Getting Started with ListenUp: A Quick Guide

Get up and running with ListenUp in minutes.

Installation

From WordPress.org

Go to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress admin
Search for “ListenUp”
Click Install Now, then Activate

Manual Installation

Download the plugin from WordPress.org
Upload the listenup folder to /wp-content/plugins/
Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress

Initial Configuration

After activation, configure your settings:

Go to Settings → ListenUp
Enter your Murf.ai API Key
Select your preferred default voice
Choose a voice style (if available for the selected voice)
Click Save Settings

Getting a Murf.ai API Key

Sign up at Murf.ai
Go to your account dashboard
Navigate to API settings
Generate an API key
Copy and paste it into ListenUp settings

Recommended Initial Settings

Setting	Recommended Value	Why
Audio Format	MP3	Best compatibility, smaller files
Auto Placement	Posts	Automatically adds player to posts
Placement Position	Before Content	Player appears at top of post
Download Restriction	Allow All	Let visitors download audio

Voice Selection

ListenUp supports all voices available through the Murf.ai API.

Choosing a Voice

Go to Settings → ListenUp
Click “Load Available Voices” to fetch voice list
Browse voices by language and gender
Click the preview button to hear samples
Select your preferred voice
Choose a voice style if available

Voice Styles

Many voices support multiple styles:

Conversational – Natural, casual delivery
Newscast – Professional, authoritative
Narration – Storytelling tone
Promo – Energetic, promotional

Not all voices support all styles. The available styles will be shown after selecting a voice.

Generating Audio

From the Post Editor

Edit any post or page
Find the ListenUp meta box (usually in the sidebar)
Click “Generate Audio”
Wait for generation to complete
Preview the audio using the built-in player

Generation Status

The meta box shows:

No audio – Audio hasn’t been generated yet
Generating… – Audio is being processed
Ready – Audio is available for playback
Error – Generation failed (check error message)

Bulk Generation (WP-CLI)

For large sites, use WP-CLI to generate audio in bulk:

# Generate for all posts without audio
wp listenup generate --all

# Generate for a specific post
wp listenup generate --post-id=123

# Regenerate all audio (overwrites existing)
wp listenup generate --all --force

Automatic Placement

ListenUp can automatically insert the audio player into your content.

Configuration

Go to Settings → ListenUp
Find Auto Placement setting
Choose where to add players:

None – Manual placement only
Posts – All blog posts
Pages – All pages
Both – Posts and pages

Choose Placement Position:

Before Content – Player at top
After Content – Player at bottom

How It Works

When enabled, ListenUp checks if the current post/page has audio. If audio exists, the player is automatically inserted at the configured position.

Shortcode

For manual placement, use the shortcode:

[ listenup ]

In a widget:
Add a Text or Custom HTML widget with

No audio available for this content.

In a template:

<?php echo do_shortcode('[listenup]'); ?>

Shortcode for Specific Posts

Display audio from a different post:

[listenup post_id="123"]

Audio Library Shortcode

Display a list of posts that have audio:

[listenup_library]

Library Options

Attribute	Default	Description
posts_per_page	10	Number of posts to display
post_type	post	Post type to query
orderby	date	Sort order (date, title, rand)
order	DESC	Sort direction
category	–	Filter by category slug
autoplay	false	Auto-advance to next track

Example

[listenup_library posts_per_page="5" category="podcasts" autoplay="true"]

Regenerating Audio

When to Regenerate

Content has been updated
You want to use a different voice
Pronunciation dictionary changed
Audio quality issues

How to Regenerate

Edit the post
In the ListenUp meta box, click “Regenerate Audio”
Confirm the action
Wait for new audio to generate

Bulk Regeneration

Using WP-CLI:

# Regenerate all audio
wp listenup generate --all --force

# Regenerate specific post type
wp listenup generate --all --post-type=post --force

Download Settings

Control who can download audio files.

Options

Setting	Behavior
Allow All	Anyone can download
Logged In Only	Only logged-in users
Disable	No downloads allowed

Configuration

Go to Settings → ListenUp
Find Download Restriction setting
Select your preference
Save settings

When downloads are restricted, the download button is hidden from the player.

Next Steps

Enhance Your Audio

Set Up Pronunciation Dictionary

Define custom pronunciations for technical terms
Pronunciation Guide →

Add Pre-roll Audio

Create branded introductions
Pre-roll Configuration →

Configure Cloud Storage

Offload files to S3, R2, or GCS
Cloud Storage Guide →

Monitor Your Audio

Review Audio Library

See all posts with audio in one place
Settings → ListenUp → Audio Library tab

Check Storage Usage

Monitor cache size
Clean up old files if needed

Settings Reference

General Tab

Setting	Description	Default
Murf.ai API Key	Your API key for authentication	Required
Default Voice	Voice used for new generations	–
Voice Style	Speaking style for the voice	–
Audio Format	Output format (MP3, WAV, etc.)	MP3
Auto Placement	Where to auto-insert player	None
Placement Position	Before or after content	After
Download Restriction	Who can download audio	Allow All

Pronunciation Tab

Setting	Description	Default
Enable Dictionary	Use pronunciation rules	Disabled
Pronunciation Rules	Custom word pronunciations	Empty

Pre-roll Tab

Setting	Description	Default
Pre-roll Audio	Audio file to play before content	None
Pre-roll Text	Text to generate as pre-roll	Empty

Cloud Storage Tab

Setting	Description	Default
Enable Cloud Storage	Upload to cloud	Disabled
Provider	S3, R2, or GCS	–
Bucket Name	Storage bucket	–
Access Credentials	Authentication keys	–

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