Podcastindex vs PodMule
A side-by-side look at the Podcastindex and PodMule MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Podcastindex for podcasts work as a local process; choose PodMule for podcasts over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Podcastindex when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Podcasts domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
search_podcasts, get_podcast, episodes.
Choose PodMule when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Podcasts domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You want tools like
ask_podmule, search, execute.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Podcasts | Podcasts |
| Quality signal | 53/100 · Good | 55/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 4 | 3 |
| Full listing | View Podcastindex | View PodMule |
Tools & capabilities
Podcastindex tools 4
search_podcastsPodcast search by term. Find podcasts in the open podcast database by name or keyword. Returns matching podcasts with title, author, description, categories, episode count, and artwork. Example: search_podcasts({ query: "true crime", max: 10 })get_podcastGet full metadata for a single podcast by its Podcast Index feed ID. Returns title, author, description, owner, episode count, categories, language, and artwork. Example: get_podcast({ feed_id: 920666 })episodesList recent episodes for a podcast by its Podcast Index feed ID. Returns episode title, description, publish date, duration, audio URL, and episode/season numbers. Example: episodes({ feed_id: 920666, max: 10 })trendingGet trending podcasts across the open podcast database, ranked by recent activity. Optionally filter by language or category. Returns podcast title, author, categories, artwork, and trend score. Example: trending({ max: 10, lang: "en", cat: "Technology" })
PodMule tools 3
ask_podmuleAsk PodMule for a concise read-only domain answer or an advisory route plan. Use this for quick questions, summaries, diagnostics, drafting, "what should I do?" prompts, and ambiguous action requests. This tool never performs writes. For exact capability contracts use search; for one selected action (read or write) use execute.searchSearch available PodMule capabilities for this OAuth token. Use this when you need the exact capability name or schema before calling execute. For ambiguous domain requests, call ask_podmule first.executeExecute one OAuth-visible PodMule capability. Reads run directly. Modern MCP 2026 clients with MRTR support may preview and affirm the allowlisted update_episode pilot; legacy clients and every other MCP write remain read-only. Dangerous writes are always blocked — do those in the PodMule app. Use ask_podmule for ambiguous requests and search for exact schemas.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Podcastindex
{
"mcpServers": {
"podcastindex": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-podcastindex"
]
}
}
}
PodMule
{
"mcpServers": {
"podmule": {
"url": "https://app.podmule.com/mcp"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Podcastindex is categorized under Podcasts and uses a local stdio subprocess. PodMule belongs to Podcasts and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick Podcastindex for podcasts work and PodMule for podcasts.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Podcastindex has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. PodMule has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add podcastindex and podmule as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Podcastindex has a quality signal of 53/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. PodMule has 55/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.