Localcaster - Podcast Player

Search & Subscribe

Find a show by name and subscribe in one tap — no account required. Already have a link? Paste an RSS URL directly. Switching from another app? Import your subscriptions in bulk from an OPML file, and export Localcaster's back out the same way.

Also Works With Your Own Network Share

A capability most podcast apps don't have: point Localcaster at a NAS or home server and add shows you've already archived there with podcast-dl. Connect over SMB, browse the share's folders, and tap "Add as Feed" — it shows up in your library right alongside your regular subscriptions. The app only ever reads from your share; it never writes back except when you explicitly choose to archive an episode to it.

Refresh & Sync

Pull to refresh any feed to pick up new episodes — a web subscription re-checks its RSS, a network-share feed re-reads its folder. New episodes are flagged so you can spot them at a glance, and a "New Episodes" inbox surfaces everything new across every show in one place.

Smart Downloads

Download an episode — or every new one in a feed — for offline listening. Downloads run on Wi-Fi or cellular; a Wi-Fi-only toggle (on by default) keeps them off cellular until you turn it off. Cover art and full show notes come down alongside the audio automatically. Downloads can be paused and resumed, and auto-delete keeps a finished library tidy.

Built for Listening

Playback is always from a local download — no streaming, no interruptions from a flaky connection. Localcaster saves your position in every episode and auto-advances to the next one when it finishes. The player includes a sleep timer with fade-out, variable playback speed, lock-screen and AirPlay controls, and a volume slider. Tap any timestamp in the show notes to jump straight to that moment.

Chapters & Transcripts

Chapters appear automatically for episodes that have them — embedded in the audio or listed in the feed, complete with per-chapter artwork where the show provides it — so you can jump straight to a segment.

Transcripts show up on a dedicated tab. Web shows that publish their own (in any format — JSON, SRT, VTT, HTML, or plain text) get it automatically. When a show doesn't provide one, an iPhone on iOS 26 or later can generate a transcript on-device from any downloaded episode — including network-share feeds and manual files. It runs entirely on your device: nothing is uploaded, and it works offline. Tap any line to jump playback there, and search the full transcript with every match highlighted in place.

Organize Your Library

Every show's episode list has its own sort (by date, title, or duration) and a status filter (unplayed, played, downloaded, not downloaded). Search a single show's episodes, or search your entire episode library at once from the "New Episodes" screen.

Manual Files

A Files tab lets you browse a network share and download individual audio files one at a time, without setting up a whole feed — handy for a one-off recording or a show you don't want to fully subscribe to. It also shows per-show storage totals and a one-tap "Delete Played Downloads" to reclaim space.

Playlists & Up Next

Build dynamic playlists from your library: pull from whole shows or pick individual episodes, filter by unplayed / in-progress / played, and sort by date, title, duration, or feed. "Play All" builds an Up Next queue you can reorder on the fly, or add episodes to it one at a time as you go.

New-Episode Notifications

Turn on notifications and scheduled background checks for your web subscriptions, and Localcaster can alert you — and even auto-download — the moment a new episode lands, without you opening the app. Off by default; opt in per your preference.

Bookmarks

Tap the bookmark button in the player to save a timestamp with an optional label. Bookmarks appear in the episode's detail view sorted by time; tap one to jump straight back to that moment.

Siri, Shortcuts & Accessibility

Built-in voice commands work with no setup — "Play the latest episode in Localcaster," "Resume Localcaster," "Pause Localcaster" — and each is a building block in the Shortcuts app too. Headphone and car-stereo track buttons skip within the current episode instead of changing tracks. VoiceOver (including the player's scrubber and transport), Dynamic Type, and Reduce Motion are supported throughout. CarPlay support is built in and will switch on once Apple approves the CarPlay-audio entitlement.

Private by Design

There is no cloud service, no account, and no tracking. Everything you subscribe to and download lives on your device, and network-share connections stay read-only except when you explicitly choose to archive episodes back. What you listen to is nobody's business but yours.