Pipeline Modes
The plugin offers two pipeline architectures, plus a standalone RSS option. Choose based on your needs:
Agentic Mode
A single AI provider handles both web search and summarization. Simple setup — just 1 API key.
Modular Mode
Separate retriever (Google Search or RSS) + summarizer (Gemini, GPT, Claude, Grok, or OpenRouter). More control, mix & match.
Agentic vs Modular
| Agentic | Modular (Search + Summarize) | |
|---|---|---|
| API Keys | 1 key | 2-3 keys |
| Setup | Simple | More involved |
| Search Control | AI decides | 5 parallel strategies, AI judge, quality filtering |
| Cost | Paid per request | Free option available (Gemini Agentic Search) |
| Best For | Quick setup, good quality | Power users, cost-conscious, maximum control |
Agentic Providers
Each provider handles web search + summarization in one call:
| Provider | Model | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini FREE | gemini-2.5-flash |
Google Search grounding, free tier available |
| Perplexity Paid | sonar |
Speed & real-time web search |
| OpenAI GPT Paid | gpt-5-search-api |
High-quality summaries with web search |
| Anthropic Claude Paid | claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929 |
Deep analysis & reasoning |
| Grok (xAI) Paid | grok-4-fast |
X/Twitter data & fast processing |
| OpenRouter Paid | 5 models available | Model flexibility via unified API |
Modular Mode (Search + Summarize)
In modular mode, you independently choose a news retriever and an AI summarizer. This gives you maximum control over how news is fetched and processed.
AI Filtering & Ranking] C -->|RSS Feeds| E[Fetch & Filter
by Topic Keywords] D --> F[AI Summarizer] E --> G[Final Note
no AI needed] F --> G style A fill:#a855f7,stroke:#d8b4fe,color:#fff style G fill:#22c55e,stroke:#86efac,color:#fff
News Retrievers
The retriever fetches raw news. You pick one:
Google Custom Search
Searches the web using 5 parallel strategies (optimized, specific, broad, recent, simple). Results are deduplicated, quality-filtered, and ranked by AI.
Requires: Google Search API Key + Search Engine ID (both free)
Optional: Gemini API Key for AI-powered query generation and news judging
RSS Feeds
Fetches articles directly from any RSS/Atom feed URLs you provide. Matches articles to your topics by title, content, and categories. Deduplicates and sorts by date.
Requires: Nothing — no API keys, no costs
Note: Uses original feed content (no AI summarization)
AI Summarizers
When using Google Search as the retriever, pair it with one of these summarizers:
| Summarizer | Model | Cost | Get API Key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini FREE | gemini-2.5-flash |
Free (1,500 req/day) | Google AI Studio |
| GPT | gpt-5-search-api |
Pay-per-use | OpenAI |
| Claude | claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929 |
Pay-per-use | Anthropic |
| Grok | grok-4-fast |
Pay-per-use | xAI |
| OpenRouter | 5 models available | Pay-per-use | OpenRouter |
API Setup Guides
Step-by-step instructions for each provider. Click to expand:
Agentic Providers (1 API key each)
For any agentic provider: get the key, store it in Obsidian's Secret Storage (Settings > Secret Storage), then choose the provider in plugin settings and select the secret. Done.
| Provider | Where to Get Key | Select in Settings |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini FREE | aistudio.google.com | "Gemini (Google Search)" |
| Perplexity | perplexity.ai > API settings | "Perplexity (Agentic Search)" |
| OpenAI GPT | platform.openai.com | "OpenAI GPT (Agentic Search)" |
| Anthropic Claude | console.anthropic.com | "Anthropic Claude (Agentic Search)" |
| Grok (xAI) | x.ai | "Grok (Agentic Search)" |
| OpenRouter | openrouter.ai/keys | "OpenRouter (Agentic Search)" + pick model |
Google Search + Summarizer (modular)
All modular Google pipelines share the same two Google keys. Then add the summarizer key.
Step 1: Google Keys (required for all Google pipelines) FREE
Google Custom Search API Key:
- Go to Google Cloud Console
- Create a project > Enable "Custom Search API"
- Go to Credentials > Create Credentials > API Key
Google Search Engine ID:
- Visit Programmable Search Engine
- Create a new engine > Select "Search the entire web"
- Copy the Search Engine ID
Step 2: Summarizer Key
Add the API key for whichever summarizer you choose:
| Summarizer | Get Key From | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini | Google AI Studio | Free |
| GPT | OpenAI | Paid |
| Claude | Anthropic | Paid |
| Grok | xAI | Paid |
| OpenRouter | OpenRouter | Paid |
Then select your pipeline in settings (e.g., "Google Search + Gemini Summarizer") and select the corresponding secrets for each key.
RSS Retriever (no setup needed)
- Select "RSS Retriever" as your pipeline in settings
- Enter your RSS/Atom feed URLs (one per line)
- Set your topics — the plugin matches articles by title, content, and categories
No API keys, no accounts, no costs. Works with any standard RSS or Atom feed.