Transistor

This MCP server lets you interact with the Transistor.fm API to manage podcasts, episodes, and analytics from a unified endpoint. You can authenticate, fetch shows and episodes, upload audio, create or update episodes, and access analytics and webhook events, all through a standardized MCP interface.

How to use

You integrate this MCP server with an MCP client to perform podcast management tasks. Start by configuring the server with your API key, then use the provided tools to retrieve shows, create and update episodes, and examine analytics. All actions return data in a structured JSON:API format with clear relationships and metadata.

Typical workflows you can perform: connect to your Transistor.fm account, list your shows, inspect or fetch details about individual episodes, obtain upload URLs for audio files, create new episodes with the uploaded audio, update existing episodes, and retrieve analytics for shows or specific episodes. You can also manage webhooks to receive episode events in real time.

Important notes you should keep in mind:

• Requests are rate-limited to 10 requests per 10 seconds.
• Dates must use the day-month-year format (dd-mm-yyyy).
• Page indexing starts at 0.
• You can request sparse fieldsets and related resources in a single call to reduce round trips.
• All endpoints return data in JSON:API format with relationships and metadata.

How to install

Prerequisites you need to satisfy before starting the MCP server are having Node.js installed and access to the Transistor API key.

Configure the MCP server with your API key and point it to the built server script. Create a configuration block like this in your MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "transistor": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["path/to/Transistor-MCP/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "TRANSISTOR_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Run the MCP server locally

Set your API key in the environment and start the server using the command shown in the configuration snippet.

export TRANSISTOR_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
node path/to/Transistor-MCP/build/index.js

Additional configuration notes

The server exposes a single stdio MCP connection named transistor. It runs via the node runtime and the built index.js file, with the TRANSISTOR_API_KEY supplied as an environment variable.

Security and best practices

Treat your API key like a secret. Do not commit it to version control. Use environment variable management in your deployment environment and limit the key's permissions in Transistor to the minimum required for your use case.

If you are deploying to a cloud environment, use the platform’s secret management features to inject TRANSISTOR_API_KEY into the runtime environment for your MCP server.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter authentication or permission errors, verify that TRANSISTOR_API_KEY is set correctly in the server process environment and that the key has access to the necessary Transistor.fm resources (shows, episodes, uploads, analytics).

Check that the server script path path/to/Transistor-MCP/build/index.js exists and is the correct entry point produced by your build process. Ensure Node.js is installed and that the running user has permission to execute the script.

Available tools

get_authenticated_user

Fetch details about the authenticated user account.

authorize_upload

Obtain a pre-signed URL to upload an audio file for a new episode.

list_shows

List all shows in the account, with pagination and optional search.

list_episodes

List episodes for a specific show with paging and optional filters.

get_episode

Retrieve detailed information about a single episode.

get_analytics

Get analytics for a show or a specific episode, with optional date ranges.

create_episode

Create a new episode using a provided audio URL and metadata.

update_episode

Update metadata for an existing episode.

get_all_episode_analytics

Get analytics for all episodes of a show within an optional date range.

list_webhooks

List all webhooks configured for a show.

subscribe_webhook

Subscribe a webhook to receive events for a show.

unsubscribe_webhook

Unsubscribe a webhook by its ID.