Podracer is a podcast downloader. It takes a file with the URLs to all your podcast rss feeds and goes and gets the mp3s and stores them in a specified location. Podracer is a Bourne Shell script with an internal BitTorrent downloader written in Python.
Here are some key features of "Podracer":
· Catchup feature updates the log without downloading all podcasts
· Run as a cron job to automatically receive podcasts
· Properly fails (with no error message for the sake of cron) if already running
· Download podcast enclosures of any file format
· Support for BitTorrent downloading and seeding of podcasts
· Configurable seed time management - seed torrents for an hour or a day
· Background torrent seeding continues after program ends and stops automatically
· System-wide and user-specific configuration
· User-specific subscription file and podcast download directories
· Commentable subscription file - go ahead and mark it up
· Fully configurable placement of files and directories
· Support for dynamic creation of download directories, i.e. based on date/time
· Appears in podcasters' logs as a podcast receiver
· Automatic creation of m3u playlists
· User may request that m3u not be created
· Automatic removal of empty download directories
· Your suggestions...
Requirements:
Podracer does require a few things to make it run. here I am listing the requirements which may not be installed on a standard Unix system:
· A Bourne-compatible shell (/bin/sh) - tested using bash and ksh
· Python - required by BitTorrent
· BitTorrent - the original client by Bram Cohen
· Screen - required for background torrent seeding
· Curl - http/ftp file downloader
· Timeout - run a program for a specified time: normally only available as part of a larger package that is used for "post-mortem analysis of a UNIX system after a breakin", I have included it in the Podracer distribution to be installed automatically if you don't already have it.
What's New in This Release:
· This release no longer hangs when a download stalls.
· It now follows redirections properly.
· Blank lines in the subscription file are ignored.
· Feeds without line breaks now work properly.
· It is possible to get the version number from the command line.
