Support / PodScope — Support

PodScope support

Need help with PodScope? Email us at support@magicboxsoft.com and we’ll get back to you.

PodScope is a macOS app that transcribes and searches public podcast feeds, entirely on your Mac. It’s a one-time purchase — no subscription, no in-app purchases — and runs on macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later on an Apple Silicon Mac.

Common questions

How do I add a podcast?

Paste the public RSS feed URL into PodScope’s New Project sheet and choose Add. The app downloads the feed, lists every episode, and lets you transcribe any of them.

If you don’t know the RSS URL, look on the show’s website — most podcasts publish one. Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and similar apps can also export the RSS URL for any show in their library.

Is there a subscription or in-app purchase?

No. PodScope is a single paid-upfront purchase from the Mac App Store. Every feature — unlimited transcription, AI recaps, voice prints, search, export, and static-site publishing — is included, with no subscription, no in-app purchases, and no usage caps. Your purchase restores on every Mac signed in to the same Apple ID and is shareable through Family Sharing (up to six people).

How do the on-device models work?

PodScope offers a fast transcription engine that’s built into macOS — nothing to download. Its other AI models come from the App Store after you install the app, rather than bloating the initial download:

  • The higher-quality transcription engine (~600 MB) downloads automatically in the background after install. If you start a higher-quality transcription before it finishes, PodScope waits for it and then proceeds. The fast engine works immediately, with no download.
  • The AI recap model (~3.5 GB) downloads the first time you generate a recap, after a one-time confirmation.

Both downloaded models use Apple’s content delivery network, so they benefit from system-level pause/resume and your “download over cellular” preference. You can remove downloaded models to reclaim disk space from Settings → Models; PodScope re-downloads them when they’re next needed.

Can I use a cloud transcriber instead of on-device?

Yes, optionally. PodScope can connect to your own Microsoft Azure Speech account for transcription. It’s off by default; enable it and enter your Azure credentials in the app’s settings (they’re stored in your macOS Keychain). Even with Azure enabled, only transcription runs in the cloud — speaker voice prints and AI recaps are always generated locally on your Mac. Turn it off any time to return to fully on-device transcription.

Where is my data stored?

Everything — your projects, audio files, transcripts, recaps, voice prints, speaker labels, exports — stays on your Mac in standard application data and the folders you choose. PodScope does not upload your data to Magic Box servers. The only outbound network traffic is to the RSS feeds and audio hosts you tell the app to load (plus your own Azure account, if you turn on optional cloud transcription).

Can I export transcripts and metadata?

Yes:

  • Transcripts — plain text, Markdown, or JSON (per-episode, with timestamps and speaker labels)
  • Metadata — JSON or CSV (episode lists, dates, durations, transcription status)
  • Combined Markdown — every transcript in a project, joined into a single Markdown document

You can also export a whole project and re-import it on another Mac to move your library between machines.

Can I publish a website from a feed?

Yes. The static-site generator outputs a self-contained folder with per-episode pages, transcripts, recaps, search, and styling — no JavaScript trackers, no analytics calls, no external dependencies. You can open the folder in a browser, drop it on a USB stick, host it on GitHub Pages, or upload it to any web host.

Why won’t a feed parse?

Some feeds are temporarily unavailable, malformed, blocked by the host, or missing required RSS fields. Try opening the feed URL in a browser; if it doesn’t return readable RSS/XML, the feed itself is the problem. If the URL looks fine but PodScope refuses it, email us with the URL and we’ll take a look.

PodScope says my copy wasn’t purchased from the App Store

PodScope checks at launch that it was purchased through the Mac App Store. If you see this message, open the App Store, make sure you’re signed in with the Apple ID that owns (or has Family Sharing access to) PodScope, and install or redownload it from there. If you believe this is an error, email us.

How do I report a bug?

Open Help → Report a Problem… from the menu bar and fill out the in-app form. It pre-fills your macOS and PodScope versions, lets you describe what you were doing and paste any error message you saw, and (optionally) attaches a redacted diagnostics bundle so we don’t have to ask follow-up questions. You stay in control of what gets sent — nothing leaves your Mac until you tap Send.

If you’ve enabled crash reporting in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements, Apple has already shared an anonymized crash report with us. Mentioning the approximate time it happened in the form helps us find it.

Have more questions?

Email support@magicboxsoft.com.