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Keep it clear.
Installation, status meanings, connectivity and troubleshooting for RaccoonFeed for Windows.
RaccoonFeed is developed and supported by Lazy Raccoon Lab. If something is not working, start with the sections below; if you still need help, email info@lazyraccoonlab.com.
Install and first launch
- Open the Microsoft Store on Windows and search for RaccoonFeed, or open the product page from the Store link on this website.
- Select Get or Install. RaccoonFeed is a self-contained x64 application; no separate .NET runtime is required.
- Launch RaccoonFeed from the Start menu. No account, sign-in or payment information is needed.
- The dashboard opens and the status pill reads REFRESHING while the first pass runs. It then reads LIVE, PARTIAL or OFFLINE depending on what the sources returned.
Reading the status pill
| Pill | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| LIVE | The latest GDELT headline request succeeded. | Nothing. |
| REFRESHING | A refresh is in progress. GDELT requests are deliberately spaced. | Wait for it to finish. |
| PARTIAL | A source could not be refreshed; cached coverage remains visible and is labelled. | Wait for the next refresh, or press Refresh. |
| OFFLINE | No live request succeeded and there may be no cached coverage. | Check your connection, then press Refresh. |
The line under the event stream names the reason, for example GDELT rate limit — cached coverage retained. RaccoonFeed never invents headlines to fill a failure.
Why a section can be empty
GDELT limits how often a client may query it. RaccoonFeed makes one broad request per refresh, classifies the returned headlines locally, and spaces requests. A section can legitimately be empty when no current headline in the batch matched it. Empty is honest: there is no placeholder content and no generated filler.
The event list
- Cards are grouped by development, not by publisher. The headline shown is the earliest report in the group; the publisher and the time GDELT recorded it are always displayed.
- DEVELOPING appears only when at least three distinct publishers are covering the event within a six-hour window. It is evidence of activity, not an editorial claim that the story is important.
- Identical syndicated copies of one headline are counted once, so the publisher count is not inflated.
The event dossier
The dossier shows the lead report, related coverage and a chronology built from the reports' own timestamps, newest first. RaccoonFeed does not write summaries, infer causes or claim consensus. If sources disagree, their separate headlines remain separate rows.
First seen and last seen are the times GDELT recorded the article; they are not a claim about the publisher's internal publication clock.
World view
The map plots an event only at the location GDELT's own event record codes to the reporting article. A country named in a headline, a passing mention or the publisher's own country is never used. Region-level codings are drawn differently from city-level ones. The right-hand Coverage by publisher country panel measures where the reporting is written, not where events happen, and is labelled that way.
The USGS earthquake layer is optional and off by default; when enabled it uses the coordinates USGS supplies. The map outline is Natural Earth 1:110m, bundled with the app; it makes no network request.
Follows and alerts
Follow an event with the star, or add a keyword, country, company or topic in My follows. Alerts are generated locally when a followed development appears in a refresh. There is no push service and no account, and alerts are evaluated only while RaccoonFeed is running. Follows and alerts stay on this device.
Bar Mode
BAR MODE opens a compact floating ticker with the latest headlines. It rotates at most once every twelve seconds, pauses while the pointer is over it, and opens the full dossier when you choose a headline. Close it with the ✕ on the strip; the dashboard is still there.
Clear local data
CLEAR LOCAL DATA in the status bar removes the news cache, cached event locations, follows and alerts, and clears the visible feed immediately. Display preferences are kept. It does not touch files left by the previous version. See the Privacy Policy for every file the app writes.
External links
Every headline has an Open action. RaccoonFeed only opens the publisher domain recorded for that report; look-alike domains, embedded credentials, non-standard ports and non-http schemes are rejected. If a publisher site shows a paywall or a regional block, that is the publisher's decision and RaccoonFeed does not bypass it. The app has no embedded browser.
Display scaling
The dashboard is per-monitor DPI aware and was verified on a 3840×2160 display at 250% Windows scaling. At narrow widths the timestamp block and search box collapse before the event stream, and the dossier narrows. Window size is remembered.
Report a problem
Email info@lazyraccoonlab.com with:
- The RaccoonFeed version (Windows Settings → Apps → Installed apps).
- Your Windows version and display scaling.
- The status pill text and any message shown under the event stream.
- What you expected and what happened, including the exact text of any error.
- A screenshot, if it helps. Do not include personal information.
Local diagnostic logs are at %LOCALAPPDATA%\RaccoonFeed\logs\errors.log. They are not uploaded automatically; attach them only if you choose to.
Sources and attribution
Headline metadata: GDELT Project (gdeltproject.org). Earthquake data: U.S. Geological Survey (public domain). Map outline: Natural Earth (public domain). Event grouping, categories and the developing flag are RaccoonFeed's own local analysis. RaccoonFeed is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them or by any publisher.