Podcastindex MCP

What conorbronsdon/podcastindex-mcp MCP server does

conorbronsdon/podcastindex-mcp MCP server exposes the Podcast Index API through read-only MCP tools. It can find episodes featuring a particular person, search indexed podcasts by topic or keyword, and locate shows by title. It also resolves podcasts through RSS feed URLs, Podcast Index feed IDs, Apple Podcasts IDs, or podcast:guid values.

The server covers discovery and inspection tasks across the index. Agents can retrieve a podcast's metadata, categories, update information, and feed health; list episodes for a feed; inspect an individual episode; and find currently live, recently published, recently updated, or newly added content. Additional tools return trending podcasts, category IDs, value4value payment details, and current aggregate Podcast Index statistics.

How it works

Each MCP tool is a thin wrapper around a Podcast Index API operation. The server communicates over the standard local process configuration shown for MCP clients, while the API supplies the underlying podcast and episode data. All exposed tools are marked read-only, so calls do not change podcasts, feeds, episodes, or account data.

Search tools support different discovery paths: search_by_person finds appearances where someone was a host or guest, search_by_term performs full-text discovery, and search_by_title searches podcast names. Lookup tools accept identifiers appropriate to the selected endpoint, including feed URL, feed ID, iTunes ID, GUID, or episode ID.

API failures are returned as MCP error responses. Internally, the project distinguishes authentication, rate-limit, validation, not-found, and server failures so error messages can identify the type of problem rather than reporting only a generic API failure.

Setup and configuration

Running conorbronsdon/podcastindex-mcp requires Node.js 18 or newer and free Podcast Index API credentials. The repository setup flow is:

1. Clone the repository.
2. Run npm install.
3. Run npm run build.
4. Start the compiled build/index.js from the MCP client's server configuration.

Set these environment variables in the client configuration:

• PODCASTINDEX_API_KEY
• PODCASTINDEX_API_SECRET

Both launch the built Node.js entry point and pass the credentials through the server environment.

Tools and capabilities

The available tool groups include:

• Person, term, and title search across indexed podcasts.
• Podcast lookup by feed URL, feed ID, Apple Podcasts ID, or GUID.
• Trending podcasts with optional language and category filters.
• Episode lists by feed, individual episode lookup, and live episode discovery.
• Recent episodes, recently updated feeds, and newly indexed feeds.
• Value4value information by feed ID or feed URL.
• Podcast Index category listings and current aggregate statistics.

These capabilities fit research workflows such as locating guest appearances, finding shows by subject, checking whether a feed is healthy, reviewing a show's recent episodes, or examining current directory trends. They do not provide publishing, editing, or analytics-management operations.

Limitations and notes

conorbronsdon/podcastindex-mcp MCP server depends on the availability, coverage, rate limits, and response behavior of the Podcast Index API. API credentials are required even though the project uses the free API access described in its prerequisites. Results shown in the repository's demonstration are sample data, not guaranteed live responses.

The server is intentionally read-only. It cannot publish episodes, modify feed metadata, manage podcast accounts, or provide platform-specific listener analytics. The repository is an independent project and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the Podcast Index.