App Configuration

This document describes the settings, URLs, and assets that Richie needs from customers to configure iOS and Android mobile apps. All feature sections are optional—include only those relevant to your app.

General App Settings

These settings apply to all apps regardless of enabled features.

Property	Description	Value
App Name	Required. App name displayed under the icon on the device home screen	Plaintext, max 11 characters recommended
App Icon	Required. App icon in PNG format	1024×1024 px PNG without transparency
Primary Brand Color	Required. Used for UI elements and accents	Hex color code (e.g., #FF5500)
Privacy Policy URL	Required. Link to your privacy policy	HTTPS URL
Terms of Service URL	Required. Link to your terms of service	HTTPS URL
Support Email	Optional. Contact email for user support	Email address
Support Phone Number	Optional. Contact number for user support	Phone number

Richie apps are configured primarily through their navigation structure. The main level consists of bottom tabs (up to 5), each displaying one of four content types: News, Editions, Web URLs, or Podcasts. A single app can host multiple tabs of the same type.

Bottom Tab Configuration

Each bottom tab requires the following:

Property	Description	Value
Title	Required. Label displayed below the tab icon	Plaintext, short (1-2 words)
Icon	Required. Tab bar icon	69 x 69 px PNG, monochrome
Content Type	Required. Type of content displayed in the tab	News, Editions, Podcasts, or Web URL

Content Type: News

News tabs display section feeds with optional top navigation.

News endpoints

Property	Description	Value
Section Feed URL template	Required. URL template for fetching section feeds	An HTTPS URL template returning section feed JSON for any given section identifier, e.g. `https://news.example.com/section/{{section_id}}`
Article Feed URL template	Required. URL template for fetching article feeds	An HTTPS URL template returning article feed JSON for any given article identifier, e.g. `https://news.example.com/article/{{article_id}}`
Article Search URL template	Optional. URL template for article search feed, if article search is enabled in the app	An HTTPS URL template returning search results in section feed JSON format, e.g. `https://news.example.com/search/{{search_term}}`
App Assets Feed URL	Optional. Feed for shared CSS, JS, fonts, and graphics used by article templates	HTTPS URL returning app assets JSON, e.g. `https://news.example.com/assets`
HTTP Basic Authentication	Optional. HTTP authentication to be used when fetching section feeds and article objects	Username and password pair
Custom HTTP Headers	Optional. Custom HTTP headers to be used when fetching section feeds and article objects, e.g. API keys	HTTP header name and value pair(s)

For details on section feed format, see the Section Feeds documentation.

For details on article feed format, see the Article Feeds documentation.

For details on app assets feed, see App Assets.

News Sections

For each news section in a News tab, provide:

Property	Description	Value
Section identifier	Required. Section identifier string	Section identifier is used to fetch the feed using the Section Feed URL template
Section name	Required. Display name for each section	A user-visible section title, to be displayed in the top navigation of the News bottom tab
Send authorization header	Optional. If set to true, user's current authorization header will be sent as part of the section feed request. Can be used for user-specific section fronts.	`true` / `false` (default)

If only one section is configured, the top section navigation is hidden. When multiple sections are configured, users can switch between them using the top section navigation or by swiping between sections.

Content Type: Editions

Editions tabs display digital replica editions (e-paper).

Property	Description	Value
Editions Product Tags	Required. One or more Editions product tags identifying which editions to display	Array of product tag strings

Content Type: Podcasts

Podcast tabs display audio content from podcast series.

Property	Description	Value
Podcast Series RSS Feeds	Required. One or more RSS feed URLs for podcast series	Array of HTTPS URLs

Content Type: Web URL

Web URL tabs display embedded web content.

Property	Description	Value
Web URL	Required. URL to display in the embedded web view	HTTPS URL

Push Notifications

To configure push notifications for breaking news, new Edition issues, or other alerts, please provide:

iOS: Apple Push Notifications service (APNs) private key, generated at Apple Developer portal
Android: Google Cloud Service Account private key
Topics: A list of push notification topics to display in the app

Private keys typically apply to all apps under the same developer account, so they need to be configured only once. Topics are specific to each app.

iOS

Property	Description	Value
APNs Key File	Required. Apple Push Notification service authentication key	.p8 file from Apple Developer portal
APNs Key ID	Required. Identifier for the APNs key	10-character string
Apple Team ID	Required. Your Apple Developer team identifier	10-character string

Alternatively, you can grant Richie Admin access to your Apple Developer account, and we will generate the APNs key on your behalf. To do this, ensure your Richie contact's Apple ID has the Admin role in your App Store Connect account under Users and Access.

Android

Android push notifications require a Firebase Cloud Messaging service account. Follow the instructions to generate the required credentials.

Topics

Provide a list of notification topics users can subscribe to:

Property	Description	Value
Topic identifier	Required. Unique identifier for each notification topic	Any string
Display name	Required. Display name of the notification topic	Any string
Topic description	Optional. Short description of notification topic, to be displayed in the notification management UI	Any string

Use topic identifiers to target push notifications via the Richie Push API.

General App Settings

These settings apply to all apps regardless of enabled features.

Property	Description	Value
App Name	Required. App name displayed under the icon on the device home screen	Plaintext, max 11 characters recommended
App Icon	Required. App icon in PNG format	1024×1024 px PNG without transparency
Primary Brand Color	Required. Used for UI elements and accents	Hex color code (e.g., #FF5500)
Privacy Policy URL	Required. Link to your privacy policy	HTTPS URL
Terms of Service URL	Required. Link to your terms of service	HTTPS URL
Support Email	Optional. Contact email for user support	Email address
Support Phone Number	Optional. Contact number for user support	Phone number

Bottom Tab Configuration

Each bottom tab requires the following:

Property	Description	Value
Title	Required. Label displayed below the tab icon	Plaintext, short (1-2 words)
Icon	Required. Tab bar icon	69 x 69 px PNG, monochrome
Content Type	Required. Type of content displayed in the tab	News, Editions, Podcasts, or Web URL

Content Type: News

News tabs display section feeds with optional top navigation.

News endpoints

Property	Description	Value
Section Feed URL template	Required. URL template for fetching section feeds	An HTTPS URL template returning section feed JSON for any given section identifier, e.g. `https://news.example.com/section/{{section_id}}`
Article Feed URL template	Required. URL template for fetching article feeds	An HTTPS URL template returning article feed JSON for any given article identifier, e.g. `https://news.example.com/article/{{article_id}}`
Article Search URL template	Optional. URL template for article search feed, if article search is enabled in the app	An HTTPS URL template returning search results in section feed JSON format, e.g. `https://news.example.com/search/{{search_term}}`
App Assets Feed URL	Optional. Feed for shared CSS, JS, fonts, and graphics used by article templates	HTTPS URL returning app assets JSON, e.g. `https://news.example.com/assets`
HTTP Basic Authentication	Optional. HTTP authentication to be used when fetching section feeds and article objects	Username and password pair
Custom HTTP Headers	Optional. Custom HTTP headers to be used when fetching section feeds and article objects, e.g. API keys	HTTP header name and value pair(s)

For details on section feed format, see the Section Feeds documentation.

For details on article feed format, see the Article Feeds documentation.

For details on app assets feed, see App Assets.

News Sections

For each news section in a News tab, provide:

Property	Description	Value
Section identifier	Required. Section identifier string	Section identifier is used to fetch the feed using the Section Feed URL template
Section name	Required. Display name for each section	A user-visible section title, to be displayed in the top navigation of the News bottom tab
Send authorization header	Optional. If set to true, user's current authorization header will be sent as part of the section feed request. Can be used for user-specific section fronts.	`true` / `false` (default)

Content Type: Editions

Editions tabs display digital replica editions (e-paper).

Property	Description	Value
Editions Product Tags	Required. One or more Editions product tags identifying which editions to display	Array of product tag strings

Content Type: Podcasts

Podcast tabs display audio content from podcast series.

Property	Description	Value
Podcast Series RSS Feeds	Required. One or more RSS feed URLs for podcast series	Array of HTTPS URLs

Content Type: Web URL

Web URL tabs display embedded web content.

Property	Description	Value
Web URL	Required. URL to display in the embedded web view	HTTPS URL

Push Notifications

To configure push notifications for breaking news, new Edition issues, or other alerts, please provide:

iOS: Apple Push Notifications service (APNs) private key, generated at Apple Developer portal
Android: Google Cloud Service Account private key
Topics: A list of push notification topics to display in the app

Private keys typically apply to all apps under the same developer account, so they need to be configured only once. Topics are specific to each app.

iOS

Property	Description	Value
APNs Key File	Required. Apple Push Notification service authentication key	.p8 file from Apple Developer portal
APNs Key ID	Required. Identifier for the APNs key	10-character string
Apple Team ID	Required. Your Apple Developer team identifier	10-character string

Android

Android push notifications require a Firebase Cloud Messaging service account. Follow the instructions to generate the required credentials.

Topics

Provide a list of notification topics users can subscribe to:

Property	Description	Value
Topic identifier	Required. Unique identifier for each notification topic	Any string
Display name	Required. Display name of the notification topic	Any string
Topic description	Optional. Short description of notification topic, to be displayed in the notification management UI	Any string

Use topic identifiers to target push notifications via the Richie Push API.

General App Settings

App Navigation Structure

Bottom Tab Configuration

Content Type: News

News endpoints

News Sections

Content Type: Editions

Content Type: Podcasts

Content Type: Web URL

Push Notifications

iOS

Android

Topics

App Configuration

General App Settings

App Navigation Structure

Bottom Tab Configuration

Content Type: News

News endpoints

News Sections

Content Type: Editions

Content Type: Podcasts

Content Type: Web URL

Push Notifications

iOS

Android

Topics