Apple Podcast Downloader - Claude Skill

A comprehensive Claude Code skill for searching, browsing, and downloading podcast episodes from Apple Podcasts.

✨ Features

• 🔍 Smart Search - Find podcasts by keyword, author, or topic across Apple Podcasts
• 📋 Episode Browser - Browse episodes with rich metadata (title, date, duration, description)
• 📥 Audio Download - Download episodes as MP3 files with progress tracking
• 🌏 Unicode Support - Full support for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other languages
• 📊 Rich Metadata - Access RSS feeds, artwork, ratings, and detailed information
• ⚡ Zero Dependencies - Uses only Python 3 standard library
• 🔐 No Auth Required - Free Apple iTunes API with no authentication needed

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

Method 1: Via Claude Code Plugin (Recommended)

If you’re using Claude Code, you can install this skill as a plugin:

1. Add the plugin marketplace (first time only):

   /plugin marketplace add BurnWang/apple-podcast-downloader
   

2. Install the skill:

   /plugin install podcast-downloader
   

3. That’s it! The skill is now available in all your Claude Code sessions.

Note: Plugins can be toggled on/off as needed using Claude Code’s plugin management. See the Claude Code Plugin Documentation for more details.

Method 2: Manual Installation

1. Clone to your Claude skills directory:

   # For global installation (available in all projects)
   cd ~/.claude/skills/
   git clone https://github.com/BurnWang/apple-podcast-downloader.git
   
   # For project-specific installation
   cd your-project/.claude/skills/
   git clone https://github.com/BurnWang/apple-podcast-downloader.git
   

2. No additional dependencies required - uses only Python 3 standard library.

Basic Usage

Simply ask Claude natural questions:

"Find podcasts about Python programming"
"Download the latest episode of The Daily"
"Show me the 5 most recent Talk Python To Me episodes"
"Search for 绿皮火车 podcast"  (Chinese search works!)

Manual Usage

You can also use the helper script directly:

# Search for podcasts
python3 scripts/itunes_api.py search "keyword" 10

# Get episodes from a podcast
python3 scripts/itunes_api.py episodes 1200361736 5

# Download an episode
python3 scripts/itunes_api.py download 1200361736 0 downloads/

📚 Documentation

• SKILL.md - Main skill definition for Claude
• examples.md - 8 detailed usage examples