Quick Start

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Quick Start: Publish Your First Feed

Use this guide to create a public podcast feed from a new installation.

1. Create a podcast

  1. Go to Selfhost Podcasting > Manage Podcasts.
  2. Click Create New Podcast or the New Podcast card.
  3. Enter the podcast name.
  4. Edit the feed slug if needed.
  5. Click Add New Podcast.

The slug becomes the feed key. A slug of weekly-update usually creates:

https://example.com/feed/weekly-update

Choose the slug carefully before submitting the feed to directories.

2. Complete show information

Open the new podcast card. It opens on Overview. Select Podcast Information and complete:

  • Podcast Name.
  • Podcast Description.
  • Podcast Cover Art.
  • Podcast Website.
  • Language.
  • Apple Podcasts Categories.
  • Podcast Author.

Click Update Podcast.

3. Add an episode

  1. Select Manage Episodes.
  2. Click Create New Episode.
  3. Add the media URL or choose a file from the Media Library.
  4. Add the episode title, feed description, and publish date.
  5. Choose Draft, Published, or Scheduled in Save as.
  6. Save the episode.

The media URL must point to the actual audio or video file, not a player page.

4. Review feed readiness

Return to Manage Episodes. The list table shows Ready or Not ready for each episode. A not-ready episode is missing one or more required feed fields such as media, title, description, or publish date.

Use Edit for Feed to fix RSS metadata. Use Edit for Website to edit the public WordPress post content when the row offers that action.

5. Preview the show

Go back to Overview and open Web Preview URL. The preview should show:

  • Podcast artwork.
  • Podcast title and description.
  • Listen links, if enabled.
  • Episode list.
  • Inline audio or video playback.
  • Show notes controls when enabled.

The preview is for humans. Podcast apps read the XML feed.

6. Check the XML feed

Open Primary RSS Feed URL from Overview. Confirm it contains:

  • A <channel> with show metadata.
  • At least one <item>.
  • An <enclosure> with URL, length, and MIME type.
  • Artwork.
  • Publish dates.

If the feed does not load, refresh WordPress permalinks from Settings > Permalinks.

7. Submit to directories

Submit the RSS feed URL to podcast directories such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify for Podcasters, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and Podcast Index.