SMF·BUZZSPROUT
Can a prompt replace Buzzsprout?
Audio & video editing — podcast recording, cleanup and publishing
Exhibit tracking slip
Verdict
Hosting audio files and generating a spec-compliant podcast RSS feed is a genuine weekend build — the RSS format itself is well documented. What doesn't survive: Buzzsprout's one-click distribution to every podcast directory, its episode analytics, and years of quirks each podcast app expects that aren't in the official spec.
Exhibit A — The prompt
Received on31.07.2026Build a podcast hosting tool: upload an episode's audio file, fill in title, description, and episode number, and generate a spec-compliant podcast RSS feed (following the standard RSS 2.0 plus iTunes namespace tags) that any podcast app can subscribe to. Use Next.js/TypeScript with local disk or S3-compatible storage for audio files, and generate the RSS XML dynamically from an episode database (SQLite). Serve each episode's audio with proper range-request support, needed for scrubbing and resuming playback in podcast apps, and correct MIME types. Add a simple public episode-list webpage with an embeddable HTML5 audio player. Validate the generated feed against a standard podcast RSS validator during development, and fix anything it flags — small spec deviations are exactly what breaks compatibility with some apps. Do not build one-click directory submission automation, detailed analytics, or a full podcast website builder — those are out of scope; you'd still manually submit your feed URL to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and others once, which each accepts for free. Requires hosting, storage for audio files, and a domain for the feed's stable URL.Opening prefills the prompt — press enter to run it.
Exhibit B — What you lose
- B.1 one-click submission to every podcast directory
- B.2 detailed episode-level analytics
- B.3 years of podcast-app-specific RSS quirks handled for you
- B.4 a hosted embeddable player and episode website
Prior art
Exhibit C — Why people still pay: audio infrastructure, distribution, and production polish
Generating valid RSS is easy; staying compatible with every podcast app's particular interpretation of the spec, and getting listed cleanly across every directory, is the accumulated detail work.
Questions
Will podcast apps actually accept this feed?
If it validates against a standard podcast RSS validator and serves audio with proper range-request support, yes — those are the two most common reasons a homemade feed gets rejected or plays badly.
Do I still need to submit to Apple Podcasts and Spotify myself?
Yes, once each — submitting a feed URL to each directory is free and manual, and this build doesn't automate that one-time step.
Does it show me episode download analytics?
Only basic server access-log counts if you set that up yourself — nothing like Buzzsprout's detailed per-episode, per-platform analytics.
What does it cost to run?
Hosting, audio storage, and a domain — for a small personal podcast, often a few dollars a month depending on audio file sizes and listener volume.
Related tools
Receipt