New user wants to bulk add episodes to Up Next on desktop app, please
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Just started using Pocket Casts (2.0.8) again on macOS 15 and iOS 18. I really like it, thank you.
But I can’t see how to bulk add episodes to Play Next on the desktop app.
When I start Following a new podcast with hundreds of episodes, I’d like to select those episodes which I want to listen to and Archive the rest.
What am I missing, please. TIA…!
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Hi, @marksealey! You’re not missing anything. Multi- or bulk selection isn’t available on the web and desktop apps yet. However, I see we’re tracking demand for this feature, and I made sure to add a vote on your behalf.
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Thank you, @staff-cara!
Yes, I hope you can implement this soon, please. In fact what I did was to ‘Archive All’ and then add individual episodes to Up Next one at a time as wanted.
May I ask you, please, though: this did not always work – not only did every episode not appear in Up Next; but the synch to the iOS Pocket Podcasts did not work either.
Is this a known bug, please? Or is there a better way to achieve what I want?
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@marksealey It would be best to get logs from your iOS app to investigate further. For context, if there are any sync issues, the problem is usually coming from the mobile app because the web and desktop apps are directly pulling information from our servers. This is in contrast to the mobile apps that retrieve and upload information from/to the servers on an hourly or so basis.
For now, please see if there are any errors in the Profile tab of your iOS app. Please also check if tapping “Refresh now” solves the issue. If it doesn’t, please reach out to us from the app’s Profile > Help & Feedback > Get in touch. In your message, kindly include the following information:
- A link to this thread
- Which information isn’t syncing between the desktop app and the iOS app; screenshots would be very helpful
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@staff-cara – thanks very much for that helpful reply!
May I take a step back, first, please – about adding to ‘Up Next’: is it actually possible (or advisable) to add archived episodes to the Up Next playlist; another way of asking my question, please, would be: what is the most reliable exact sequence to add individual podcast episodes to Up Next’ on the macOS desktop app?
Re synch errors/anomalies: there are no errors shown in the iOS app’s ‘Profile’, assuming that any errors would show up under a vertical ‘tab’/heading of their own.
I’m going to keep a watch on this, if I may – and follow the instructions which you kindly give in your post and relay them to you from ‘Get in touch’, as you suggest, if I experience this again.
May I also ask you to explain, please @staff-cara, how I can delete downloaded and archived podcast episodes from both the iOS and macOS apps when I no longer need them?
Thanks in advance for your help!
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May I take a step back, first, please – about adding to ‘Up Next’: is it actually possible (or advisable) to add archived episodes to the Up Next playlist; another way of asking my question, please, would be: what is the most reliable exact sequence to add individual podcast episodes to Up Next’ on the macOS desktop app?
@marksealey I just tested adding archived episodes to the Up Next queue using the desktop app, and I didn’t notice any adverse effects. However, I’m confirming with our developers if being able to add archived episodes is expected. On the mobile apps at least, the episode should become unarchived.
As for the most reliable way to add episodes to the Up Next queue from the desktop app, I’m not sure what you mean by most reliable, but you can add any episode to the Up Next queue from a list (podcast page, Discover, New Releases, and so on).
May I also ask you to explain, please @staff-cara, how I can delete downloaded and archived podcast episodes from both the iOS and macOS apps when I no longer need them?
Archiving is the way to both delete downloaded files and hide episodes from Pocket Casts. There isn’t really a “delete” function. I hope that helps!
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Thanks very much for your helpful reply, @staff-cara!
With reference to macOS desktop vs iOS usage, I really do find it easiest to set everything up on my iMac (so macOS/desktop) and only then just synch – rather than manipulating and moving episodes etc on the smaller screen :-)
And after a week or two back using Pocket Casts, that really does all seem to be working very well. Am a satisfied (paid) user. Thank you!
I’m confirming with our developers if being able to add archived episodes is expected. On the mobile apps at least, the episode should become unarchived.
Thanks. I’ll assume that it works that way. It would be very helpful, please, of you would indeed kindly report back on what the developers say: if things do work that way (at least on macOS) I can keep my episodes (‘ lists) even tidier :-)
As for the most reliable way to add episodes to the Up Next queue from the desktop app, I’m not sure what you mean by most reliable, but you can add any episode to the Up Next queue from a list (podcast page, Discover, New Releases, and so on).
I hoped so. But I did have difficulties at first – maybe it was because of the routine I described in my OP, when I was trying to bulk add episodes and relying (again, perhaps) on a ‘mixed state’, where some episodes were archived and some were not.
Archiving is the way to both delete downloaded files and hide episodes from Pocket Casts. There isn’t really a “delete” function. I hope that helps!
So there’s no way to reclaim space for downloaded episodes which I have already played?
Thanks again!
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Hi @marksealey!
Am a satisfied (paid) user. Thank you!
Glad to hear!
So there’s no way to reclaim space for downloaded episodes which I have already played?
If you want to reclaim space used by previously-downloaded episodes on your iOS device, you can go to Profile > Downloads > 3-dots menu > “Clean Up” and only clean up already-played episodes. You can find the detailed instructions for these steps in this guide:
Managing and Troubleshooting Episode Downloads
Given what you describe your usage of the app to be, I would also recommend to enable the Auto-Archive feature, described a bit later in that same page:
Managing and Troubleshooting Episode Downloads
This will allow you to tell the app to automatically archive episodes right after you have played them—thus deleting the file from your device if you previously downloaded them, reclaiming that space right after they finish playing.
Hope that helps!
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Thanks very much, Olivier!
All understood.
But it does prompt three further questions, please:
1 – Is there no equivalent on the macOS version?
2 – (If not) will my next synch, iOS to macOS also delete the downloading just carried out?
3 – (If not) how do I delete from macOS, please? Or does Auto-archive (which, Yes, I have on) do the same, and delete all archived episodes?
Thanks again!
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1 – Is there no equivalent on the macOS version?
The Pocket Casts macOS app doesn’t download episodes to your computer aside from cached files of the episode that you’re currently playing. The app will routinely clean up those files automatically.
2 – (If not) will my next synch, iOS to macOS also delete the downloading just carried out?
3 – (If not) how do I delete from macOS, please? Or does Auto-archive (which, Yes, I have on) do the same, and delete all archived episodes?
Since the macOS app doesn’t actually download any episodes, there isn’t any need to delete them — the app automatically manages any cached files that are stored on your computer. Instead, you would use the archive feature to remove episodes from Up Next, Filters, etc.
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Thanks very much Mike – and Olivier, Cara!
All clear and understood.
I am really getting a lot out of Pocket Casts. Glad I have begun using it again. Works really well.
Many thanks to all the team there! With best wishes for 2025 :-)
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