How to submit podcast to Overcast

To submit podcast to Overcast, start with Apple Podcasts, not a separate Overcast account. Overcast says there is no separate submission process for inclusion: submit the show to Apple Podcasts and it will typically appear in Overcast search within one or two days. Use Overcast's manual RSS form only when the show is already listed by Apple but remains missing from Overcast.

Overcast can let an individual listener subscribe by URL, but the show will not enter public search or recommendations until Overcast verifies its Apple Podcasts listing.

Before you submit: check the feed and Apple listing

You need three things before the Overcast step:

• A public RSS feed URL from your podcast host
• At least one published episode that plays from that feed
• A live Apple Podcasts listing for the same show

Open the feed URL in a browser. Seeing raw XML in the browser is normal. Confirm that its show title, description, artwork and newest episode match what you intend to publish. If one of those fields is wrong, change it at your host. Overcast parses the feed, so correcting a title only on a promotional page will not correct the listing.

If the show is not yet on Apple Podcasts, follow Apple's official submission instructions. In Apple Podcasts Connect, click Add, select New Show, choose Add a show with an RSS feed, enter the feed URL and review the show information. Apple then asks for content rights, contact information and availability settings before you save and publish. The feed has to pass technical validation and a separate review before the show becomes available.

Apple also lets you choose whether the feed is publicly available through its Catalog API. That setting matters because Apple says it allows podcast app developers to include the show in their apps. Overcast uses Apple's directory as the filter for shows included in its own search and recommendations, so do not restrict the listing if public discovery is your goal.

How to submit podcast to Overcast

Keep the public Apple show URL handy because the manual check depends on that listing.

Route 1: wait for automatic inclusion

Overcast's information for podcasters says there is no separate submission process. Once Apple lists the show, Overcast typically adds it to search within one or two days.

1. Open the public Apple Podcasts page for your show and confirm it loads.
2. Copy the exact show title.
3. Search for that title in Overcast.
4. If the name is common, add the host name or publisher to the search.
5. Open the result and compare its artwork, description and latest episode with the feed.

Give the automatic route its stated window before using the manual form. Repeated submissions will not make Apple approval happen sooner, and they do not replace the Apple listing requirement.

Add an Apple-listed show manually

Use this route when the public Apple Podcasts page works but Overcast search still cannot find the show.

1. Go to Overcast's Add Podcast page.
2. Paste the public RSS feed URL into the Feed URL field.
3. Click Add Podcast to send the feed for checking.
4. Search Overcast again after it has had time to fetch the feed.
5. Open the result and play part of the newest episode.

The form states that a manually added show will not appear in search results until Overcast can verify its inclusion in Apple Podcasts. If the feed is valid but the Apple page is not public yet, stop and finish the Apple submission rather than trying different versions of the feed URL.

What Overcast does with your feed

Overcast remains a directory and listening app, not your podcast host. Its podcaster documentation says the app parses your RSS feed and each listener downloads episodes directly from your servers. Overcast does not cache, re-host or re-serve the audio to listeners.

That arrangement leaves the feed in control of the listing:

If you are new to the mechanics, what is RSS feed podcasting? explains why one feed can supply many listening apps.

Overcast centrally crawls feeds to find new episodes, but the listening request still goes to your audio server. Its documentation says crawl intervals vary according to popularity. Do not treat a delay between publishing and appearing in the app as evidence that the episode was rejected.

How to verify the submission worked

A successful submission needs more than a search result. Check the path a listener will use.

1. Search the exact show title in Overcast.
2. Open the show and compare the artwork and author with your feed.
3. Confirm the newest episode appears with the right title and publication date.
4. Start playback and seek forward to make sure the audio file responds.
5. Copy the show page URL and open it in a private browser window.

Overcast documents a predictable web URL for shows known to Apple Podcasts: https://overcast.fm/itunes123456789, where the number is the Apple Podcasts ID. You can find that number in the Apple Podcasts URL and use the Overcast version as the destination for a subscribe button.

Do not judge distribution from download counts immediately after submission. Overcast does not provide creators with a separate audience dashboard, and its documentation says no other statistics, analytics or usage data are provided beyond feed-request information designed to protect listener privacy. Overcast podcast stats explains what you can and cannot infer from those requests.

Fix the common failure points

Start with the public Apple page and the live RSS feed. Those two checks separate a directory delay from a problem at the source.

The show is on Apple but missing from Overcast

First, confirm that you are looking at a public Apple show page rather than a Published label inside Apple Podcasts Connect. Then submit the same public RSS feed through Overcast's manual form. A typo, redirected URL or private feed can point Overcast at a different feed from the one Apple reviewed.

The feed works by URL but the show is absent from search

This is expected when Overcast cannot verify an Apple Podcasts listing. Overcast allows a listener to subscribe directly to any public feed with Add URL, but unknown feeds stay out of search and recommendations. Finish or repair the Apple listing.

Old artwork or an old episode appears

Check the live XML before blaming the app. If the old value remains in the feed, fix the host. If the feed is current, allow the crawler to revisit it. Overcast's podcaster page also publishes a ping API for hosting services and content management systems, but it is intended for automated publisher integrations and is rate-limited. A podcaster should not build a manual refresh routine around it.

A private feed does not appear publicly

Overcast restricts feeds with HTTP Basic Auth credentials or an <itunes:block> element. They are excluded from search and recommendations, though a listener who knows the exact URL can add one privately.

What to do after the show appears

Add the Overcast show URL to your website's listening links and test it on a device with Overcast installed. Ask listeners to use the app they prefer rather than making Overcast the only option.

If discovery inside Overcast matters to you, the app's directory categories reflect recent listener recommendations rather than a human-picked featured list. Our how to rank on Overcast charts guide covers that recommendation mechanism without pretending submission itself earns placement.

Keep platform activity separate from host-side delivery. A request for an episode file and a listener action inside an app describe different things. How to track podcast analytics shows how app reporting and feed-level measurement fit together without adding incompatible figures.

Start tracking your show with Podder after the listing is live, then use the Overcast link as one tested route into the same feed.