Facebook Marketplace RSS Feed Generator

Overview

This project generates a RSS feed for Facebook Marketplace, allowing you to track new ads based on customizable filters.

Note: the code has been tested with Python3 on Linux and Windows 10.

Installation

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/regek/facebook-marketplace-rss.git
   cd facebook-marketplace-rss

2. Install Python Requirements:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Install Firefox Browser:

   Linux install
   Windows install

Configuration

1. Modify or Create config.json:

   • Copy config.json.example to config.json and adjust the settings as needed.
   • At a minimum, you must modify the currency field.
   • Some currency symbols. USA: $, Canada: CA$, Europe: €, UK: £, Australia: A$

   Example config.json:

   {
      "server_ip": "0.0.0.0", // Listen on all IPs or specify an IP address
      "server_port": "5000", // Port for the RSS server
      "currency": "$", // Currency used in your local marketplace
      "refresh_interval_minutes": 15, // Interval for checking new ads (recommened 15 interval minutes)
      "log_filename": "fb-rssfeed.log",
      "url_filters": {
          "https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/page1": {
              "level1": ["tv"],
              "level2": ["smart"],
              "level3": ["55\"", "55 inch"]
          },
          "https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/page2": {
              "level1": ["dishwasher"],
              "level2": ["kitchenaid", "samsung"]
          },
          "https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/page2": {}
      }
   }

2. Configuring URL Filters:

   • Browse Facebook Marketplace: Perform a search with your desired keywords.
   • Set Filters: Apply search filters like sort order, price range, condition, etc.
   • Copy URL: Use the entire URL after setting the filters.

   The search function on Facebook Marketplace is incredibly frustrating. It often returns irrelevant results, even when you're searching for something specific. For instance, when you set the filter to "Date listed: Newest First," you might end up with spammy listings rather than relevant items. To improve the chances of finding what you're looking for, make sure to use the search filters.

   • Define Search Terms: For each URL, specify search terms in levels.
     Keywords within a level are OR operations, and keywords between levels are AND operations.
     Only ad title is searched

     Example:

     • URL 1: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/page1
     • level1: ["tv"]
     • level2: ["smart"]
     • level3: ["55\"", "55 inch"]

     This configuration will match titles containing "tv" and "smart" and either "55\"" or "55 inch". e.g., TCL 55" smart tv, smart tv 55 inch LG

     • URL 2: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/page2
     • level1: ["dishwasher"]
     • level2: ["kitchenaid", "samsung"]

     This will match titles containing "dishwasher" and either "kitchenaid" or "samsung". e.g., samsung dishwasher xyz, slightly used kicthenaid dishwasher

     No custom filtering

     • URL 3: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/page2

Running the Application

1. Initialize the Database:

   python init_db.py

2. Run the Server:

   python fb_ad_monitor.py

Accessing the RSS Feed

• Feed URL: http://server_ip:server_port/rss

  Replace server_ip and server_port with your configured values.

• Feed Updates: New ads are added to the feed only if they haven't been seen in the past week.

• RSS Reader: Use any RSS feed reader to monitor updates. For example, you can use Feedbro.

Set log level (optional)

• set log level export LOG_LEVEL=ERROR

How to run in a Docker container

• Provide /path/to/config/directory
• Leave the server_ip and server_port as default

  docker run --name fb-mp-rss -d \
  -v /path/to/config/directory:/app/config \
  -e CONFIG_FILE=/app/config/config.json \
  -p 5000:5000 \
  regek/fb-mp-rss:latest