Installation

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This guide explains how to install Podcast Composer and confirm that it is ready to use.

Requirements

Before installing, make sure your site has:

  • WordPress 6.0 or newer.
  • PHP 7.4 or newer.
  • Administrator access to WordPress.
  • A working WordPress site URL.
  • Publicly accessible source podcast RSS feed URLs.

Podcast Composer reads podcast RSS feeds from other hosts. The source feed must be reachable by your WordPress server over HTTP or HTTPS.

Install From a ZIP File

  1. Log in to WordPress as an administrator.
  2. Go to Plugins > Add New.
  3. Click Upload Plugin.
  4. Choose the Podcast Composer ZIP file.
  5. Click Install Now.
  6. Click Activate Plugin.

After activation, WordPress adds a Podcast Composer menu item in the admin sidebar.

Install by Uploading the Plugin Folder

If you are installing manually:

  1. Upload the podcast-composer folder to wp-content/plugins/.
  2. Log in to WordPress as an administrator.
  3. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
  4. Find Podcast Composer.
  5. Click Activate.

What Happens on Activation

On activation, the plugin:

  • Registers private internal post types for projects and output feeds.
  • Creates custom database tables for sources, indexed episodes, and output episode mappings.
  • Registers custom feed endpoints for output feeds.
  • Flushes rewrite rules so WordPress can recognize new feed URLs.

The custom tables are:

  • {prefix}_pc_sources
  • {prefix}_pc_episodes
  • {prefix}_pc_episode_output

Your WordPress database prefix may be wp_, but many sites use a different prefix.

Recommended WordPress Settings

Go to Settings > Permalinks and save your permalink settings once after activation.

This helps WordPress refresh feed rewrite rules. With pretty permalinks enabled, output feed URLs look like:

https://example.com/feed/my-podcast-feed

If pretty permalinks are disabled, WordPress can use:

https://example.com/?feed=my-podcast-feed

First Access

After activation:

  1. Go to Podcast Composer > Manage Projects.
  2. If no projects exist, click Create First Project.
  3. Continue with Getting Started.

Uninstall Considerations

This codebase does not include a dedicated uninstall routine. Deactivating the plugin stops the admin screens and feed generation, but it does not automatically remove plugin database tables or saved project data.

If you need a full cleanup, back up your site first and have a developer remove the plugin tables and related private post type data manually.