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Podcast Index MCP Server

Connect Claude to the Podcast Index API. Search podcasts, track appearances, monitor trends.

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The results shown in the demo above are sample data, not real Podcast Index responses.

About

Built and maintained by Conor Bronsdon for the Chain of Thought podcast production workflow, where it surfaces guest appearances and checks feed health during research. Conor hosts Chain of Thought, a show about AI infrastructure and how practitioners actually build with it. More tools for creators live in ai-tools-for-creators. Find Conor on X at @ConorBronsdon.

Sibling MCP servers:

• Transistor-MCP: manage podcast episodes, analytics, and transcripts on Transistor.fm
• substack-mcp: read posts and manage Substack drafts

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Free Podcast Index API credentials -- get them at api.podcastindex.org

Installation

git clone https://github.com/conorbronsdon/podcastindex-mcp.git
cd podcastindex-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "podcastindex": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/podcastindex-mcp/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "PODCASTINDEX_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
        "PODCASTINDEX_API_SECRET": "your-api-secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Add to your project's .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "podcastindex": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/podcastindex-mcp/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "PODCASTINDEX_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
        "PODCASTINDEX_API_SECRET": "your-api-secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

This server is entirely read-only: every tool declares the MCP tool annotation readOnlyHint: true, so clients know no call mutates anything and can skip write-consent prompts.

Tool	Description
search_by_person	Search for episodes where a person appeared as host or guest. Returns matches across all indexed podcasts.
search_by_term	Full-text search across all podcasts by topic, show name, or keyword.
podcast_by_feed_url	Look up a podcast by RSS feed URL. Returns feed ID, iTunes ID, categories, last update, and feed health.
podcast_by_feed_id	Look up a podcast by its Podcast Index feed ID. Returns full metadata.
trending_podcasts	Get currently trending podcasts, with optional language and category filters.
episodes_by_feed_id	Get episodes for a specific podcast by feed ID.
recent_episodes	Get the most recently published episodes across the entire index.
categories_list	Get the full list of Podcast Index categories and their IDs.

Example Prompts

Once configured, you can ask Claude things like:

• "Search Podcast Index for all episodes featuring Satya Nadella as a guest"
• "What are the trending technology podcasts right now?"
• "Look up the feed health for https://feeds.transistor.fm/chain-of-thought and list the last 5 episodes"

Development

Build the project:

npm run build

Watch for changes during development:

npm run watch

Adding a new tool

1. Add the API method to src/api-client.ts
2. Add type guard and argument types to src/types.ts
3. Add the tool definition and handler to src/tool-handlers.ts
4. Rebuild with npm run build

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. If there is a Podcast Index endpoint you want exposed as a tool, open an issue describing the use case, or follow the steps above and open a PR. Bug reports should include the tool name and the arguments you passed.

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Disclaimer

All views, opinions, and statements expressed on this account are solely my own and are made in my personal capacity. They do not reflect, and should not be construed as reflecting, the views, positions, or policies of Modular. This account is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Modular in any way.

License

MIT