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Custom Feeds

This guide will introduce the concept of Custom Feeds and how to create and manage them.

As mentioned in the Feed concept page, there are two classes of Feed instances:

  • The Global Feed: The familiar shared feed that aggregates all public Lens activity.

  • Custom Feeds: App or group-specific feeds that can be open or governed by Feed Rules.

Create a Custom Feed

To create a Custom Feed, follow these steps.

You MUST be authenticated as Builder to create a Feed.

1

Create Metadata

First, construct a Feed Metadata object with the necessary content.

Use the @lens-protocol/metadata package to construct a valid FeedMetadata object:

Example
import { feed } from "@lens-protocol/metadata";
const metadata = feed({  name: "XYZ",  description: "My custom feed description",});

2

Upload Metadata

Next, upload the Feed Metadata object to a public URI.

import { storageClient } from "./storage-client";
const { uri } = await storageClient.uploadAsJson(metadata);
console.log(uri); // e.g., lens://4f91ca…

This example uses Grove storage to host the Metadata object. See the Lens Metadata Standards guide for more information on hosting Metadata objects.

3

Deploy Feed Contract

Next, deploy the Lens Feed smart contract.

Use the createFeed action to deploy the Lens Feed smart contract.

import { uri } from "@lens-protocol/client";import { createFeed } from "@lens-protocol/client/actions";
const result = await createFeed(sessionClient, {  metadataUri: uri("lens://4f91ca…"),});

To learn more about how to use Feed Rules, see the Feed Rules guide.

4

Handle Result

Next, handle the result using the adapter for the library of your choice and wait for it to be indexed.

import { handleOperationWith } from "@lens-protocol/client/viem";
// …
const result = await createFeed(sessionClient, {  metadataUri: uri("lens://4f91ca…"),})  .andThen(handleOperationWith(walletClient))  .andThen(sessionClient.waitForTransaction);

See the Transaction Lifecycle guide for more information on how to determine the status of the transaction.

5

Fetch New Feed

Finally, fetch the newly created Feed using the fetchFeed action.

viem
import { fetchFeed } from "@lens-protocol/client/actions";
// …
const result = await createFeed(sessionClient, {  metadataUri: uri("lens://4f91…"), // the URI from the previous step})  .andThen(handleOperationWith(walletClientOrSigner))  .andThen(sessionClient.waitForTransaction)  .andThen((txHash) => fetchFeed(sessionClient, { txHash }));
if (result.isErr()) {  return console.error(result.error);}
// feed: Feed | nullconst feed = result.value;

Fetch a Feed

Use the fetchFeed action to fetch a single Feed by address or by transaction hash.

import { evmAddress } from "@lens-protocol/client";import { fetchFeed } from "@lens-protocol/client/actions";import { client } from "./client";
const result = await fetchFeed(client, {  address: evmAddress("0x1234…"),});
if (result.isErr()) {  return console.error(result.error);}
const feed = result.value;

Search Feeds

Use the paginated fetchFeeds action to search for feeds.

import { fetchFeeds } from "@lens-protocol/client/actions";
import { client } from "./client";
const result = await fetchFeeds(client, {  filter: {    searchBy: "feedName",  },});
if (result.isErr()) {  return console.error(result.error);}
// items: Array<Feed>const { items, pageInfo } = result.value;

Continue with the Pagination guide for more information on how to handle paginated results.

Update Feed Metadata

To update a Feed Metadata, follow these steps.

You MUST be authenticated as Builder, Account Manager, or Account Owner and be either the owner or an admin of the Feed you intend to update.

1

Create New Metadata

First, create a new Feed Metadata object with the updated details.

It's developer responsibility to copy over any existing data that should be retained.

The process is similar to the one in the Create a Feed guide, so we will keep this example brief.

Example
import { feed } from "@lens-protocol/metadata";
const metadata = feed({  name: "XYZ",  description: "My feed description",});

2

Upload Metadata

Next, upload the Feed Metadata object to a public URI.

Upload Metadata
import { storageClient } from "./storage-client";
// …
const { uri } = await storageClient.uploadAsJson(metadata);
console.log(uri); // e.g., lens://4f91ca…

If Grove storage was used you can also decide to edit the file at the existing URI. See Editing Content guide for more information.

3

Update Metadata URI

Next, update the Feed metadata URI with the new URI.

Use the setFeedMetadata action to update the Feed Metadata URI.

import { uri } from "@lens-protocol/client";import { setFeedMetadata } from "@lens-protocol/client/actions";
const result = await setFeedMetadata(sessionClient, {  feed: feed.address,  metadataUri: uri("lens://4f91ca…"),});
if (result.isErr()) {  return console.error(result.error);}

4

Handle Result

Finally, handle the result using the adapter for the library of your choice:

import { handleOperationWith } from "@lens-protocol/client/viem";
// …
const result = await setFeedMetadata(sessionClient, {  feed: feed.address,  metadataUri: uri("lens://4f91ca…"),}).andThen(handleOperationWith(walletClient));

See the Transaction Lifecycle guide for more information on how to determine the status of the transaction.

Access Control

The Feed contract supports two roles: Owner and Administrator.

Administrators can:

  • Update the Feed Metadata

  • Update the Feed Rules

  • Update the Feed Extra Data

The Owner can do everything the administrators can do, plus transfer ownership of the Feed to another address.

See the Team Management guide for more information on how to manage these roles.

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