What is Wavecast?
Wavecast is an open-source Hugo theme and module that adds a persistent podcast/radio audio player to any Hugo site. It provides two custom Web Components that work together:
| Component | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
<podcast-player> | Inline (in your content) | Play/pause, skip, seek, volume, chapters, poster |
<podcast-footer> | Sticky footer | Persistent player bar at the bottom of every page |
Both components are bidirectionally synced: pausing the footer pauses all inline players, and vice versa. Only one audio source plays at a time. Position, volume, mute, and speed survive page navigation.
Features at a Glance
- Web Component with Shadow DOM: framework-agnostic, works anywhere
- Inline player with play/pause, skip ±15s, seekable progress bar, volume, mute, playback rate (0.5×–2×)
- Sticky footer player with cover art, track name, wide progress bar, volume, mute, speed, close
- Bidirectional sync between inline and footer players
- Single-stream: playing a new source stops the previous one
- Chapters: timestamp-labelled navigation chips
- Poster & description: cover image and Markdown-rendered show notes
- Source adapters: local files, AzuraCast radio stations, iVoox episodes
- Navigation persistence: survives Turbolinks, Turbo, htmx, and vanilla page loads
- Theming: 11 CSS custom properties for light/dark themes
::part()selectors: style Shadow DOM elements from outside- Keyboard shortcuts: Space (play/pause), Left/Right (skip), M (mute)
- Media Session API: integrates with OS media controls
- Podcast RSS feed: iTunes-compatible RSS with automatic podcast detection
- Accessible: ARIA labels,
:focus-visiblerings, semantic controls
Who is it for?
- Podcasters who want a self-hosted Hugo site with a polished audio player
- Radio stations using AzuraCast who need a persistent web player
- Hugo theme developers who want to embed audio in their themes
- Anyone building a content site who wants audio that survives page navigation