| name | podcast-downloader |
| description | Download podcasts from Apple Podcasts (via RSS feed). Use when the user wants to download specific episodes or the latest N episodes from a podcast. Supports downloading audio files, metadata, and show notes. Triggers include "download podcast", "download episode", "get podcast audio", "download latest episodes", or when user provides an Apple Podcasts RSS feed URL. |
Podcast Downloader
Download podcasts from Apple Podcasts via RSS feed. Supports downloading specific episodes or the latest N episodes with metadata.
Quick Start
Install required dependencies first:
pip install feedparser requests --break-system-packages
Usage
The scripts/download_podcast.py script provides three main use cases:
1. Download Latest N Episodes
python scripts/download_podcast.py "RSS_FEED_URL" -n 5 -o /mnt/user-data/outputs
Downloads the latest 5 episodes to the outputs directory.
2. Download Specific Episode
python scripts/download_podcast.py "RSS_FEED_URL" -e 3 -o /mnt/user-data/outputs
Downloads episode #3 (episodes are numbered starting from 1, with 1 being the latest).
3. Download All Episodes
python scripts/download_podcast.py "RSS_FEED_URL" -o /mnt/user-data/outputs
Downloads all available episodes.
Output Structure
The script creates a directory structure like:
[Podcast Name]/
├── podcast_info.json # Podcast metadata
├── 001 - Episode Title.mp3 # Audio file
├── 001 - Episode Title.json # Episode metadata
├── 002 - Episode Title.mp3
├── 002 - Episode Title.json
└── ...
Getting RSS Feed URL
Most users won't have the RSS feed URL readily available. See references/get_rss_feed.md for detailed instructions on how to obtain the RSS feed URL from Apple Podcasts.
Quick method:
- Find the podcast in Apple Podcasts web or app
- Copy the podcast page URL (e.g.,
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/name/id1234567890)
- Extract the ID number from the URL
- Use Apple's lookup API:
https://podcasts.apple.com/lookup?id=1234567890&entity=podcast
- Find the
feedUrl field in the JSON response
Common User Requests
When users make requests like:
- "Download the latest episode of [podcast name]"
- "Get me the last 10 episodes of [podcast]"
- "Download episode 5 from [podcast]"
Follow this workflow:
- Ask for the Apple Podcasts link or RSS feed URL if not provided
- If given an Apple Podcasts link, help extract the RSS feed URL using the methods in
references/get_rss_feed.md
- Run the download script with appropriate parameters
- Move downloaded files to
/mnt/user-data/outputs for user access
Error Handling
- If RSS feed URL is invalid, the script will report parsing errors
- If episode index is out of range, the script will show valid range
- Network errors during download are caught and reported
- Invalid characters in filenames are automatically sanitized
