');
+  await piper.locator('button[type=submit]').click();
+  await expect(piper.locator('#feedlist .feed', { hasText: 'Test Show' })).toBeVisible({ timeout: 20_000 });
+  const mine = await piper.evaluate(() => S.feeds.map(f => f.id));
+  // Listen as the page does, then ask.
+  await piper.evaluate(() => {
+    window.started = []; window.done = false;
+    const es = new EventSource('/api/events');
+    es.onmessage = m => { const ev = JSON.parse(m.data);
+      if (ev.ev === 'feed_start') window.started.push(ev.feed);
+      if (ev.ev === 'scan_done') window.done = true; };
+  });
+  await piper.waitForTimeout(500);
+  await piper.locator('#scanAll').click();
+  await expect.poll(() => piper.evaluate(() => window.done), { timeout: 30_000 }).toBe(true);
+  const started = await piper.evaluate(() => window.started);
+  expect(started.length, 'something was checked').toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  for (const id of started) expect(mine, `${id} is not one of piper's feeds`).toContain(id);
+  await ctx.close();
+});

web/app.css

@@ -368,6 +368,12 @@ input:focus,select:focus{outline:0;border-color:var(--accent)}
 }
 .chev:hover{color:var(--fg)}
 .chev.bad,.chev.bad:hover{color:var(--bad)}
+/* A feed being checked: a small spinner at the row's end, after its count (issue #37). */
+.feed.scanning::after{
+  content:"";flex:none;width:12px;height:12px;border-radius:50%;
+  border:2px solid var(--line);border-top-color:var(--accent);animation:ipxspin .8s linear infinite;
+}
+@keyframes ipxspin{to{transform:rotate(360deg)}}
 /* A feed's error mark, in the triangle's place: the same column as every folder's triangle,
    a child's included, which is why it moves left by the child's indent. */
 .ferr{position:absolute;left:-16px;top:0;bottom:0;width:24px;display:grid;place-items:center;color:var(--bad)}

web/src/dialogs.ts

@@ -371,7 +371,8 @@ function opmlModal(){
   };
 }
 
-async function scanAll(){ toast('Scanning all feeds…'); await api('/api/fetch',{method:'POST',body:JSON.stringify({force:true})}); }
+// No toast: the spinners on the rows being checked say it (issue #37).
+async function scanAll(){ await api('/api/fetch',{method:'POST',body:JSON.stringify({force:true})}); }
 $('#scanAll').onclick=scanAll;
 $('#prefs').onclick=prefsModal;
 // Someone the proxy signed in is signed out by the proxy: ipx's own sign-out cannot stick while

web/src/events.ts

@@ -5,12 +5,8 @@ function connect(){
   const soon=(fn,ms=500)=>{ let t; return ()=>{ clearTimeout(t); t=setTimeout(fn,ms); }; };
   const refreshFeeds=soon(()=>loadFeeds(true));
   const refreshEntries=soon(()=>{ if(S.feed) loadEntries(); });
-  let fresh={};
+  // Every scan's events reach everyone; only this person's feeds are theirs to show or refresh.
-  const tellNew=soon(()=>{
+  const mine=id=>S.feeds.some(f=>f.id===id);
-    const feeds=Object.keys(fresh), n=feeds.reduce((a,k)=>a+fresh[k],0);
-    if(n) toast(feeds.length===1 ? `${feeds[0]}: ${n} new` : `${n} new in ${feeds.length} feeds`);
-    fresh={};
-  },900);
   sse.onmessage=m=>{
     let ev; try{ ev=JSON.parse(m.data) }catch{ return }
     if(ev.ev==='progress'){
@@ -23,22 +19,28 @@ function connect(){
     }
     else if(ev.ev==='download_done'){
       const bar=document.querySelector(`.dlbar[data-bar="${ev.enclosure}"]`);
-      if(bar) bar.classList.remove('live');
+      // Said only for a file on screen, as one downloaded by hand is: the scheduled downloads of
-      toast('Downloaded '+ev.path.split('/').pop()); refreshEntries(); refreshFeeds();
+      // everyone's feeds used to announce themselves to everyone.
+      if(bar){ bar.classList.remove('live'); toast('Downloaded '+ev.path.split('/').pop()); }
+      refreshEntries(); refreshFeeds();
     }
     else if(ev.ev==='download_error'){
       const bar=document.querySelector(`.dlbar[data-bar="${ev.enclosure}"]`);
       if(bar) bar.classList.remove('live');
       toast('Download failed: '+ev.msg,true); refreshEntries();
     }
+    // A spinner on the feed's row while it is checked, in place of a toast per feed (issue #37).
+    else if(ev.ev==='feed_start') setScanning(ev.feed,true);
+    else if(ev.ev==='feed_skip') setScanning(ev.feed,false);
     else if(ev.ev==='feed_done'){
-      if(ev.new){ fresh[ev.feed]=(fresh[ev.feed]||0)+ev.new; tellNew(); }
+      setScanning(ev.feed,false);
+      if(!mine(ev.feed)) return;
       refreshFeeds(); if(ev.feed===S.feed||S.feed===':all') refreshEntries();
     }
     // No toast: a scan of every feed raised one per failure, to everyone. The feed list's
     // red ! marks the feed instead, and its page says why.
-    else if(ev.ev==='feed_error') refreshFeeds();
+    else if(ev.ev==='feed_error'){ setScanning(ev.feed,false); if(mine(ev.feed)) refreshFeeds(); }
-    else if(ev.ev==='scan_done'){ refreshFeeds(); refreshEntries(); }
+    else if(ev.ev==='scan_done'){ scanning.clear(); paintScanning(); refreshFeeds(); refreshEntries(); }
   };
   sse.onerror=()=>{ sse.close(); setTimeout(connect,4000); };
 }

web/src/feedpage.ts

@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ function renderGroup(f,kids){
 }
 
 async function feedAction(a,f){
-  if(a==='scan'){ toast('Scanning '+(f.title||f.id)+'…'); await api('/api/fetch',{method:'POST',body:JSON.stringify({feed:f.id,force:true})}); }
+  if(a==='scan'){ await api('/api/fetch',{method:'POST',body:JSON.stringify({feed:f.id,force:true})}); }
   if(a==='read'){ const r=await api(`/api/feeds/${encodeURIComponent(f.id)}/read-all`,{method:'POST'}); toast(`Marked ${r.marked} read`); await loadFeeds(true); renderFeed(); loadEntries(); }
   if(a==='rm') removeFeed(f);
   if(a==='pin'){

web/src/feeds.ts

@@ -25,6 +25,22 @@ const VIEWS={
     blurb:'Episodes you started and have not finished, across every feed you subscribe to. Pick one up where you left off.'},
   ':all':{title:'All Subscriptions',icon:ICON.all},
 };
+/// Feeds being checked right now, from the event stream: their rows, and the row of a folder
+/// holding one, carry a spinner.
+const scanning=new Set<string>();
+function setScanning(id: string, on: boolean){
+  if(on) scanning.add(id); else scanning.delete(id);
+  paintScanning();
+}
+function paintScanning(){
+  for(const row of $$('#feedlist .feed')){
+    const id=row.dataset.id;
+    const on=scanning.has(id)||S.feeds.some(c=>c.group===id&&scanning.has(c.id));
+    row.classList.toggle('scanning',on);
+    if(on) row.title='Checking for new items…'; else row.removeAttribute('title');
+  }
+}
+
 function renderFeeds(){
   const q=$('#feedFilter').value.trim().toLowerCase();
   const list=$('#feedlist'); const top=list.scrollTop;
@@ -104,6 +120,7 @@ function renderFeeds(){
     if(kids) $('.chev',el).onclick=ev=>{ ev.stopPropagation(); toggleGroup(f.id); };
     list.appendChild(el);
   }
+  paintScanning();
   done();
 }
 function selectFeed(id){

web/src/gestures.ts

@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ function pullShow(dy: number){
 function refreshFeed(){
   const f = S.feeds.find(x => x.id === S.feed);
   if(!f && S.feed !== ':all') return;
-  toast(f ? `Checking ${f.title || f.id} for new items…` : 'Checking every feed for new items…');
   // New items arrive by the event stream when the scan finishes, as they do for a button press.
   api('/api/fetch', {method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify(f ? {feed: f.id, force: true} : {force: true})})
     .catch(e => toast(e.message, true));