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🚧 These docs are a work in progress and may contain inaccuracies. Content is being actively reviewed and validated.

Getting Started with Podcasts

Dubby includes a built-in podcast client alongside its video streaming capabilities. Subscribe to any podcast via RSS, discover new shows through Podcast Index and iTunes, manage a listening queue, download episodes for offline playback, and enjoy Podcasting 2.0 features like chapters and transcripts.

Podcast libraries

Section titled “Podcast libraries”

Unlike movie and TV libraries, podcast libraries don’t need filesystem paths. Content is fetched directly from RSS feeds over the internet.

When you subscribe to your first podcast, Dubby automatically creates a podcast library for you. You can also create one manually from Settings > Libraries by selecting the Podcasts type.

Subscribing to a podcast

Section titled “Subscribing to a podcast”

There are two ways to subscribe:

Section titled “Search”
  1. Go to Podcasts and switch to the Discover tab
  2. Search by podcast name, topic, or host
  3. Browse the results and click on a show to preview it
  4. Click Subscribe

Dubby searches Podcast Index (the primary source) and falls back to iTunes if needed. Results are deduplicated by feed URL.

Direct RSS URL

Section titled “Direct RSS URL”

If you have a podcast’s RSS feed URL:

  1. Go to Podcasts and use the Subscribe by URL option
  2. Paste the feed URL
  3. Dubby fetches the feed, displays a preview, and lets you confirm the subscription

This works with any valid RSS feed — including private or unlisted podcasts.

Browsing your library

Section titled “Browsing your library”

The Podcasts section has three main views:

TabShows
SubscribedAll podcasts you’re subscribed to, with unplayed episode counts
New EpisodesUnplayed episodes from your subscriptions, sorted newest first
Keep ListeningEpisodes you’ve started but haven’t finished (position > 0, less than 90% complete)

Feed types

Section titled “Feed types”

Podcasts have two feed types that affect how episodes are presented:

  • Episodic (default) — Episodes are independent and shown newest first. Most podcasts use this format.
  • Serial — Episodes tell a story in order and are shown in sequence (Season 1 Episode 1 first). True crime, fiction, and documentary podcasts often use this format.

The feed type is detected automatically from the RSS feed’s <itunes:type> tag.

Episode types

Section titled “Episode types”

Individual episodes can have different types:

TypeDescription
FullA regular episode
TrailerA short preview or promotional episode
BonusExtra content outside the regular episode lineup

What’s next

Section titled “What’s next”