Content Hierarchy
How streams, shows, episodes, and groups relate to each other in AutoPod.
The hierarchy
AutoPod organises content in a simple tree:
Account
Your station account. This is the top level — when you sign in to the dashboard, you're signing in to your account.
Stream
A stream represents a single audio source — your station's live broadcast. Most stations have one stream, but some have multiple (e.g., a main station and a specialist music stream).
Each stream has its own:
- Broadcast schedule
- Shows and episodes
- Player configuration
- RSS feeds
- Analytics
Show
A show is a named programme — "The Breakfast Show", "Afternoon Drive", "Saturday Sports". Shows have:
- Title and presenter
- Cover artwork (ideally 3000 × 3000 pixels)
- Description
- Settings (RSS visibility, trim offset, categories)
Shows are assigned to time slots in the schedule. When AutoPod creates an episode, it uses the schedule to determine which show the episode belongs to.
Episode
An episode is a single piece of published audio. Episodes are either:
- Automatically generated from the schedule (most common)
- Manually uploaded through the dashboard
Each episode belongs to exactly one show and inherits that show's artwork and metadata.
Series
A series is the technical link between a show and its schedule entries. You don't normally interact with series directly — when you create a show, a series is created automatically. The schedule editor works with series behind the scenes.
You'll see "series" mentioned in some parts of the dashboard and API. Just think of it as "the schedule link for a show."
Groups
Groups sit alongside the main hierarchy as a way to combine multiple shows for specific purposes:
A group is simply a named collection of shows. Groups are useful for:
- Combined RSS feeds — create a single podcast feed that includes episodes from multiple shows
- Combined widgets — display episodes from multiple shows in a single widget
- Organisational grouping — categorise shows by genre, day, or audience (e.g., "Music Shows", "Talk Shows", "Weekend Programming")
Shows can belong to multiple groups. Groups don't affect how episodes are generated — they're purely an organisational and distribution tool.
How this maps to distribution
Each level of the hierarchy has its own distribution endpoints:
| Level | Player | RSS Feed | Widgets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stream | All episodes | Stream feed (all shows) | Stream widgets |
| Show | Show page with episodes | Show feed | Show widgets |
| Group | — | Group feed (combined) | Group widgets |
| Episode | Individual playback | Entry in feeds | Listed in widgets |
This means a single episode can be available through multiple RSS feeds simultaneously — the stream feed, the show feed, and any group feeds that include the show.