PodPulsar Documentation

Everything you need to turn your writing into studio-quality podcast episodes — from your first episode to publishing on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Overview

PodPulsar is an AI-powered podcast generator. Paste any article, blog post, essay, or notes — and PodPulsar converts it into a natural-sounding podcast episode with expressive AI voices. No recording equipment, no editing software, no audio experience needed.

Quick Start

Create your first podcast episode in under 2 minutes:

1. Sign up — Go to podpulsar.com/dashboard and log in with your email. No password needed — we use magic links.
2. Create a show — Click "New Show", give it a name and optional description. A show is like a podcast channel that holds your episodes.
3. Create an episode — Click "New Episode" inside your show. Paste your article or text content (up to 8,000 characters).
4. Choose your style — Pick a format (solo, co-host, debate, etc.), a Voice Delivery Preset (warm, energetic, etc.), a host setup or voice, and a language. Optionally add Script Instructions to guide the AI writer.
5. Generate — Click "Generate". PodPulsar's AI writes a script and converts it to audio. This takes about 30–90 seconds depending on length.
6. Listen & publish — Preview your episode, make edits if needed, then publish. Share the link or submit your RSS feed to podcast directories.

Creating a Show

A show is your podcast channel. Each show has its own name, artwork, subdomain, and RSS feed. You can create multiple shows on paid plans.

Show Settings

Click the ✎ edit button next to any show card to open the Edit Show modal. Settings are split across two tabs:

General tab

• Name — Your podcast title. Appears in podcast directories and your RSS feed.
• Author / Host name — The creator name displayed in podcast apps and on your public show page. Also used as the RSS feed owner contact name.
• Description — A short summary of what your podcast is about. Shows up in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.
• Language — Default language for new episodes in this show.
• Category — Podcast category shown in directories.

Settings tab

• Subdomain — Choose a unique subdomain like yourshow.podpulsar.com for your public profile page and RSS feed. Required before you can publish any episode. Once set, the subdomain cannot be changed — choose carefully.
• Artwork — Square image (JPEG, PNG, or WebP, max 500 KB). Recommended size: 3000×3000px (Apple standard).
• Apple Podcasts URL / Spotify URL — Paste these after your show is approved on each platform. They appear as subscribe buttons on your public show page.

Creating an Episode

Each episode starts with your text content. PodPulsar's AI handles everything else — writing the script, adding natural transitions, and generating audio.

Step-by-step

1. Open your show and click "New Episode".
2. Paste your content — Articles, blog posts, essays, notes, or any text up to 8,000 characters.
3. Set a title — Give your episode a clear, descriptive title.
4. Pick a format — Choose how the content should be presented (solo narration, two hosts chatting, a debate, etc.).
5. Pick a tone — Set the emotional feel (warm, energetic, dramatic, etc.). Not all tones are available for every format.
6. Choose voices — Select AI voices for each speaker. Multi-speaker formats (co-host, interview, debate) let you pick different voices for each role.
7. Set language — Choose the language for the generated audio.
8. Choose length — Short, medium, or long. Controls how many segments the AI generates.
9. Click "Generate" — The AI writes the script and synthesizes audio. Takes 30–90 seconds.

Podcast Formats

PodPulsar supports 8 distinct formats. Each one structures the AI script differently to suit your content:

Voice Delivery Preset

The Voice Delivery Preset (previously called Tone) controls the overall emotional feel of both the AI-written script and the voice synthesis. Set it when creating an episode — you can also change it later on the podcast page under Host Setup.

Voices & Host Setups

PodPulsar voices are expressive, natural-sounding AI voices that convey emotion, not just words. Each voice has its own character, timbre, and personality.

Named Voices

10 curated voices are available, each with a unique illustrated avatar and personality:

Host Setups

A Host Setup is a saved combination of 1 or 2 voices you can reuse across multiple episodes. Instead of picking voices every time, create a named setup — e.g. "Atlas & Mira" — and apply it to any episode with one click.

• Go to Dashboard → Hosts to create and manage host setups
• Each setup shows how many episodes it's linked to
• Host setups can be applied when creating an episode or changed on an existing episode via the Host Setup panel

Languages

PodPulsar supports 24 languages for script generation and voice synthesis. The AI writes the script and speaks in the selected language natively — not just translation.

Episode Lengths

Choose how long your episode should be. This controls the number of AI-generated segments:

Script Control

PodPulsar gives you fine-grained control over how the AI writes your script — both at episode creation and after.

Script Instructions

When creating a new episode, you can optionally provide Script Instructions (Step 6) to guide the AI writer:

• Focus on a specific angle: "Focus only on the environmental impact."
• Set audience level: "Explain this as if talking to a complete beginner."
• Control style: "Make it more humorous and light-hearted."
• Set structure: "Start with a surprising statistic. End with a call to action."

Instructions are saved with the episode and reused if you rewrite the script.

Rewrite Script

After an episode is generated, you can rewrite the entire script without re-submitting your content. Click the ✍️ Rewrite Script button in the Script card header.

• Optionally add new instructions to guide the rewrite differently
• All existing audio is cleared — you'll need to regenerate after the new script is ready
• Rewriting costs 5 minutes of audio quota as a proxy for the LLM generation cost
• The original content is always preserved — rewrites never lose your source material

Segment Editing

Every script segment is individually editable. Click any segment text to edit it, then:

• Click the preview button (▶) to regenerate audio for just that segment
• Save the edited script with the Save Script bar that appears
• Add new segments between existing ones using the insert buttons
• Delete segments (minimum 1 must remain)

Voice Style Control

PodPulsar offers three levels of voice delivery control, applied in priority order:

Voice Delivery Style (Global)

Found in the Host Setup panel on the podcast page. This is a free-text natural language direction for the voice engine — describing tone, pace, and emotion for the whole episode.

Example: "Two co-hosts in a natural, slightly skeptical conversation. Brisk pace, sounds like they're genuinely thinking through ideas in real-time."

Segment Voice Style (Per-Segment)

Each segment can have its own voice style that overrides the global settings. Click the 🎨 button in a segment's action bar to open the style panel.

• Segments with a custom style show an amber 🎨 button with a dot indicator
• Leave it empty to use the global Voice Delivery Style
• Saving a segment style clears its cached audio — click preview to hear the new delivery
• Works in both segment previews and full audio generation

Voice Tags

Inline tags you can insert directly into segment text to control micro-level delivery at the word or phrase level. Click a tag button above the segment textarea to insert it at the cursor position.

Episode Description

Each episode has a description shown on your public show page, RSS feed, and podcast directories like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

• The AI automatically generates a 2–3 sentence description during script generation
• You can edit it on the podcast page — click the ✏️ button on the description box
• Once you manually edit the description, it won't be overwritten by future script rewrites
• Maximum 4,000 characters (Apple Podcasts limit)

Shows & Subdomains

What is a Show?

A show is your podcast channel — the container that holds all your episodes. Think of it like a YouTube channel or a Spotify podcast page. Everything listeners see and directories index belongs to a show:

• Your podcast name, artwork, description, and category
• All your published episodes in one place
• Your RSS feed, public page, and embed player
• Your Apple Podcasts and Spotify submission URLs

You can have multiple shows on paid plans — for example a main show and a side project, or shows in different languages.

What is a Subdomain?

A subdomain gives your show its own address on the internet. When you set a subdomain like techweekly, your show gets:

Why the Subdomain is Required to Publish

Without a subdomain, your episodes have no public URL and no RSS feed — there's nowhere to send listeners. The Publish button on the episode page will be replaced by a warning prompting you to set one. Once you save a subdomain for your show, the Publish button appears automatically.

Choosing a Good Subdomain

• Keep it short and memorable — techweekly, themindset, deepdiveai
• Use only letters, numbers, and hyphens — no spaces or special characters
• 3–32 characters — must start and end with a letter or number
• Match your show name where possible — it becomes your permanent identity
• Avoid very generic names — podcast or show are taken and feel unmemorable

Setting Your Subdomain

1. Go to Dashboard → Shows.
2. Click the ✎ edit button on your show card.
3. Switch to the Settings tab in the modal.
4. Type your chosen subdomain in the Subdomain field. You'll see a preview of the full URL as you type.
5. Click Save Changes. Your subdomain is now live — the public page and RSS feed are immediately accessible.

What the Subdomain Unlocks

1. Public Show Page

A clean, shareable podcast website at yourshow.podpulsar.com — no setup required. It shows your artwork, description, and a list of all published episodes with inline audio players. You can share this link anywhere: social media, email newsletters, your website bio.

2. Individual Episode Pages

Each published episode gets its own URL at yourshow.podpulsar.com/episodes/episode-title-abc12345. These are shareable, SEO-friendly pages with the episode audio player, title, and description — perfect for linking directly to a specific episode.

3. RSS Feed

Your RSS feed at yourshow.podpulsar.com/feed.xml is what podcast directories (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc.) use to import and sync your episodes. Submit it once — every new episode you publish automatically appears in every directory that has your feed. No manual uploads ever.

4. Embed Player

A full show embed player you can paste into any website. It shows all your published episodes in a scrollable playlist. Find the embed code under Dashboard → Shows → Feed & URLs tab. Works with WordPress, Ghost, Webflow, Squarespace, Notion, and any site that supports HTML.

5. Transcript Pages

Each episode has a transcript page at yourshow.podpulsar.com/transcript/<play_id>. These are linked from your RSS feed and help podcast apps like Pocket Casts and Overcast display word-by-word transcripts to listeners — a growing accessibility expectation for modern podcasts.

Managing Multiple Shows

On paid plans you can run multiple shows from the same account — each with its own subdomain, RSS feed, host setups, and episode library. Common uses:

• A main show and a bonus or behind-the-scenes feed
• Shows in different languages for different audiences
• Separate shows for different topics or brands
• A private or subscriber-only feed alongside a public one

Each show is completely independent — different artwork, different voices, different publishing schedule. Switch between shows using the show selector in the Dashboard.

Show vs Episode Settings

It's worth knowing which settings live at the show level vs the episode level:

RSS Feed

Every show with a subdomain gets an auto-generated RSS feed at https://yourshow.podpulsar.com/feed.xml. This is the industry-standard way to distribute podcasts to all major platforms.

The feed updates automatically whenever you publish a new episode. It includes episode titles, descriptions, audio URLs, artwork, and all required podcast metadata.

Publishing to Apple Podcasts

1. Go to podcasters.apple.com and sign in with your Apple ID.
2. Click "Add a Show" and paste your RSS feed URL.
3. Apple will validate your feed and show a preview. Review the details and submit.
4. Apple reviews new podcasts within 24–48 hours. You'll get an email once approved.
5. Once approved, new episodes you publish on PodPulsar will automatically appear in Apple Podcasts.

Publishing to Spotify

1. Go to podcasters.spotify.com and sign in.
2. Click "Get Started" → "Add your podcast".
3. Paste your RSS feed URL and click "Next".
4. Spotify will import your show info. Review and confirm.
5. Verify ownership via the code sent to your email, then submit.
6. Your podcast typically goes live on Spotify within a few hours.

Public Profile Page

If you've set a subdomain for your show, you get a public profile page at yourshow.podpulsar.com. This page:

• Lists all your published episodes with playable audio
• Shows your podcast artwork, title, and description
• Includes a link to your RSS feed
• Works as a simple podcast website you can share anywhere

Plans & Pricing

Quotas & Limits

Audio Minutes

Each plan includes a monthly audio minute quota. Every second of generated audio counts toward your quota. When you hit the limit, new generations are paused until the next billing cycle.

Script Generation

There's a daily limit on how many scripts you can generate to prevent abuse. This resets at midnight UTC every day. You can also have at most 3 scripts generating concurrently.

What counts toward quota?

• Every audio generation (initial + retries) consumes minutes
• Previewing individual segments consumes a small amount
• Script generation (text only, no audio) does not consume audio minutes but counts toward your daily script limit
• Script rewrites deduct 5 minutes of audio quota each as a proxy for the LLM generation cost

Upgrading mid-cycle

When you upgrade, your audio quota resets to the new plan's full amount immediately. Unused minutes from the old plan do not carry over.

Billing & Refunds

PodPulsar uses Dodo Payments for secure billing. All plans are billed monthly.

• Upgrading — Takes effect immediately. You're charged the new plan price, and your audio quota resets to the new plan's full amount.
• Downgrading — Takes effect at the end of your current billing cycle. You keep your current plan's features until then.
• Cancellation — Your plan remains active until the end of the billing period, then reverts to the free plan.
• Refunds — Contact us at [email protected] within 7 days of a charge. Refunds are processed on a case-by-case basis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I edit the AI-generated script?

Yes. After generation, you can edit any segment's text and regenerate just that segment's audio — without redoing the whole episode.

What input formats work?

Plain text works best. Paste articles, blog posts, essays, notes, or any written content. Markdown is partially supported. Avoid pasting raw HTML or code.

What's the maximum input length?

Up to 8,000 characters per episode. For longer content, split it into multiple episodes or use the "summary" format for a condensed version.

Can I use PodPulsar for commercial podcasts?

Yes. All audio generated on PodPulsar is yours to use commercially. You own the content.

Do I need to credit PodPulsar?

No. There's no mandatory attribution or watermark on any plan.

Can I download the audio files?

Yes. Every generated episode has a download button for the final MP3 file.

How fast is generation?

Typically 30–90 seconds depending on episode length and server load.

Can I change a host setup's voices later?

Yes — edit the host setup from Dashboard → Hosts. Changes apply to future generations only; existing episode audio is not affected.

What's the difference between Voice Delivery Style and Voice Delivery Preset?

The Preset is a simple dropdown (Neutral, Warm, Energetic, etc.) — a quick starting point. The Voice Delivery Style is a free-text field where you write natural language instructions for the voice engine. The style overrides the preset. You can use both together — the preset sets the baseline and the style adds specifics.

Can I set different voice styles for different parts of my episode?

Yes — use the 🎨 button on individual segments to set a custom voice style for that segment only. This is the highest-priority setting and overrides both the global Voice Delivery Style and the Preset for that segment.

Will my episode description update automatically if I rewrite the script?

Yes, if you haven't manually edited the description. Once you edit it yourself, rewrites won't overwrite it — your custom description is preserved.

Can I change the subdomain after setting it?

No — the subdomain is permanent once set. This is by design: changing it would break existing RSS feed URLs, Apple Podcasts subscriptions, and listener bookmarks. Choose your subdomain carefully before saving.

Why can't I see the Publish button?

The Publish button only appears once your show has a subdomain set. Without a subdomain there's no public URL or RSS feed to publish to, so publishing would have no effect. Open Edit Show → Settings tab and set your subdomain — the Publish button will appear once it's saved.

Why does the episode page show "Audio generated" instead of a Generate button?

Once audio has been generated, the Generate button is replaced by an "✓ Audio generated" confirmation and a secondary "Regenerate Audio" button. Use Regenerate if you've edited the script or want a fresh take — it works the same as Generate but makes the option feel less prominent so you don't accidentally overwrite good audio.

Troubleshooting

Episode stuck on "Generating..."

If an episode has been generating for more than 5 minutes, try the "Retry" button. The system automatically recovers stuck jobs, but a manual retry can speed things up.

"Daily script limit reached"

You've hit your plan's daily script generation cap. This resets at midnight UTC. Upgrade for a higher daily limit, or wait until tomorrow.

"Quota exceeded"

Your monthly audio minutes are used up. This resets on your next billing date. You can upgrade to a higher plan for more minutes immediately.

Audio sounds clipped or distorted

This is rare. Try regenerating the affected segment. If the issue persists, try a different voice — some voices handle certain content types better than others.

RSS feed not updating

Make sure your episode is published (not just generated). Podcast directories may cache feeds for 1–24 hours. Apple Podcasts has a "Refresh Feed" button in Podcasters Dashboard.

Contact Support

Need help? Reach out to us:

• Email — [email protected]

We typically respond within 24 hours.