Panopto Subscriptions → Local RSS Feeds

This project runs a small local web server that:

• Authenticates to your Panopto tenant via OAuth (first run opens a browser)
• Fetches the same sessions you see in Panopto’s Subscriptions page
• Generates:
  • A single combined RSS feed (optional): panopto.xml
  • Per-folder RSS feeds: subscriptions/.../feed.xml
  • A local index page (index.html) to browse/copy feed URLs

The server binds to 127.0.0.1 (localhost) only.

Files in this repo

• PanoptoRSS.py — main server + feed generator
• config.json — settings you edit before running
• requirements.txt — Python dependencies
• start_panopto_rss.vbs — Windows launcher (optional)

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Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• requests (see requirements.txt)

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Setup

Create a virtual environment (recommended)

From the project folder:

python -m venv .venv

Activate it:

• Windows

  .\.venv\Scripts\activate

• macOS/Linux

  source .venv/bin/activate

Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

The included VBS launcher looks for .venv\Scripts\pythonw.exe first, then venv\Scripts\pythonw.exe, then falls back to python on PATH.

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Panopto OAuth setup (you must do this yourself)

You need a Panopto OAuth client (Client ID + Client Secret) from your Panopto tenant/admin UI.

In your config.json, set:

• server to your tenant base URL, e.g. https://YOUR_TENANT.cloud.panopto.eu
• client_id / client_secret from Panopto
• redirect_uri (default is http://127.0.0.1:8765/callback)

Make sure the redirect URI you put in config.json is also allowed/registered for that OAuth client.

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Configuration (config.json)

The script reads config.json from the same folder as PanoptoRSS.py.

Key fields (matching the shipped template) :

• server: Panopto tenant URL (no trailing slash recommended)
• client_id: OAuth client id
• client_secret: OAuth client secret
• scope: usually "api"
• redirect_uri: localhost callback used during OAuth login
• port: local server port for the RSS/index server (default 8080)
• refresh_minutes: refresh cadence used to derive defaults
• min_refresh_interval_seconds: minimum time between refreshes when refresh is triggered by viewing feeds/index
• max_results_per_page, max_items: paging/limit controls for subscription fetch
• subscriptions_root_name: folder label used in generated tree
• output_root_dir: where generated index.html, panopto.xml, and per-folder feeds are written
• data_dir: where token/log/cache/state are stored
• token_cache, log_file, state_filename, folder_cache_filename, folder_cache_ttl_days, index_filename
• rss_filename: name of the combined feed file. If you remove rss_filename from the config, the combined feed is disabled.

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Running

Option A: run with Python

python PanoptoRSS.py

Then open:

• http://127.0.0.1:PORT/index.html (PORT is config.json → port)

First run will open a browser window for Panopto login and authorization, then it caches tokens locally under data_dir.

Option B (Windows): run with the VBS launcher

Double-click:

• start_panopto_rss.vbs

What the VBS does:

• If the server is already running: calls http://127.0.0.1:PORT/refresh, then opens /index.html
• If not running: starts the server, waits until /health responds, calls /refresh, then opens /index.html

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Creating a Shortcut for the VBS (Windows)

1. Right-click start_panopto_rss.vbs
2. Click Create shortcut
3. Move the shortcut wherever you want (Desktop, Start Menu, etc.)

Important:

• Keep the actual .vbs file inside the project folder.
• The shortcut can live anywhere; it will still launch the VBS from the project folder.

Optional: auto-start on login

• Put the shortcut into:
  %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Windows VBS launcher: environment expectations

The VBS launcher tries (in order):

1. .venv\Scripts\pythonw.exe
2. venv\Scripts\pythonw.exe
3. python from your PATH

So:

• If you create a venv named .venv in the project folder, the VBS will “just work”.
• If your environment folder has a different name/location, either rename it to .venv/venv, or skip the VBS and run python PanoptoRSS.py manually.

Why pythonw.exe?

• It runs without opening a console window.
• If something fails, check data_dir/panopto_rss.log and /health for the last error.

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Using the RSS feeds

Generated files & directory layout

On first run, the script creates two folders (relative to the project folder):

• output_root_dir (default: feeds/)

  • index.html (the local UI)
  • panopto.xml (combined feed, only if rss_filename is set)
  • subscriptions_root_name/ (default: Panopto Subscriptions/)
    • A nested folder tree that mirrors your Panopto folder hierarchy
    • Each leaf folder contains a feed.xml

• data_dir (default: data/)

  • panopto_token.json (OAuth token cache)
  • state.json (last refresh time + folder signatures/paths)
  • folder_cache.json (folder name/parent cache; TTL controlled by folder_cache_ttl_days)
  • panopto_rss.log (logs + errors)

Notes:

• Folder/file names are made Windows-safe (invalid characters replaced, trailing dots/spaces removed).
• If Panopto folder names collide after sanitizing, the script may suffix names like _2, _3, etc.
• When a folder disappears from your Subscriptions results, its generated feed folder can be deleted automatically on refresh.

Index page

Open:

• http://127.0.0.1:PORT/index.html

It shows your subscription folder tree and provides “Open feed” / “Copy URL” buttons.

Feed URLs you can subscribe to

• Combined feed (if enabled):
  http://127.0.0.1:PORT/panopto.xml
• Per-folder feeds: served under:
  http://127.0.0.1:PORT/subscriptions/.../feed.xml

Any RSS reader should work. (The feeds are local; they update when this server is running and refreshing.)

Refresh behaviour

• Visiting /index.html, /panopto.xml, or anything under /subscriptions/ triggers a refresh only if enough time has passed (min_refresh_interval_seconds).
• Calling /refresh - i.e. “Refresh now” (button on the index page) - forces an immediate refresh regardless of the interval.
• The VBS launcher always calls /refresh after launch (and also if already running).

Shutdown/stop behavior

There are two ways to stop the local server:

• From the index page: click Stop server (calls /shutdown).
  • This triggers a graceful shutdown of the local HTTP server process.
  • It does not delete any generated files; feeds/ and data/ stay on disk.
• If you started it in a terminal (Option A): press Ctrl+C in that terminal window.

To start again, run python PanoptoRSS.py or double-click start_panopto_rss.vbs.

The /shutdown endpoint returns “Shutting down” and then calls the server’s shutdown method in a background thread.

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Troubleshooting

• If login breaks or tokens are stale: stop the server, delete the token cache file in data_dir (default: data/panopto_token.json), then rerun.
• If feeds aren’t reachable: check that port in config.json matches the URL you’re using.
• If you see 404s for subscription feeds: make sure you actually have items in your Panopto Subscriptions page.