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How to import a YouTube playlist as an audio or video podcast

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How do I import a YouTube playlist as a podcast?

Use the Listenbox desktop app to import a public playlist or channel you have rights to publish. Each available recording becomes a hosted episode; you do not need the original files. Choose audio for listening apps, or video with a video plan for a video RSS feed. Directory submission is a separate step. Use this workflow for a YouTube archive; upload original files directly if you already have them. Imports need the app running on an awake, online computer.

Before you begin

  • A Listenbox account and a paid hosting plan. Video podcasts require a video plan with enough remaining video storage for the recordings you want to import.
  • An Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 13 or later, or a Windows 11 PC, with free space for downloads and playback files and an internet connection. Imports run on this computer; keep it awake and the app running while importing.
  • A public YouTube playlist or channel containing recordings you have the rights to publish as a podcast. A livestream must have finished and its saved recording must be available to play.

If someone else manages your Listenbox team, ask for owner or write access so you can create the podcast.

If your show already has a podcast feed or a Spotify or Apple Podcasts listing, follow Keep existing listeners connected before creating a new podcast or listing. For an older Listenbox feed, read If you used Listenbox before.

1. Choose the recordings for your podcast

Use a playlist if you want to choose the episodes. This is useful when your channel also has clips, announcements, or other videos you want to leave out. For example, you can put 15 existing interviews in one playlist and import them as one podcast. For saved livestreams, add each finished recording to the playlist when it is ready.

If you trim the start or end of a recording on YouTube, finish those edits and check the updated playback before importing it.

Create a Public playlist on YouTube, or use an existing public playlist. Give it the title you want for your podcast and arrange the videos in episode order. Copy the playlist's own URL, rather than a video URL:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=YOUR_PLAYLIST_ID

Use a channel if you want its uploaded videos in the podcast. Channel imports show the newest upload first. Copy the channel URL, with or without /videos:

https://www.youtube.com/@your-channel

https://www.youtube.com/@your-channel/videos

For a single recording, use a public playlist containing just that video.

The playlist or channel stays linked to your podcast. Later syncs import new videos; playlists also follow changes to their order. Removing a video from the linked playlist or channel removes its podcast episode on the next complete sync. Keep the recordings you want listeners to hear in that source.

2. Install Listenbox and connect your account

The original Listenbox shut down in 2025 when YouTube's anti-bot restrictions made downloading recordings for many creators from our servers unreliable. Read the Listenbox story for the background.

The desktop app downloads and prepares recordings on your computer, then uploads them to Listenbox. This avoids relying on a central service that has to download from YouTube at scale. Keep the app running for imports and syncing; Listenbox hosts your published episodes and feed even when your computer is off.

Download the app from the official Listenbox releases. Choose the macOS Apple Silicon .dmg, Windows x64 installer, or Windows ARM64 installer for your computer. There is no Intel Mac installer.

On Windows, check Settings → System → About → System type to choose x64 for an Intel or AMD processor, or ARM64 for an ARM processor.

Download Listenbox

For Apple Silicon Macs and Windows 11 PCs. All downloads are on GitHub.

On macOS, open the downloaded .dmg, drag Listenbox into Applications, then eject the disk image and open the app from Applications. If macOS asks whether to open it, choose Open.

On Windows, run the downloaded -setup.exe installer and choose Open Listenbox when it finishes. It installs for your Windows user without administrator access. If SmartScreen shows Windows protected your PC, confirm that the installer came from the official releases above, then choose More info → Run anyway. If your administrator blocks installation, ask them to approve the app.

Open the installed app and choose Sign in to Listenbox. In the browser, sign in, check the team you want to use, and choose Connect desktop. Return to the app after authorization. The import will create your podcast for you.

If the connection request expires or is denied, return to the app and start sign-in again.

3. Import your YouTube recordings

  1. Choose Import from YouTube in the desktop app.
  2. Paste your public playlist or channel URL into Playlist or channel URL.
  3. Under Podcast format, choose Audio to publish the sound from your videos as podcast episodes. Choose Video for a video RSS feed and video playback inside Apple Podcasts.
  4. Check the team named below the form, then choose Create podcast & import.

The playlist or channel title becomes your podcast's name. Episodes are published automatically as each recording finishes importing, so check your chosen recordings before starting.

Choose the format with future uploads in mind: an audio-source podcast accepts audio files; a video-source podcast accepts video files. If you plan to upload original videos to Listenbox after importing, choose Video.

YouTube import normally works without signing in to YouTube. If YouTube asks you to sign in, follow the cookie steps below. YouTube can still refuse a download; using the desktop app does not guarantee that every recording can be imported.

Wait for the episodes to finish importing

Keep your computer awake, the app running, and your internet connection active until the import finishes. Select the podcast in the app to follow each recording's download, preparation, and upload progress. Closing the app's window leaves it running in the menu bar or system tray; quitting stops imports.

If a recording is skipped or the import stops, follow the recovery steps below.

4. Put your podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Choose Open in Listenbox in the desktop app to open your podcast in the dashboard. Review your podcast's title, description, author, language, category, and cover image. Check the episode titles and descriptions, then play an episode and seek to another point. For a video podcast, check video playback too.

Listenbox hosts your RSS feed and published media publicly, with HTTP HEAD and byte-range requests supported for podcast playback and seeking. These are part of Apple’s RSS feed requirements.

Get your video RSS URL for Apple Podcasts

If you chose Video when importing, open Feeds in your podcast and select Video feed. Review the title, description, and square cover image, and check that at least one published episode appears in the feed. Copy its RSS URL. This video RSS feed contains hosted MP4 episodes that can play as video inside Apple Podcasts.

Submit your video podcast for a public Apple Podcasts listing

  1. Sign in to Apple Podcasts Connect.
  2. Choose New Show → Add a show with an RSS feed and enter your video RSS URL.
  3. Review the show details, confirm your content rights, and provide contact information.
  4. Under Availability, choose your countries or regions and release timing. Enable public distribution if you also want your feed available to other podcast apps through Apple's catalog.
  5. Save and publish the show, resolving any validation issues Apple reports. Apple reviews the show before it becomes available publicly.

Once approved and released, your show has a public video podcast listing on Apple Podcasts, with video playback inside the app. Listeners can find and follow it there. Importing into Listenbox and adding a feed directly to your own podcast app are separate from publishing a public directory listing.

Apple supports standard video RSS feeds, including MP4 episodes; see Apple's video podcast guidance and submission instructions. This workflow uses the video RSS feed. Apple's HLS video delivery has a separate connection step.

If you already have an audio show on Apple Podcasts and want a video version alongside it, submit the video feed as a separate show. Use its title, description, and artwork to help listeners distinguish the two versions.

Get your audio RSS URL for Spotify and audio podcast listings

For Spotify or an audio listing on Apple Podcasts, open Feeds and select Audio feed. If there is no audio feed yet, choose New feed → Audio feed, review the title, description, and square cover image, then choose Create feed. Copy this feed's RSS URL.

Set your podcast's contact email in Listenbox to an address you can access. Spotify sends its ownership verification code to the email address in your RSS feed.

  • Spotify: sign in to Spotify for Creators, choose Find an existing show → Somewhere else, and enter your audio RSS URL. Follow the ownership verification steps. See Spotify's setup instructions.
  • Apple Podcasts audio: follow the Apple submission steps above with your audio RSS URL to create an audio listing.
  • Other podcast apps: submit the audio RSS URL through their creator tools, or share it directly with listeners whose apps support adding a show by RSS URL. See Set up and share your podcast feed for testing the feed in a listening app.

Once your show is listed, share its Spotify and Apple Podcasts links with your listeners. Apple checks your submitted video or audio feed for new episodes; Spotify checks your audio feed. You do not need to upload each episode to them separately. Allow for each platform's review and update timing, and check video or audio playback in the intended app before announcing the show.

5. Choose how to publish future episodes

Once your initial import has finished and you have checked playback, follow Change your show's YouTube publishing process to connect and activate the YouTube destination for this same podcast. Keep the linked playlist selected, or choose No playlist for a channel. An active destination pauses desktop imports for the podcast.

Upload your next episode to Listenbox, review its YouTube title, description, and visibility, and approve publication. Listenbox handles the upload to YouTube; the desktop app does not need to be running. Use audio files for an audio-source podcast, or follow How to upload video to Listenbox for a video-source podcast.

Keep using the same RSS feed and existing Spotify and Apple Podcasts listings. Apple checks your submitted video or audio feed for published episodes; Spotify checks your audio feed. You do not upload each episode separately. YouTube uses its own connection and publication approval, explained in Managed YouTube publishing.

If you must keep publishing on YouTube: use desktop sync

If your team cannot move its uploads to Listenbox, or livestreams on YouTube, continue uploading or streaming there. If you have activated a YouTube destination, choose Pause destination in the dashboard before importing again. When a finished recording is ready, add it to the same public playlist, or publish it on the linked channel. A livestream can be imported once it has ended and its recording is available to play.

The desktop app checks for updates hourly while it is running on an awake, online computer. This is what sync means: bringing changes from your linked YouTube playlist or channel into your podcast. Once YouTube has fully processed the recording and it is available to play, choose Sync now from the Listenbox menu bar icon on macOS or system tray icon on Windows. This checks your connected podcasts, preserving any podcasts you have paused. To sync or resume one podcast, select it in the desktop app and choose Sync now or Resume.

When your computer is asleep, offline, or the app is quit, new recordings wait until it can sync again. Existing hosted episodes continue to play. Keep the app up to date, especially if YouTube starts refusing imports.

If an import stops or a recording is skipped

Videos that YouTube marks unavailable or refuses to play are skipped for that sync. Other videos can still become episodes. Listenbox checks skipped videos again on the next sync.

Choose Pause if you need to interrupt an import. Completed episodes remain available, and unfinished work keeps its progress for the next sync. To resume, select the existing podcast and choose Resume. Pausing lasts until you resume or reopen the app.

If an import fails, resolve its error and choose Sync now on the existing podcast. Starting another import of the same source creates another podcast.

  • For a subscription or storage problem, follow the link in the app and resolve the issue before syncing again.
  • For a YouTube sign-in request, follow the cookie steps below.
  • For another error, send the message and your app version to hello@listenbox.app.

If you have an original video file for a recording that cannot be imported, you can use the video upload workflow with a video-source podcast. If YouTube holds your only copy, contact us with the video URL and error message for help.

Update the app

Follow Update the Listenbox desktop app for the Mac and Windows steps, automatic update settings, and help if an update cannot be installed.

When YouTube asks you to sign in

“Sign in to confirm you’re not a bot” means YouTube has refused this request. It can be related to your network or session; it does not prove your IP address has been blocked. First check that you can play the video in your browser on the same computer and network. If you can, you can give Listenbox cookies from that YouTube session.

Cookies grant access to your YouTube session. Keep them private and never include them in a support message. Using an account for automated downloads can lead to temporary or permanent account restrictions. Cookies may help with sign-in checks, but cannot guarantee access to every video.

Export YouTube cookies

These steps follow yt-dlp’s YouTube cookie guidance:

  1. Use a cookie export extension listed in yt-dlp’s cookie FAQ. Enable it in private browsing if your browser requires that permission.
  2. Open a new private or incognito window and sign in to YouTube. In Chrome or Edge, press ⌘ Shift N on macOS or Ctrl Shift N on Windows. In Firefox, use ⌘ Shift P or Ctrl Shift P.
  3. In that same tab, visit youtube.com/robots.txt. Keep this as the only private tab.
  4. Export cookies for youtube.com in Netscape cookies.txt format, then close the private window. Do not reopen that browser session: YouTube may rotate its cookies while browser tabs remain open.

Export from the private session using the extension. The yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser export reads your regular browser profile and does not capture this private session.

Save cookies in Listenbox

With Listenbox focused, press ⌘ , on macOS or Ctrl , on Windows to open Settings, then find YouTube. Open the exported cookies.txt in a text editor, copy its entire contents, paste them into YouTube cookies, then choose Save cookies. Return to your podcast and choose Sync now.

The cookies stay on your computer. Listenbox saves updates YouTube sends during requests; it does not upload your cookie jar to Listenbox. You can delete the exported file after saving it. If YouTube asks you to sign in again, export a fresh session and save it to replace the previous one.

To return to anonymous access, choose Remove cookies in Settings.

If you used Listenbox before

Sign in to your existing account to check your team and subscription. If you have an older Listenbox feed with listeners, email hello@listenbox.app with the old feed URL and podcast name before creating a replacement. We can confirm the next step for that feed with you.