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Glossary

Key terms used throughout AutoPod and this documentation.

A​

Account​

The top-level entity that owns one or more streams. Each account has an account owner and can have delegate users.

Active (episode)​

An episode that has been processed, validated, and is ready for publication. Active episodes appear in the player, widgets, and RSS feeds (if the show is published).

Archive​

Soft-deleting an episode. Archived episodes are hidden from listeners but not permanently deleted — they can be restored from the dashboard.

Auto-archive​

A per-show setting that automatically archives episodes after a set number of days. Useful for keeping your episode library manageable.

B​

Broadcast schedule​

The weekly timetable of shows for your station. Built using the schedule builder in the dashboard, it controls when episodes are automatically generated.

C​

Colour cascade​

The priority order AutoPod uses to determine colours: widget data attributes > player settings > stream settings > defaults. See Theming & Colours.

Custom domain​

A domain you own (e.g., listen.yourstationname.com) that you can point at your AutoPod player or site instead of using the default player.autopod.xyz URL.

Cursor pagination​

An efficient way to page through large lists of episodes in the API. Each response includes a cursor token you pass to get the next page. See Episodes API.

D​

Dashboard​

The main admin interface at dashboard.autopod.xyz where you manage your station, shows, episodes, schedule, and settings.

Delegate user​

A user with limited access to your station. Delegates can manage episodes and shows for the streams they're assigned to, but can't change account-level settings.

E​

Embed code​

The HTML snippet you copy from the dashboard and paste into your website to display a widget. Consists of the SDK script tag (once per page) and widget div elements.

Episode​

A single piece of audio content, usually generated automatically from a recorded broadcast. Episodes belong to a show and appear in the player, RSS feeds, and widgets.

Episode checker​

A background service that validates newly generated episodes. It checks the duration matches the schedule and marks episodes as active or triggers a retry.

F​

Feed​

See RSS feed.

G​

Generator​

The audio processing service that stitches raw recording segments into finished episodes. Runs as short-lived jobs in the Kubernetes cluster.

Group​

A collection of shows that share a combined RSS feed. Useful for bundling related shows into a single podcast subscription.

I​

Icecast​

An open-source streaming media server. AutoPod connects to Icecast (or Shoutcast) streams to record audio. Your stream URL is typically an Icecast endpoint.

Intro​

See Pre-roll.

K​

Kill date​

An optional date after which an episode's audio file is automatically deleted. Different from archiving — kill dates permanently remove the file from storage.

L​

Live streaming​

Playing your station's live broadcast through the AutoPod player. Requires an HTTPS stream URL configured in player settings.

M​

Manifest​

See Web App Manifest.

Mixcloud​

A music streaming platform. AutoPod can automatically upload episodes to your Mixcloud account. Useful for shows with licensed music.

N​

Now playing​

The show currently on air according to your broadcast schedule. Displayed in the player, Now/Next widget, and available via the API.

P​

Player​

The public-facing audio player at player.autopod.xyz (or your custom domain). Listeners use it to browse episodes, listen live, and discover shows.

Pre-roll​

An audio clip (intro, sponsor message, station ID) that's automatically prepended to the beginning of generated episodes. Configured per-show.

Published (show)​

A show marked as visible to listeners. Published shows appear in the player, widgets, and RSS feeds. Unpublished shows are hidden but still exist in the dashboard.

PWA (Progressive Web App)​

A technology that lets the AutoPod player be installed as a standalone app on phones and computers. See Installing as an App.

R​

Raw segments​

The short audio files (roughly 40 seconds each) recorded from your stream. The generator stitches these into finished episodes.

Recorder​

A persistent service that connects to your stream URL and saves audio as raw segments. Each stream has its own dedicated recorder running in the Kubernetes cluster.

Retention​

How long episode audio files are kept before automatic deletion. Determined by your plan tier (e.g., 30 days, 90 days, or forever).

Rotating schedule​

A schedule that cycles through multiple weeks. For example, a 2-week rotation alternates between two different weekly schedules. Most stations use a 1-week rotation.

RSS feed​

An XML file that podcast apps use to discover and download your episodes. AutoPod generates RSS feeds automatically for streams, individual shows, and show groups. Compatible with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.

S​

Schedule builder​

The visual editor in the dashboard for creating your broadcast schedule. Supports drag-and-drop, keyboard navigation, copy/paste, and undo/redo.

Series​

An internal grouping that links shows to episodes and the schedule. Every show has at least one series. You don't need to manage series directly — they're created automatically.

Shadow DOM​

A browser technology that isolates widget styles from your website's CSS (and vice versa). This is why AutoPod widgets look consistent regardless of your website's styling.

Show​

A named programme on your station (e.g., "The Morning Show", "Jazz Hour"). Shows have artwork, a description, and contain episodes.

Sites​

AutoPod Sites — a complete website for your station at sites.autopod.xyz (or your custom domain). Includes episode browser, show pages, schedule display, and custom pages.

Slug​

A URL-friendly version of a name, using only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens. Used in RSS feed URLs, player URLs, and site page URLs.

Stream​

Your radio station's audio source. Each stream has a URL (Icecast/Shoutcast), a recorder, a schedule, and its own set of shows and episodes. One account can have multiple streams.

Stream delay offset​

A setting (0–599 seconds) that shifts recording times. Useful if your stream has a delay and episodes aren't aligning with the schedule.

T​

Theme​

The visual appearance of the player or widgets. Options are light, dark, or system (follows the visitor's device preference).

Trim​

Removing audio from the start or end of generated episodes. Configured per-show in seconds. Useful for cutting off stream jingles or silence.

W​

Web App Manifest​

A JSON file that tells browsers how to install the player as a PWA. AutoPod generates a unique manifest per station with your icon, name, colours, and live stream shortcuts.

Widget​

A self-contained component you embed on your website to display AutoPod content (episodes, schedule, player, etc.). See Widgets.

Widget SDK​

The JavaScript library that powers embedded widgets. Include it once per page via a script tag, and it renders all widget elements on the page.