Support

Last updated: February 28th, 2023

Pricing

How much does it cost?

podRacer is 100% free — no ads, no credit card requirement or subscription fee.
User feedback and suggestions are always a welcomed form of currency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it collect any of my data?

podRacer keeps your data where it belongs — on your device, and nothing more. The only time any data is shared with podRacer and sent anywhere is when you file a bug report. In these instances, the following information is gathered:
  • Operating System Version
  • Processor Type
  • App Version
  • Python Version

What specs do I need to run it?

As long as you have a valid network connection and can stream media, then your system is plenty powerful to run podRacer. In fact, podRacer has built-in tools that measures your system's performance to make sure it runs smoothly on your device.

Does it run on Apple Silicon?

Yes — podRacer has native support for both x86/x64 (Intel) and arm64 (Apple SoC) instruction sets.
You do not need to use Rosetta to run it.

Is there a Windows version?

There are currently no plans for a Windows compatible version.

Will it work on older versions of macOS?

podRacer v1.5 and onward has features that do not work on anything older than macOS 10.15 (Catalina)
If you are running an older system, these features will not be available to you, but you can still use the application as intended.

The DST Root CA X3 certification expired on September 30, 2021. That means those older devices that don’t trust ISRG Root X1 will start getting certificate warnings when visiting sites that use Let’s Encrypt certificates. This could cause some parts of the application to not function properly.

If you're effected by this, you can update your certification by downloading a new one:

    1. Make a copy of your existing cert

    
sudo cp /etc/ssl/cert.pem{,-orig}

    2. Download the new certificate (04/26/22)

    3. Rename the new cert to: cert.pem

    4. Replace your old cert with the new one

    
sudo mv cert.pem /etc/ssl/cert.pem

Can this parse paid-only content?

Only if it has access to the XML data of the paid content. If you have an RSS feed with premium content, even one that uses token authorization, podRacer will be able to retrieve the content just fine. podRacer's built-in search capabilities are limited to publically available RSS feeds only, and does not include paid content.

Will it work with Patreon and SoundCloud?

Yes — given that you're able to provide podRacer with a valid RSS feed.
The feed needs to include both the token-hash and the token-time properties for this to work.

What happens if I already have a podcast downloaded?

Unless you explicitly enable the overwrite option, podRacer does not delete or overwrite any existing media. Content with identical filenames are individually analyzed during a download to check for duplicates. Enabling the overwrite setting will replace every file affected in the download task.

Is downloading content legal?

podRacer doesn't obtain any information, including but not limited to media content, files and metadata, that isn't already publically accessible. If you are unsure about something, please consult appropriate legal advice.

Knowledgebase

— Main Functions

  • Run a Fetch Call

    Request data from an RSS feed to process into podRacer

  • View Metadata Reports

    View and navigate reports generated from a successful Fetch call

  • Downloading Audio

    Download audio assets from podcasts processed by podRacer

  • Run a podSearch

    Find and fetch podcasts using a search query

    — Loading Queues

  • Load Fetch Queues

    Submit Fetch calls in succession and download content from all fetched podcasts without interruption

  • Load Download Queues

    Insert URL's and have podRacer download the content in a queue

    Changelog

    Version 2.6 10/18/23

    | NEW FEATURES
    • Audio Tools
      • New audio tools, including splitting files into timed chunks
    • RSS Tools
      • New RSS tools, including repairing broken XML data and exporting metadata
    | CHANGES
    • Background File Conversion
      • File conversions now run as separate background tasks
    • Download Logic
      • All files now load in a queue to speed up processing
    • RSS File Imports
      • Imports automatically repair invalid XML data, if possible
    | FIXES
    • Fixed certain XML files not loading properly
    • Fixed selective downloads not removing converted audio files
    • Fixed copy-able metadata duplicating in menu bar bug
    • Fixed an SSL certificate error on startup
    • Fixed various UI elements not loading properly on macOS 13

    Version 2.5 02/27/23

    | NEW FEATURES
    • Audio File Conversion
      • Download and convert audio in various formats, including MP3 and WAV
    • iTunes RSS Tags
      • Generated RSS feeds now include Apple's iTunes RSS tags
    • Apple Podcast for Creators
      • Apple's 'Podcast for Creators' documentation is now available from the 'Help' menu
    | CHANGES
    • Autofill Request Imports
      • Automatically detects what type of data is in each column
    • Updated Request Creation Headers
      • Now more accurately reflects type of content
    • Multithreaded Download Queues
      • Files loaded in a download queue now process asynchronously
    • Fetch Queue Skipping
      • Stopping a download from a Fetch Queue now loads the next item in the queue
    | FIXES
    • Various stability improvements
    • Fixed issue where certain text would get cutoff
    • Fixed an issue that was causing selective downloads to crash
    • Fixed issue with fetch queues when loading a single RSS with a comma

    Version 2.4 02/03/23

    | NEW FEATURES
    • RSS Feed Creation
      • Create RSS (XML) files on demand
      • Can be created from scratch or by importing existing show data
    • Import Requests
      • podRacer can now import spreadsheets and generate fetch requests
      • Requests generates an RSS feed, along with show metadata and reports
    • Local Fetch Requests
      • Fetches can now run locally by importing XML files
    • Download Queue
      • Parses through a list of links to download in succession
    | CHANGES
    • Improved Fetching Algorithm
      • podRacer can now process multiple fetch requests asynchronously
    | FIXES
    • Updated link generation logic to optimize download speeds from select hosts

    Version 2.3 12/22/22

    | NEW FEATURES
    • Fetch Queue
      • Create fetch and download queues for podRacer to complete in succession
    • Manual Downloads
      • Selectively download audio from fetched podcasts
    | CHANGES
    • Updated Version Rollback
      • Changed to v2.X
    • Updated Metadata Report
      • Improved readability and formatting
    | FIXES
    • Fixed GUI bug when a download is interrupted during a network test

    Version 2.2 11/07/22

    | NEW FEATURES
    • Added Blubrry Support
      • podRacer can now download content hosted on Blubrry via private repos
    | CHANGES
    • Various Optimizations
      • Refactored XML digestion
      • Faster link generation
    | FIXES
    • Fixed issue where some encoded characters were not appearing correctly in reports

    Version 2.1 09/26/22

    | NEW FEATURES
    • Duplicate Detection
      • podRacer will now detect if a show has duplicate episodes
      • Identical episode titles with different publishing dates now get unique filenames
      • Duplicate filenames are marked as duplicates, along with their respective episode number
    | CHANGES
    • Updated Audio Analyzer (Beta)
      • You can now choose to analyze the audio of an entire show or individual episodes
      • Depending on the amount of episodes, analyzing a whole show may take a long time
    • Updated podSearch
      • You can now search for podcasts using the name of the author(s)
    • Improved Fetch Calls
      • podRacer now generates custom headers needed to access certain RSS feeds
    • Improved Recovery Tools
      • Detect missing metadata reports and easily generate new ones with a single click
      • Detect if a previous download attempt was interrupted and resume the process
    | FIXES
    • Invalid podSearch parameters no longer crashes the app
    • Fixed certain features crashing on older versions of macOS (< Big Sur)
    • Fixed downloads causing GUI to ocassionally freeze on Intel powered Macs

    Version 2.0 08/19/22

    | NEW FEATURES
    • App Version Rollback
      • Easily revert back to a previous version of podRacer
    • Apple Music API Integration
      • Search for fetched content via Apple Music
    • Clipboard Integration
      • Quickly store fetched metadata to your clipboard
      • Supports Titles, Authors and Episodes
    • Content Analysis
      • podRacer will now tell you if your RSS feed is for Free (Ads) or Premium (Paid, Ad-Free) content
      • Compares audio assets of Free vs. Premium feeds and collects a list of found matches
    • Data Recovery
      • podRacer can now recover lost data in the event of a crash
      • Currently only applies to metadata from fetch calls
    • Developer Tools
      • Various tools to debug and play around with the app
      • To enable the menu, check 'View > Developer Tools' in the menubar
    • Menubar Shortcuts
      • Launch applications and tasks directly from the menubar
      • Currently supports Music, Podcasts, Terminal and TextEdit
    • Voice Dictation (beta)
      • Run searches and control podRacer via macOS accessibility features
    | CHANGES
    • Major UI Overhaul
      • Simpler design with less elements on screen
      • Added various menubar actions depending on active task
      • Minimize makes podRacer transparent and moves it out of sight (opacity changes on hover)
    • Improved Contact Options
      • Directly communicate with developer to report bugs and make requests
    • Improved podSearch Results
    | FIXES
    • Resolved various UI bugs
    • Fixed issues concerning networking connectivity when making fetch calls

    Version 1.7 07/31/22

    | CHANGES
    • Improved podSearch
      • Vastly improved speed of search
      • Searches now display a collection of top results
      • Ability to run fetch calls directly from podSearch
    | FIXES
    • Fixed podSearch window appearing far away
    • Fixed handling of encoded characters in podSearch results

    Version 1.6 07/04/22

    | NEW FEATURES
    • New Bookmark Sharing
      • Easily share your saved RSS feeds via email
    | CHANGES
    • Improved Downloads
      • Significantly decreased time it takes to verify file integrity of existing downloads
      • Downloads now immediately pickup right where you left off
    • Added Support for Soundcloud
    | FIXES
    • Various bugfixes and optimizations

    Version 1.5 06/14/22

    | NEW FEATURES
    • Introducing podSearch
      • Search for a podcast through the app and automatically fetch the RSS feed
    • Added iTunes API Integration
      • podRacer is now able to utilize the iTunes API to collect certain podcast metadata
    • Added Keyboard Shortcuts (see documentation for details)
    | CHANGES
    • Updated 'Find Podcast'
      • Opens podcast directly in Apple Podcast app
    • Updated Thumbnails
      • Show directories and audio files now have podcast artwork as their thumbnail

    Version 1.4 06/07/22

    | NEW FEATURES
    • New 'Bookmarks' feature lets users save their favorite RSS feeds
      • Includes exporting and importing bookmarks
    • New history toolbar allows for easy access to your most recent fetch requests
      • Quick access to recent history via menubar
    • New version control logic
      • Automatically check for updates on launch
      • Updated changelogs
    | CHANGES
    • Updated 'View History' formatting
      • Includes timestamps
    • Improved network request handling and error logging
      • Displays common troubleshooting instructions
    • Improved search logic for 'Find Podcast'
    • Cleaned up UI and hid in-active elements when they're not being used
    | FIXES
    • 'Overwrite' option no longer jumps position after a fetch request
    • 'Quit' no longer causes a crash when there's an active thread worker
    • Fixed bug that randomly causes metadata directories to nest

    Version 1.3 06/04/22

    | NEW FEATURES
    • New Integrated Update Tool
      • Checks for app updates on launch
      • Update tool will download and install latest version of podRacer automatically
    • New 'View History' Module
      • Opens up a window with a fetch history
    • Added Network Diagnostic Tools
      • Checks for connectivity issues when running fetch calls
      • Monitors media download process and system CPU usage to dynamically adjust resource allocation
    | CHANGES
    • Updated Find Podcast
      • More accurate search results

    Version 1.2 06/01/22

    | CHANGES
    • Updated Metadata Report
      • Added 'Click to Copy' functionality
      • Added a fixed show title footer
      • Adjusted styling
    | FIXES
    • Fixed issue with encoded characters in metadata report
    • Fixed issue where podRacer couldn't find a report if the user changed a show's directory

    Version 1.1 05/29/22

    | NEW FEATURES
    • New GUI Actions
      • View Metadata
        • Opens the metadata report from a fetched podcast
      • Find Podcast
        • Searches for a podcast in Apple Podcast
      • Minimize Window
        • Collapses the GUI during downloads to only show essential information
    | FIXES
    • Fixed random segmentation fault when closing the app

    Version 1.0 05/27/22

    | NEW FEATURES
    • Release of Standalone application
    • Native ARM64 Support
      • Now runs natively on Apple Silicon without needing to use emulation (Rosetta 2)
    • Brand new GUI
    | CHANGES
    • Independent Installations
      • No longer requires Python 3 / Xcode CLI tools to be installed
    • Updated Installer
      • Now auto-detects system architecture (x86/x64/arm64)
      • Downloads latest version of podRacer during install
      • Verifies integrity of existing installation
    • Added multi-threaded processing
      • Each task now runs in a seperate thread
    • Vastly improved download speeds
      • Uses seperate thread workers to accomplish multiple tasks at once
    | FIXES
    • Fixed 'Freezing GUI' bug