How to organise audiobooks and podcasts
At a glance
- Keep audiobook parts and podcast episodes in clear folders for each book or show. Audely adds organisation and listening progress around those files.
- Use library edits for corrections without rewriting the originals. Test a small selection before adding a large collection.
1. Choose a simple folder structure
Start with one book and one show before adding a large collection. Use one folder per book or show:
Audio/Audiobooks/Author/Book title/Part filesAudio/Podcasts/Show name/Episode files
In Audely, open Settings › Library › Add folder on iPhone or iPad, or Audely › Settings › Library › Add folder on Mac. Select the folder and choose Audiobooks or Podcasts. Link separate folders to identify each type once. For a mixed folder, choose Audiobooks and podcasts, then mark the audiobook files. Remaining audio is imported as podcast episodes. New files in mixed folders need classification during a later scan.
2. Check names and order
For audiobooks, check track, disc, and part numbers. For podcasts, check publication dates or season and episode numbers. Clear filenames such as 01 - Opening.mp3 help when embedded information is missing.
Check a small sample for titles, authors or creators, numbering, and artwork before renaming everything. The files may already contain useful metadata. Back up the originals before editing them in another tool.
3. Correct details in Audely
Choose Book settings, Part settings, Show settings, or Episode settings to correct the listening library without changing the source files.
Book settings provide shared defaults, while a part can have its own values. Clear a part’s override to use the book’s value again. Mac’s Edit metadata action can update selected parts or episodes together. See Edit details for the full controls.
Keep audiobooks and podcasts in their respective views: books need narrative part order, while shows need episode browsing and played-state filters.
4. Scan after changing source files
After adding, moving, renaming, or updating audio in a linked folder, run a source scan:
- iPhone or iPad: open the folder’s options in Settings › Library and choose Scan folder.
- Mac: choose Scan all folders.
If something is missing, check Folder information for unavailable, unsupported, not-downloaded, or excluded files. A source scan reads your audio folders. It is separate from Audely Pro sync.
5. Prepare for offline listening
An iCloud Drive folder can be available on several devices, but each device needs its own folder permission and downloaded audio. Before travelling, download every part you need and test playback offline.
Sync and cloud backups contain supported library data, not source audio. Back up your audio separately.
Remove an item without deleting the audio
Removing a book, part, show, or episode inside Audely preserves its source files and excludes them from later scans. Use Allow reimport in Folder information to bring them back.
Deleting audio in Finder or Files is a separate action that removes the files themselves. For the initial import steps, see Add audio and folders.