Subject line says it all. I returned to Overcast recently and am liking it again, but can’t figure out how to sideload MP3 files. Googling for directions is not helping. Help!
Visit https://overcast.fm/uploads and log in—you manage your sideloads through that small web app. I think a subscription is required.
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Go to overcast.fm and log in. Choose uploads from the top of the page and there is a web interface to upload files.
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It works for me if I’m logged in to the site. And that’s the same page @mleibowitz is talking about. Maybe give it another shot?
Otherwise, if you absolutely can’t make that work for some reason:
- JustCast turns a Dropbox folder into a feed. 3 episode limit in the free version, or $5 per month.
- If you’re a programmer, you could basically build your own version of JustCast (not super-difficult) that scans a directory and spits out an RSS feed. I built that for my purposes using Backblaze B2 as a back-end.
These options are really nice because you can have different feeds for different purposes, rather than one huge “Uploads” folder. And you can also exceed the 10GB Overcast limit.
I tried uploading an audio Bible that was broken out by chapter to Overcast, and I not only hit the file limit (not the posted limit, but an actual limit that was lower), but the file order got shuffled. Not a good time. But easy enough to do with my own integration.
Best of luck!
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Am I the only one that uses Downcast? It sideloads right out of anything… nextcloud, icloud, transmit, dropbox, devonthink, etc… etc… The developer is super responsive and I cannot think of any feature that is missing.
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Not now, I just downloaded it on my Mac and it feels good so far.
I recall that I tried it and found the device syncing to be pretty bad. One nice thing about Overcast is that I can be playing on one device and then switch to another one with almost no loss of playback position.
I seem to recall that it was almost nonexistent with Downcast at the time I tried it.
ETA: I opened it up again and played with it, just for the purpose of reconsidering. And I ran into the problem I’d had before. When importing media from my computer, it would make the feed on my computer - but it won’t transfer that playlist / media to my phone. And that’s a dealbreaker for me.
I asked the dev about it, and he said: “Not at this time, unfortunately. I plan to offer this in a future update but I don’t have an ETA on that at this time.”
So if that feature showed up, I’d be much more amenable to giving it another go. 
I’ve used Downcast. I actually like its less opinionated/more granular options ethos quite a bit. But for a heavy podcast listener, compared to Pocket Casts, Overcast and Castro, it takes too long UX-wise to manage feeds and downloads, doesn’t offer as high quality of audio, and doesn’t obtain and sync updates as reliably. I wouldn’t insist someone switch from it by any means, though, especially given it is the cheapest of the serious third party clients (and isn’t a subscription which is a huge plus.)
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I’ll give it another try. Thanks!
How are you managing your feeds and downloads? I have mine set to autodownload every new ep. It keeps the most recent and requires no manangement and I never even think about it. I click on the podcast and it even auto plays. 
In addition to Downcast, which does a good job of sideloading IMO and used to be my main podcast player (I’ve switched to Castro for now), you might check out Bound — Audiobook Player. It lets you play audio files from a Dropbox folder (or other cloud service), and does a very nice job of it.
Someone also made a shortcut to side load.
Yes, that’s just fine, really! I wouldn’t be able to listen to as many podcasts without triaging individual feeds, quickly managing long podcasts per chapter, and more intelligent volume boosting and space skipping, and a faster sleep timer UI, so I’m using a different client, but that doesn’t mean Downcast is doing the wrong thing and I like many of the granular options (like letting you choose start time at one second intervals instead of Overcast and Castro’s 5 second intervals, and all the sideloading and video play options.)
For me it just sends me to the log in and then upload page.
So nothing has changed it seems?
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I seem to be unable to sign up for a subscription. I suspect that is the root of my problem.
You might have to go to Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions and re-enable yours, and then, in the Overcast app, in its Settings > Account, make sure it’s showing the email you expect and isn’t anonymous. Unfortunately I’m not in a position to test changing those settings myself (or this is simply irrelevant.)
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