# Podcast RSS Feed Quality Audit (`agentworks-lab/podcast-rss-feed-quality-audit`) Actor

Check public podcast RSS feeds for missing episode audio, duplicate GUIDs, invalid enclosure metadata, dates, artwork, and Apple Podcasts readiness signals. Export actionable issue reports.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/agentworks-lab/podcast-rss-feed-quality-audit.md
- **Developed by:** [Jacob Fritz](https://apify.com/agentworks-lab) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$0.10 / podcast feed audit

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Podcast RSS Feed Quality Audit

Find podcast feed problems before listeners or directories do. Enter one public RSS 2.0 feed URL and get a summary plus an actionable row for each finding. Export JSON, CSV, or Excel, or run it from the Apify API or a scheduled Task.

### Checks

- Show title, description, artwork URL, language, author, category, and explicit-content declaration.
- At least one episode.
- Episode titles, GUIDs and duplicates, audio enclosures and duplicate audio URLs, byte lengths, MIME types, dates, and descriptions.
- Optional HTTP HEAD checks for artwork and the first three audio URLs. Audio files are never downloaded.

Each finding includes a severity, stable code, affected episode, explanation, and suggested fix. The summary gives the total and inspected episode counts.

### Input

```json
{
  "feedUrl": "https://your-podcast.example/feed.xml",
  "maxEpisodes": 100,
  "checkMediaHeaders": false
}
```

Use a public, unauthenticated feed. Private feeds, embedded credentials, and common tokenized query parameters are rejected. The Actor reads at most 5 MB, follows at most three redirects, and uses no proxy or paid third-party API.

### Output

The first dataset row summarizes the audit. Later rows contain findings such as:

```json
{
  "recordType": "finding",
  "severity": "error",
  "code": "GUID_DUPLICATE",
  "episodeTitle": "Episode 12",
  "message": "This GUID appears on more than one episode.",
  "fix": "Assign a distinct, permanent GUID to each episode."
}
```

### Pricing

This Actor is designed for pay per completed feed audit, with platform usage included in the event price. The live price is shown in Apify's Pricing tab. Failed fetches and invalid feeds do not trigger the custom audit event. Runs by free-plan users do not produce creator revenue under Apify's rules.

### Limits

This is a practical preflight check, not Apple's own validator or a guarantee of distribution approval. It checks the first `maxEpisodes` items in feed order, while counting all items. Some hosts block HEAD even when normal playback works. The Actor does not inspect audio content, artwork dimensions, all XML syntax rules, or directory account settings.

Checks are informed by [Apple's podcast RSS requirements](https://podcasters.apple.com/support/823-podcast-requirements) and [episode guidance](https://podcasters.apple.com/support/825-how-to-create-an-episode). For a questionable finding, open an Actor issue with the run ID and a public feed URL.

# Actor input Schema

## `feedUrl` (type: `string`):

A public RSS 2.0 feed URL. Do not enter private or tokenized feed URLs.

## `maxEpisodes` (type: `integer`):

Inspect up to this many episodes in feed order. Counts for the whole feed are still reported.

## `checkMediaHeaders` (type: `boolean`):

Send bounded HEAD requests for artwork and the first three episode audio URLs. Some hosts block HEAD; those responses are reported as warnings.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "feedUrl": "https://www.nasa.gov/feeds/podcasts/curious-universe",
  "maxEpisodes": 100,
  "checkMediaHeaders": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "feedUrl": "https://www.nasa.gov/feeds/podcasts/curious-universe"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("agentworks-lab/podcast-rss-feed-quality-audit").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "feedUrl": "https://www.nasa.gov/feeds/podcasts/curious-universe" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("agentworks-lab/podcast-rss-feed-quality-audit").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "feedUrl": "https://www.nasa.gov/feeds/podcasts/curious-universe"
}' |
apify call agentworks-lab/podcast-rss-feed-quality-audit --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,agentworks-lab/podcast-rss-feed-quality-audit"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/IXwEgAG2OyOEE0Xcq/builds/2uHE3DVM2SGyVJkpe/openapi.json