Changelog

Adds a YouTube option to hide archived live stream VODs and fixes queueing, auto-download refresh, and small-screen task errors.

• Added a YouTube feed option to exclude archived live stream VODs from previews, episode lists, and RSS output.
• Fixed manually submitted downloads so they enter the normal queue immediately instead of bypassing the standard download pipeline.
• Fixed automatic download refresh so newly discovered episodes that match feed rules are consistently added to the queue instead of some being skipped.
• Improved the failed-task list on small phone screens and made error details easier to inspect.

Adds automatic retry, proactive alerts, and yt-dlp runtime switching, with cleaner RSS show notes.

• Added automatic failed-download retry scheduling with exponential backoff, so temporary errors can recover in the background without immediate manual intervention.
• Added failed-download notifications with configurable email and webhook delivery, plus digest alerts after all automatic retries are exhausted.
• Added yt-dlp runtime management in the console, making it easier to inspect available runtimes and switch the active one when downloads break.
• Moved source video text and links to the end of RSS episode descriptions so show notes stay easier to scan.

Adds custom proxy support for YouTube Data API and yt-dlp, alongside public sharing and trusted-environment access.

• Added custom proxy support for both the YouTube Data API and yt-dlp, making PigeonPod easier to run in restricted or self-managed network environments.
• Added one-click episode sharing with a lightweight public page that supports direct web playback without login.
• Added auto-login for trusted internal deployments, while also improving mobile subscription search and feed management.
• Expanded BiliBili cookie management and fixed metadata synchronization, task concurrency stalls, and incorrect RSS tags.

Improves feed defaults and RSS safety while making downloads and artwork handling more reliable.

• Add default minimumDuration in feed configuration and change its unit from minutes to seconds.
• Add source video link to episode titles in the web app and unify cover-click behavior by removing redirect logic for undownloaded episodes.
• Add <itunes:block> to RSS feeds to reduce unintended indexing of private feeds by podcast platforms.

Added source visibility and subtitle control while fixing YouTube playlist URL recognition.

• Added channel source badges in Web UI and channel source text in playlist RSS content.
• Added a feed-level option to disable subtitle downloads.
• Fixed incorrect recognition for some YouTube playlist URLs.

Introduced Bilibili, S3, batch history downloads, richer filtering, and major sync/runtime optimizations.

• Added Bilibili subscriptions, S3 storage support, global download defaults, and API usage stats.
• Added historical batch downloads, AND/OR keyword filtering, and richer RSS iTunes metadata.
• Improved large-playlist sync performance and separated channel/playlist views to prevent cross-source interference.

Added maintenance and feed portability features with better chapters and filtering UI.

• Added in-app yt-dlp updater, delayed auto-download, and global max-episodes retention.
• Added OPML export and independent chapters.json based on Podcasting 2.0 practices.
• Improved custom yt-dlp argument display and keyword input UX.

Made feed updates less storage-heavy and improved account security options.

• Separated metadata updates from media downloads to reduce unnecessary disk usage.
• Adjusted episode deletion defaults to remove media files while keeping metadata.
• Added optional CAPTCHA support on login and refined feed page layout.

Added search/sort/filter to feed lists and fixed settings refresh reliability.

• Enabled custom yt-dlp arguments in configuration.
• Added feed list search, sort, and filter controls.
• Fixed user settings page refresh issue and improved feed UI layout.

Aligned username edit character limits with login validation rules.

• Applied login-form character limit rules to username edits.
• Prevented overlong usernames that could cause login failures.

Added one-click browser downloads and fixed RSS generation on auto-cleaned episodes.

• Added "Download to Local" button on episode cards.
• Fixed RSS generation errors caused by auto-cleaned episodes.

Fixed issue where custom playlist avatars could not be updated.

• Resolved custom avatar update failure in Playlist settings.

Fixed processing errors caused by duplicate videos in playlists.

• Improved playlist handling logic for duplicate episode entries.

Media downloads now automatically save independent cover art files.

• Added automatic cover image fetch and file save during media download.

Added curl-cffi to container images to improve impersonation support.

• Updated Docker image dependencies to include curl-cffi runtime support.

Downloaded audio/video files now embed YouTube cover images automatically.

• Enabled automatic thumbnail embedding into downloaded media files.

Fixed save issues when initialEpisodes, maximumEpisodes, or audioQuality were cleared.

• Resolved persistence bug for empty values in key feed configuration fields.

Video media files are now stored in a dedicated directory, separate from audio.

• Introduced independent storage path structure for downloaded video media.

Added a filter to exclude episodes longer than a configured duration limit.

• Users can now filter out episodes exceeding the maximum duration threshold.

Fixed important cleanup logic bugs and preserved metadata during automatic cleanup.

• Fixed logic defects in automatic episode cleanup.
• Cleanup now removes downloaded files only and retains metadata for later browsing/download.

Added subtitle download controls and split subscription configuration into simple and expert modes.

• Added custom date format settings and automatic subtitle download with global/feed-level controls.
• Added language/format subtitle configuration and clarified client compatibility constraints.
• Subscription config UI now provides Simple Mode and Expert Mode.

Added direct in-app playback for audio/video and improved download resilience.

• Added direct playback inside the app for both audio and video episodes.
• Added VIDEO/AUDIO labels for downloaded episodes.
• Added remote-components ejs:npm support to fix recent video download failures.

Separated metadata fetching from media downloads and completed major YouTube pipeline refactors.

• Split episode metadata retrieval and media download for better historical episode control.
• Switched to full playlist metadata sync to stay consistent with YouTube ordering/content.
• Refactored large parts of the YouTube tooling for maintainability.

Added an instant refresh button on feed detail pages.

• Users can now refresh feed sources immediately from feed details.

Fixed download failures introduced after 1.12.3 and restored cookie-based downloads.

• Resolved post-1.12.3 download failures and re-enabled cookie file support.

Added centralized episode management so users can manage all programs in one place.

• Introduced a unified episode management capability across feeds.

Fixed release metadata and readability issues while improving cookie management visibility.

• Fixed missing Docker image version metadata issue.
• Added current cookie status display in cookie management.
• Fixed unreadable waiting-status card text in dark mode.

Added per-feed sync toggles and task visibility while fixing custom cover loss after upgrades.

• Added PIGEON_COVER_FILE_PATH to preserve custom covers across upgrades.
• Added per-subscription sync enable/disable configuration.
• Added task statistics panel and improved subscription config UI layout.

Added Deno runtime to Docker image and required cookie reset after upgrade.

• Added Deno runtime dependency in Dockerfile to mitigate 403 download failures.
• Upgrade note: previously uploaded cookies should be cleared.

Disabled embed-thumbnail due to ffmpeg constraints inside container environments.

• Removed --embed-thumbnail support to avoid runtime failures in container ffmpeg flows.

Added description-level filtering and stabilized unfinished download task recovery after restarts.

• Added include/exclude keyword filtering in episode descriptions.
• Added latest Docker image tag support and enriched downloaded file metadata/chapters/thumbnail.
• Fixed restart scenario where unfinished DOWNLOADING tasks could remain stuck.

Added selectable video encoding and switched default audio encoding to AAC for better compatibility.

• Added configurable video encoding with recommended 1080P + H.264 profile.
• Switched default downloaded audio encoding to AAC to reduce transcoding overhead.
• Fixed custom title not taking effect in RSS subscriptions.

Added customizable feed identity, video quality controls, and automatic API key generation.

• Added custom feed title and cover support.
• Added video file downloads with configurable download quality.
• Switched historical download count validation to post-validation and auto-generated API keys at user init.

Released new PigeonPod logo and added playlist ordering options during feed creation.

• Released a new PigeonPod logo.
• Added feed type labels on feed detail covers.
• Added playlist video sort control when subscribing YouTube playlists.

Added configurable audio download quality.

• Users can now choose audio quality when downloading episodes.

Corrected release date mismatch and fixed inaccurate update prompts.

• Fixed mismatch between PigeonPod playlist publish dates and YouTube playlist publish dates.
• Fixed inaccurate update prompt behavior.

Optimized download flow and resolved tasks stuck in QUEUED state.

• Simplified the episode state machine and optimized download orchestration.
• Fixed issue where tasks could remain stuck in QUEUED state.

Added YouTube playlist subscriptions and completed major structural refactors.

• Users can now subscribe directly to YouTube playlists.
• Refactored large parts of the codebase for clearer architecture and extensibility.

Improved historical episode correctness and optimized YouTube fetching.

• Fixed inaccurate episode selection when downloading historical episodes.
• Fixed incomplete episode descriptions in historical download flows.
• Refactored and optimized YouTube episode fetching logic.

Added configurable historical episode downloading and completed duration translation support.

• Added historical episode download count settings on channel detail pages.
• Completed translation support for episode duration display.

Redesigned RSS audio URL/resource logic for better multilingual compatibility and fixed delete messaging.

• Refactored RSS audio URL generation and media resource reading logic.
• Improved subscription reliability for programs with diverse language character sets.
• Fixed incorrect message prompt when deleting channels.

Added built-in version detection so users can discover new releases earlier.

• Introduced new version detection and update awareness capability.

Expanded platform/language support and fixed key container and RSS accessibility issues.

• Added ARM64 Docker support and expanded UI/README language coverage.
• Fixed non-ASCII garbling in containers.
• Added auto-refresh for task states and fixed inaccessible audio in generated RSS.

Refactored the download pipeline to resolve SQLite concurrency deadlocks and improve large-task stability.

• Reworked concurrent download flow to eliminate SQLite deadlocks under heavy queue load.
• Changed downloaded file path strategy for clearer channel/title file organization.
• Added async fetch path for large initial pulls and refined include/exclude keyword precedence behavior.

Fixed account/password and channel-ID subscription issues with clearer default credential setup.

• Fixed inability to change account password.
• Fixed failed channel subscriptions when using YouTube channel ID.
• Updated default password to a clearer Root@123 pattern.

Improved channel add precision and default download throughput while handling live streams safely.

• Added precise channel search by YouTube channel ID.
• Increased default download thread count to improve concurrent throughput.
• Live programs are filtered by default and auto-updated after streams end.

Improved account settings UX and added cookie configuration to bypass download limits.

• Optimized account settings page interactions.
• Added user cookie configuration support for YouTube download restriction scenarios.

Initial public stable release of PigeonPod.

• Published the first stable baseline for production adoption and subsequent release cadence.

You can now import individual YouTube or Bilibili videos without subscribing to a full feed, while storage warnings, playback controls, and large-file handling are also improved.

• You can now import a single YouTube or Bilibili video straight into Individual Episodes without subscribing to the whole channel or playlist first.
• Before importing a standalone episode, PigeonPod now shows a preview and your current slot usage, so free and paid users can confirm limits before continuing.
• PigeonPod now sends proactive email reminders when cloud storage is close to full, supports finer playback speed adjustments, and keeps the home resume queue aligned more closely with what you just listened to.
• Large media uploads to cloud storage are now more reliable, reducing failures when processing long videos or bigger files.

PigeonPod SaaS officially launched with fuller billing controls, China one-time access packs, smoother checkout recovery, and more reliable subscription syncing.

• The account page now includes more complete plan and billing management, so you can review your current plan, switch between monthly and yearly billing, open the billing portal, and fix failed payments faster.
• Users in mainland China can now buy a region-specific one-time access pack with Alipay or WeChat Pay, without auto-renewal, and the payment entry now appears more accurately based on language and region.
• Login and sign-up now preserve your original purchase intent, existing international subscribers are protected from duplicate checkout, and subscription status updates are applied more reliably after charges, callbacks, and reconciliation.
• Playlist RSS episode order now matches channel ordering more closely, infinite scrolling is more stable, and auto-cleanup scans are aligned better with the actual cleanup rules.

Added account and per-subscription cleanup rules, improved RSS and preview consistency, and fixed storage, verification, and re-subscribe reliability issues.

• Added automatic episode cleanup rules with both account-level defaults and per-subscription overrides, so paid users can manage cloud storage with less manual work.
• Account settings now include a language preference for cloud-storage reminder emails, and desktop episode covers show media type and file size for quicker scanning.
• Import settings are clearer, feed previews now align better with RSS output, podcast-client subscription links are more reliable, and manual sync is better aligned with auto-download behavior.
• Re-subscribing now refreshes stale preview data, storage usage is released more promptly when episodes should no longer be kept, and email verification plus auto-cleanup protection inheritance now behave correctly.

Added max episode duration filters, audio or video download selection, web video playback, and podcast-app QR subscription on desktop.

• Subscription rules now support a maximum episode duration filter, so you can combine it with keywords and minimum duration to keep only the episodes that fit your listening window.
• Each subscription can now choose audio or video as its download type, and the web player can preview video content directly when a feed keeps the video version.
• Desktop now shows a podcast-app subscription QR code for faster RSS importing, while the Feed page, multilingual status labels, and cloud storage guidance have all been made clearer.
• Cloud quota stats now exclude auto-kept episodes that no longer match filters, and disabled RSS links return an explicit unauthorized state instead of failing ambiguously.

Fixed desktop feed pagination, skipped paid episodes during playlist sync and downloads, and cleaned up feed menu wording.

• Fixed the episode list auto-pagination on desktop feed detail pages so switching and loading more pages works more reliably.
• Playlist sync and download tasks now skip paid episodes to avoid invalid processing and broken task states.
• Updated desktop feed menu copy to make entry labels clearer and more consistent.

Resolved an issue that caused filtering on the "Up Next" page to behave incorrectly.

• Fixed the "Up Next" page filter logic so list filtering works as expected again.
• Added automatic caching for selected filter values on the "Latest Episodes" page, so they can be restored on the next visit.
• Launched a public PigeonPod SaaS status page, so service health is visible at any time.

PigeonPod SaaS beta access officially opened.

• PigeonPod SaaS beta access officially opened.