🎙️ YAML to RSS Automation  |  📡 iTunes Compatible  |  ✨ Multi-Episode Support

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🎙️ Podcast RSS Generator

A lightweight Python tool that transforms podcast metadata from YAML into production-ready RSS feeds compatible with all major podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more.

Write your podcast config once in human-readable YAML. Generate standards-compliant RSS feeds instantly. Deploy to any podcast directory.

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🧠 What This System Does

feed.yaml (Your Podcast Config)
        ↓
podcast-rss-generator (CLI Tool)
        ↓
podcast.xml (RSS Feed)
        ↓
✔ Apple Podcasts
✔ Spotify
✔ Google Podcasts
✔ Any RSS Reader
✔ Your Website

No more manual XML editing. No more broken podcast feeds. Just YAML + Python + RSS.

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⚙️ Key Features

✔ Simple YAML Configuration - Human-readable podcast & episode metadata
✔ RSS 2.0 Standard - Full compliance with podcast specifications
✔ iTunes Integration - Category, artwork, duration, and author metadata
✔ Multi-Episode Support - Unlimited episodes with audio file management
✔ Dynamic URLs - Configurable base URL for all asset links
✔ UTF-8 Encoding - Proper character encoding for international characters
✔ Version Control Friendly - Keep your feed in git, track every change

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🗂️ Project Structure

podcast-test/
├── podcast_rss_generator/      # 📦 Main package
│   ├── __init__.py             # Package exports & version
│   ├── generator.py            # Core RSS generation engine
│   └── cli.py                  # Command-line interface
│
├── tests/                      # 🧪 Test suite
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── conftest.py
│
├── feed.yaml                   # 📋 Example config (you edit this)
├── podcast.xml                 # 📡 Generated RSS feed (output)
│
├── pyproject.toml              # 🔧 Modern package config (PEP 517/518)
├── setup.py                    # 🔧 Traditional setup config
├── MANIFEST.in                 # 📦 File inclusion rules
├── requirements.txt            # 📦 Production dependencies
├── requirements-dev.txt        # 🛠️ Development dependencies
│
├── README.md                   # 📖 This file
├── INSTALLATION.md             # 💾 Installation guide
├── PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION.md      # 📝 Full package overview
├── PYPI_PUBLISHING_GUIDE.md    # 🚀 How to publish to PyPI
├── PROJECT_SUMMARY.md          # 🎯 Enhancement summary
├── LICENSE                     # 📄 MIT License

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📥 Installation

Option 1: Install from PyPI (Recommended)

pip install podcast-rss-generator

Then use the CLI:

podcast-rss-generator --input feed.yaml --output podcast.xml

Option 2: Install from Source

git clone https://github.com/saitejabandaru-in/podcast-test.git
cd podcast-test
pip install -e .

Option 3: Run Locally

pip install pyyaml
python feed.py

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💻 Usage

Command Line Interface

# Using default filenames (feed.yaml → podcast.xml)
podcast-rss-generator

# Custom input/output
podcast-rss-generator --input my-podcast.yaml --output my-feed.xml

# Show help
podcast-rss-generator --help

# Show version
podcast-rss-generator --version

Python API

from podcast_rss_generator import generate_rss_feed

# Generate RSS feed from YAML
output_path = generate_rss_feed("feed.yaml", "podcast.xml")
print(f"✅ Feed generated: {output_path}")

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📝 Configuration Guide

Podcast Metadata (Top Level)

title: Your Podcast Title              # Display name
subtitle: Your Tagline                 # Short description (1-2 lines)
author: Your Name                      # Podcast host/creator
description: Full description          # Complete podcast description
link: https://example.com              # Base URL (prepended to all paths)
image: /images/artwork.jpg             # Podcast artwork path
language: en-us                        # Language code (en-us, es-es, etc.)
category: Technology                   # iTunes category
format: audio/mpeg                     # Audio format (usually audio/mpeg)

Episodes Section

Add episodes to the item array. Each episode needs:

item:
  - title: "Episode Title"                           # Display name
    description: "What this episode is about"        # Episode description
    published: "Thu, 12 Jan 2023 18:00:00 GMT"       # RFC 2822 format
    file: /audio/episode.mp3                         # Audio file path (relative to link)
    duration: "00:45:30"                             # Length in HH:MM:SS
    length: 54567123                                 # File size in bytes

Publication Date Format: Must follow RFC 2822 (e.g., Thu, 12 Jan 2023 18:00:00 GMT)

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🔄 Workflow

Step 1: Edit Configuration

Edit feed.yaml with your podcast details and episodes:

nano feed.yaml
# or use VSCode, Sublime, or your favorite editor

Step 2: Generate Feed

Use the CLI command:

podcast-rss-generator --input feed.yaml --output podcast.xml

Or use the Python API:

from podcast_rss_generator import generate_rss_feed
generate_rss_feed("feed.yaml", "podcast.xml")

Step 3: Deploy

Upload podcast.xml to your web server and submit the feed URL to podcast platforms:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Google Podcasts
• All RSS directory services

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💡 Usage Examples

Example 1: Adding a New Episode

  - title: "EP06-New Topic"
    description: "Deep dive into the latest trends"
    published: "Thu, 16 Feb 2023 18:00:00 GMT"
    file: /audio/TFIT06.mp3
    duration: "00:35:00"
    length: 42000000

Then run:

podcast-rss-generator

Example 2: Updating Podcast Title

title: "The Future in Tech - Season 2"
subtitle: "Advanced Topics & Expert Interviews"

Re-run the generator → all episodes inherit new metadata.

Example 3: Changing the Base URL

link: https://mynewsite.com

All episode audio paths automatically prepend the new URL:

• /audio/ep1.mp3 → https://mynewsite.com/audio/ep1.mp3

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📈 What This Project Demonstrates

✔ Professional Python package structure (PEP 517/518)
✔ CLI development with argparse
✔ YAML configuration management
✔ XML generation from structured data
✔ RSS/podcast standards knowledge
✔ iTunes integration and compatibility
✔ Clean, modular Python scripting
✔ Version-controlled podcast distribution
✔ PyPI package publishing

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🧪 Tech Stack

• Python: 3.6+
• Runtime: PyYAML, xml.etree.ElementTree (stdlib)
• Development: setuptools, pytest, black, flake8, twine

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📋 Requirements

• Python: 3.6 or higher
• Dependencies: pyyaml (auto-installed with package)
• Workflow: YAML config file + valid podcast metadata
• Hosting: Audio files accessible from your base URL

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📚 Documentation

Document	Purpose
README.md	Main guide & examples (this file)
INSTALLATION.md	Setup instructions
PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION.md	Full package overview
PYPI_PUBLISHING_GUIDE.md	How to publish to PyPI
PROJECT_SUMMARY.md	What was improved

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� Workflow Tips

1. Version Control - Keep feed.yaml in git, track all episode changes
2. Validate Feed - Use podtrac.com or podbase.io to validate
3. Host the XML - Upload podcast.xml to your web server
4. Submit URLs - Most platforms accept your feed URL (e.g., https://yourdomain.com/podcast.xml)
5. Update Regularly - Edit feed.yaml, run podcast-rss-generator, redeploy
6. Test Locally - Keep multiple copies for testing different configurations

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👨‍💻 Author

Sai Teja Bandaru
Data Scientist & Open Source Developer

🌐 https://www.saitejabandaru.com/

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📄 License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

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⭐ Support

If you find this useful:

⭐ Star the repo — helps others discover it
🍴 Fork it — build on it for your use case
🐛 Report issues — help improve the tool

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Building automation-driven workflows for content creators.