🎉 Castopod v1.0

TL;DR

Castopod v1.0 is now officially out! 🥳

• 📧 Magic links for password recovery
• 🗝️ Two-factor authentication (2FA) for added security [opt-in]
• 📜 New roles to enhance collaborations
• ♻️ Automatic database updates
• 💻 Minimal version of PHP was set to 8.1

Plus a few notes on future developments… 👀

📦Download Castopod v1 for free on Castopod.org.

The v1 beta version was released earlier this year, with improved UI and UX plus some marketing tools to help podcasters share their content easily throughout the fediverse and other social media.

The goal behind the Castopod beta was to have a more complete and stable podcast host. And we're proud to say that that's now the case!

Aside from bug fixes and improved documentation, we've introduced the last few features that are expected from a podcast hosting solution (and more), such as Websub, podcasting 2.0's social interact, and the latest - but greatest - premium podcasts 💎.

During these past months, we got to work with amazing people around the world who helped flush out bugs and write code, improve user experience by sharing their own, and translate Castopod into over 15 languages!

To all our contributors, a thank you is in order ❤️

Also, thank you to the podcasting 2.0 community, which allowed the podcasting industry to move forward by introducing so many cool new features to the ecosystem.

So, what's new in v1?

This first version steers Castopod towards improved security, easier maintenance, and straightforward collaboration between users.

The authentication and authorization module has been rebuilt using CodeIgniter's Shield 🛡️ library for improved security and easier maintenance.

📧 Magic Links

For easier password recovery, your account can be accessed through magic links that are sent to you via email when requested. Clicking on the link will redirect you to Castopod were you'll be prompted to set a new password.

🗝️ Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

For added security during authentication, you can now opt-in to the 2FA feature by setting the auth.enable2FA = true key to your .env file. This will prompt your users to go through a login validation process by entering a 6-digit code received via email.

📜 New roles for easier collaboration

As Castopod evolves, it is being picked up by more and more seasoned podcasters, schools and even radio networks! Collaboration on a bigger scale is now possible since podcasters can create their own podcast, invite contributors or contribute themselves to other podcasts.

Inspired by publishing houses, we've defined easy to grasp roles at two levels that will help you collaborate with each other:

• Instance wide roles

  • Super Admin, has complete control over Castopod
  • Manager, manages Castopod content
  • Podcaster, general user of Castopod

• Per podcast roles

  • Admin, has complete control over the podcast
  • Editor, can manage content and publications
  • Author, can manage content but cannot publish
  • Guest, general user of the podcast

Each role comes with its set of permissions, with more important roles including all permissions. See the detailed Auth documentation for more info.

♻️ Automatic database updates

As you know, Castopod is a self-hosted solution, you can grab the package on castopod.org and install it easily on your server of choice. When it comes to updates, you replace the old files with the new package and make sure the database is up to date.

The latter process was a pain point during the beta phase, and even though we provided scripts to update the database, they had to be ran manually…

Well, not anymore!

We have come a step closer to automating the update process altogether, allowing you to update the database with a single push of a button in the admin or using the command line.

Updating your Castopod has never been easier!

💻 PHP 8.1 requirement

Lastly, Castopod now requires PHP >= v8.1.

PHP 8.0's end of life (EOL) will come at the end of 2023 (security fixes included). In addition to the new features that v8.1 brings, this grants more stability as it will allow some time before needing to upgrade again (PHP 8.1's EOL being scheduled for the end of 2024).

What's next?

Now that v1 is released with a solid foundation, we can start thinking ahead.

Something we have noticed since the beta release, is the sheer amount of features that are being requested. The more we work on Castopod, the more ideas and possibilities there are to be explored.

Although we are very pleased with all the excitement, it is quite certain that we cannot fulfill every single request - not directly at least…

So, as you might have guessed, the next (big) step is to allow anyone to extend and customize Castopod as they see fit!

In the next few months, in addition to improving user documentation and internationalization efforts, Castopod will undergo a system redesign to implement the plug-in architecture.

And in the meantime, you can of course try out Castopod for free!

You'd like to give a hand?

Contributions of any kind are more than welcome, and you can help in many ways!

• Translate Castopod in your language
• Encourage development efforts by donating to Castopod
• File a bug report or feature request on Castopod's issue tracker

Or just come say hi on Castopod's community chat 👋😊