Pulse watches the world for you. Every source it can watch, from a single web page to a paid search account, sits in one of four groups. None of them require guesswork. Here is what each one needs, and what it costs.
Works now, for free. No account, no key, nothing to set up. Point it at a page, a file, or a feed and it runs.
Works free, better with a key. These sources work out of the box. Add your own key for a service like Firecrawl or Apify and they get faster and more reliable.
Needs your own account. A handful of sources only work once you bring your own paid key: EXA, Serper, Apify, Firehose. You sign up with them directly, then paste the key into Settings.
Needs a server you run yourself. A few sources (RSSHub, SearXNG, Crawl4AI) open a much wider range of watching, but only once you run a small server on your own machine or network. No monthly fee, just the setup.
Every source in Settings shows a small light. It tells you the real, current state of that source, not a guess.
Grey. Not set up yet. This is normal for anything that needs a key or a server you have not added.
Green. Working. The last check succeeded.
Amber. The last check did not work. Pulse will try again on its own next scan. One amber is noise, not a problem.
Red. This source has stopped working more than once in a row and probably needs an update. Check the key, the account, or the server behind it.
Any source that needs one is added in Settings, under Feed Sources. Paste the key there and Pulse picks it up on the next scan. This guide covers why a key matters; Settings itself walks you through where to paste it.
Nothing here is locked behind a paywall by default. Pulse works the day you install it, on the free sources alone. The paid and self-hosted ones are there for when you want more reach, not because the free ones are crippled.
