Podcasts Are Coming to SoundLeaf

Ever since SoundLeaf launched, one question has come up more than any other: “Are podcasts coming?”

Yes. They are. Soon.

Audiobookshelf has supported podcast libraries for a long time, but SoundLeaf only ever knew about audiobooks. If you had a podcast library on your server, the app basically pretended it didn’t exist. People have been patiently self-hosting their podcast collections waiting for a proper native iOS client.

I’ve been head-down building that for the last few months. Here’s what’s coming.

It actually feels like a podcast app

Podcasts aren’t audiobooks with episodes. They have their own rhythm. New stuff shows up, you queue the episodes you care about, old ones pile up, you download on Wi-Fi and listen on the commute. I wanted SoundLeaf’s podcast experience to feel like a real podcast app, not an awkward bolt-on to the audiobook view.

So that’s what it does.

Browse your library

Grid view of every podcast on your server, with cover art big enough to actually recognize what you’re looking at. Tap in, you get the episode list with dates, durations, and progress indicators for what you’ve already listened to. Filter by unplayed, in progress, or completed when you want to find something specific.

Nothing revolutionary. Just stuff that actually works.

A queue that makes sense

This one took me a while to get right. The queue is modeled after Pocket Casts. Swipe an episode to add it, they play in order, and when one ends the next auto-advances. Rearrange, skip, or drop things at any point.

If you’ve ever missed the moment between episodes where you could’ve been listening and weren’t, you’ll get why I cared about this.

Per-podcast settings

Each podcast gets its own little settings screen, because not every podcast is the same.

• Playback speed - because some hosts talk twice as fast as others
• Auto-download new episodes - stay current without thinking about it
• Keep the last N episodes - automatic cleanup so your phone doesn’t fill up
• Auto-delete after listening - or don’t, your call
• Wi-Fi only downloads - the obvious default
• Sort order - newest first, oldest first
• Check for new episodes - manual trigger if you can’t wait for the next refresh

Simple.

Downloads that behave themselves

Every episode row shows exactly where it is. Not downloaded, downloading, or downloaded. No more wondering if something actually saved. And with keep-last-N and auto-delete-after-listening quietly cleaning up behind you, your phone’s storage stops being something you have to think about.

CarPlay works too

Podcast libraries show up in CarPlay the same way audiobook libraries do. Pick a podcast, pick an episode, drive. Now Playing handles the rest.

Because apparently people listen while driving.

When

Soon. It’s rolling through TestFlight first while I hammer on the rough edges, then to everyone on the App Store.

If you want to try it early, join TestFlight. Bug reports welcome on GitHub.

Happy listening, Hemant