Podchaser Scraper

Search and discover podcasts and episodes using the Apple Podcasts / iTunes database — the same data source that powers Podchaser and similar podcast directories. No API key or registration required.

Features

• Search podcasts by keyword with optional category and language/country filters
• Search episodes across all podcasts by keyword
• Trending podcasts — top chart podcasts from Apple Podcasts by category and country
• Podcast episode lists — fetch all episodes for specific Apple Podcasts URLs
• No auth required — uses the free public iTunes Search API and Apple Podcasts charts
• Global — supports 20+ country stores and languages

Use Cases

• Build a podcast recommendation engine or discovery tool
• Monitor trending podcasts by category and region
• Gather podcast metadata for a database or content aggregator
• Research podcast episode schedules and descriptions
• Find audio URLs for specific podcast episodes

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
mode	select	searchPodcasts, searchEpisodes, trending, podcastDetails
searchQuery	string	Search term (modes: searchPodcasts, searchEpisodes)
category	select	Filter by category: True Crime, News, Comedy, Technology, etc.
language	select	Country store / language: us, gb, de, fr, jp, es, etc.
podcastUrls	array	Apple Podcasts URLs for podcastDetails mode
maxItems	integer	Max records to return (1–500, default: 50)

Output Fields

Podcast Records

Field	Description
podcastId	Apple Podcasts ID
title	Podcast title
author	Publisher / author name
authorUrl	Author's Apple Podcasts page, when available
url	Apple Podcasts URL
sourceUrl	Source URL
feedUrl	RSS feed URL
imageUrl	Cover artwork (600x600)
episodeCount	Total number of episodes
latestEpisodeDate	Date of most recent episode
isExplicit	Whether the podcast is marked explicit
primaryGenre	Primary genre (e.g., True Crime)
categories	All genre categories (array)
language	Language of the podcast
country	Country store
contentRating	Content rating (Clean, Explicit)
recordType	Always "podcast"
scrapedAt	UTC timestamp

Episode Records

Field	Description
episodeId	Apple episode ID
episodeTitle	Episode title
podcastTitle	Parent podcast title
podcastId	Parent podcast ID
podcastUrl	Parent podcast Apple Podcasts URL
episodeUrl	Episode page URL
sourceUrl	Source URL
audioUrl	Direct audio file URL (MP3)
imageUrl	Episode artwork
description	Episode description
publishDate	Publish date (ISO 8601)
durationMinutes	Duration in minutes
isExplicit	Explicit content flag
episodeGuid	Unique episode GUID
categories	Genre categories
fileExtension	Audio file format (e.g. "mp3", "m4a")
contentType	Episode content type: "audio" or "video"
recordType	Always "episode"
scrapedAt	UTC timestamp

Example Output

{
  "podcastId": "1322200189",
  "title": "Crime Junkie",
  "author": "Audiochuck",
  "url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crime-junkie/id1322200189",
  "sourceUrl": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crime-junkie/id1322200189",
  "feedUrl": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/qm_9xx0g",
  "imageUrl": "https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts126/.../600x600bb.jpg",
  "episodeCount": 516,
  "latestEpisodeDate": "2026-06-29T07:00:00Z",
  "isExplicit": false,
  "primaryGenre": "True Crime",
  "categories": ["True Crime"],
  "language": "English",
  "country": "USA",
  "contentRating": "Clean",
  "recordType": "podcast",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-06-30T10:00:00+00:00"
}

FAQs

Q: Do I need an API key? A: No. This actor uses the free iTunes Search API and Apple Podcasts chart API — no keys, no registration.

Q: What data source does it use? A: The Apple iTunes Search API (itunes.apple.com/search) and Apple Podcasts chart API — the same databases used by Podchaser, Spotify, and major podcast apps.

Q: How many results can I get? A: Up to 500 records per run. The iTunes API returns up to 200 results per page. For trending, it fetches the top 100 chart positions (Apple's chart API caps at 100).

Q: Which countries/languages are supported? A: 22 country stores: US, GB, DE, FR, ES, PT, JP, KR, CN, IT, NL, SE, DK, FI, NO, PL, RU, BR, MX, IN, AU, CA.

Q: Can I get episodes for a specific podcast? A: Yes — use mode=podcastDetails with Apple Podcasts URLs like https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crime-junkie/id1322200189.

Q: Can I filter by category? A: Yes — all modes support category filtering by: True Crime, News, Comedy, Society & Culture, Business, Science, Sports, Technology, Fiction, History, Health & Fitness, Kids & Family, Religion & Spirituality, Music, Arts, Government.

Q: Does this return audio URLs? A: Yes — episode records include audioUrl with the direct MP3 link.

Q: Can I find non-English podcasts? A: Yes — set language to a non-US country code (e.g., de for German, jp for Japanese) to get podcasts from that store.

Data Source

Data is retrieved from the iTunes Search API and Apple Podcasts Charts API — publicly accessible, free APIs with no authentication required.