Fireside.fm (unofficial)

firesidefm-mcp-server

An MCP server for the Fireside.fm podcast hosting API. It lets an MCP host such as Claude Code or Claude Desktop read your podcasts, episodes and download statistics, and create, edit, publish and unpublish episodes.

This is an unofficial project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Fireside.

Requirements

• Node.js 22 or later
• A Fireside API key, created at https://app.fireside.fm/api_tokens

A Read Only key enables the read tools; a Read/Write key also enables the tools that change episodes. Use a Read Only key unless you want your assistant to create, edit or publish episodes. A key covers every podcast on your Fireside account.

Configuration

Variable	Required	Meaning
FIRESIDE_API_TOKEN	yes	Your Fireside API key (fire_…).
FIRESIDE_PODCAST	no	Token or slug of the podcast to use when a request doesn't name one.
FIRESIDE_READ_ONLY	no	true to offer only the read tools, even with a Read/Write key.

At startup the server checks the key with Fireside. The write tools are offered only when the key is Read/Write and FIRESIDE_READ_ONLY is not set. A rejected key stops the server with an explanation on stderr. If the key cannot be checked for any other reason, such as a network error or a Fireside outage, the server starts with only the read tools and says why on stderr; restart it to try again.

Both hosts below store the key in plain text in their configuration file.

Claude Code

claude mcp add fireside \
  --env FIRESIDE_API_TOKEN=fire_… \
  --env FIRESIDE_PODCAST=your-podcast-slug \
  -- npx -y firesidefm-mcp-server

This adds the server for the current project only. Add --scope user to make it available in every project.

Claude Desktop

Edit Claude Desktop's configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add an entry under mcpServers (create the object if the file doesn't have one yet):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fireside": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "firesidefm-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "FIRESIDE_API_TOKEN": "fire_…",
        "FIRESIDE_PODCAST": "your-podcast-slug"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then quit and reopen Claude Desktop.

Claude Desktop does not read your shell profile, so if Node was installed with a version manager such as nvm, it may not find npx. In that case set "command" to the full path printed by which npx.

Tools

Podcasts and episodes can be named by token or by slug. An episode's slug defaults to its episode number, so "episode 42" works unless the slug was customised in the dashboard (for example s02e04).

Tool	Needs Read/Write key	What it does
fireside_get_account		The connected account and whether its key is Read Only or Read/Write.
fireside_list_podcasts		Podcasts you own or collaborate on.
fireside_get_podcast		One podcast's details and all-time downloads.
fireside_list_episodes		Episodes, newest first, including drafts and scheduled ones; filter by status.
fireside_get_episode		Every field of one episode, including show notes.
fireside_get_episode_metrics		Downloads per episode at 1, 7, 14, 30 and 90 days, Spotify, and total.
fireside_get_monthly_downloads		Downloads per calendar month and the all-time total.
fireside_create_episode	✓	Create a private draft episode.
fireside_update_episode	✓	Change title, subtitle, slug, show notes, season, type or explicit flag.
fireside_publish_episode	✓	Publish now, schedule, or backdate; public or unlisted.
fireside_unpublish_episode	✓	Return an episode to a private draft.

fireside_get_episode includes the episode's preview link, which plays the episode for anyone who has it, even before release.

Limitations

These come from the Fireside API itself:

• Audio, artwork, transcripts and chapters cannot be uploaded through the API. Upload audio in the Fireside dashboard before publishing; publishing an episode without audio fails.
• Episodes cannot be deleted, and podcast settings cannot be changed.
• Publishing also posts to the podcast's connected social accounts when the episode is set to do so in the dashboard. The API cannot see or change that setting.
• Requests are limited to 120 per minute per key. The server waits out short rate-limit pauses and reports longer ones.

Development

npm install
npm run build       # compiles to dist/
npm run typecheck
npm test            # unit and in-process MCP tests; no network
npm run test:e2e    # builds, then runs dist/cli.js over stdio against a local stand-in API
npm run check       # all of the above
npm run dev         # run from source with tsx

scripts/ holds two checks that run against the real Fireside API with a key read from the macOS Keychain; see the comment at the top of each file. live-read-check.ts only reads. live-draft-check.ts creates and edits one draft episode, which you then delete in the dashboard; it refuses to send publish or unpublish requests.

License

MIT