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
listenupfolder 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 locale and voice style if available
- Adjust Gen2 speech controls if you want custom speed, pitch, variation, sample rate, response mode, target duration, word timing metadata, pauses, or channel output
- 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 |
| Sample Rate | 44,100 Hz | Good quality default for generated files |
| Channel Type | Mono | Clear spoken-word playback with smaller files |
| Speed, Pitch, Variation | Defaults | Natural baseline before tuning |
| Player Layout | Featured player | Makes the audio version visible in articles |
| Player Accent | Blue or closest brand match | Keeps controls visually consistent |
| Skip and Speed Controls | Enabled | Helpful for long-form spoken-word listening |
| 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 locale and 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.
Gen2 Speech Controls
The API settings tab also includes reusable-file generation controls for Murf Gen2:
- Locale – lets multilingual voices speak in supported languages and accents
- Sample Rate – 8,000, 24,000, 44,100, or 48,000 Hz output
- Channel Type – mono or stereo output
- Speaking Speed – -50 slower through 50 faster
- Pitch – -50 deeper through 50 higher
- Variation – 0 through 5 for less or more dynamic delivery
- Audio Response Mode – choose Murf-hosted URL caching or direct base64 response caching
- Target Audio Duration – optionally ask Murf to fit single-file audio to a duration
- Word Timing Metadata – optionally store Murf word timings for future transcript features
- Pause Tags – add pauses with
[pause 1s]; ListenUp normalizes supported values between 0.1s and 5s
Response mode and word timing metadata change how generated files and metadata are handled, not how the voice sounds. Changing them will not automatically alter existing cached audio. Regenerate audio when you need new Murf metadata, or when you change audible settings like text, voice, speed, pitch, variation, sample rate, channel, or target duration.
Target duration only applies when the post can be generated as a single file. If ListenUp has to split long content into chunks, it leaves duration targeting off so the chunks can be generated and played reliably.
Falcon streaming is not used for ListenUp post audio because generated files are cached and reused.
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 Generation
For editorial teams, ListenUp can queue audio generation after a post is
published and can run a recurring backfill job for recent published content
missing audio.
- Go to Settings → ListenUp → Automation
- Enable Generate on Publish
- Select the post types to automate
- Optionally enable Recurring Backfill and choose the batch size/frequency
Automation skips content that already has ListenUp audio.
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.
Player Display Options
Use Settings → ListenUp → Display to control the frontend player:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Player Layout | Choose Featured player for a larger article module or Compact controls for a tighter control bar |
| Player Accent | Choose blue, green, orange, or slate for the player controls and visual treatment |
| Skip Controls | Show or hide 15-second rewind and forward buttons |
| Playback Speed Control | Show or hide the listener speed selector |
| Default Playback Speed | Set the initial speed to 0.75x, 1x, 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x, or 2x |
The player uses the native browser audio element, keeps keyboard and screen-reader support, and applies isolated ListenUp CSS classes so theme styles are less likely to collide with the controls.
Shortcode
For manual placement, use the shortcode:
[listenup]
Usage Examples
In post content:
Welcome to my article!
[listenup]
Here's the main content...
In a widget:
Add a Text or Custom HTML widget with [listenup]
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 Locale | Locale used for multilingual voices | en-US |
| Voice Style | Speaking style for the voice | – |
| Audio Format | Output format (MP3, WAV, etc.) | MP3 |
| Sample Rate | Generated audio sample rate | 44100 |
| Channel Type | Mono or stereo output | MONO |
| Speaking Speed | Generated speech speed adjustment | 0 |
| Pitch | Generated speech pitch adjustment | 0 |
| Variation | Dynamic delivery level | 1 |
| Audio Response Mode | Murf URL or direct base64 response | URL |
| Target Audio Duration | Optional single-file duration target | 0 |
| Word Timing Metadata | Request and store word timings | Disabled |
| Auto Placement | Where to auto-insert player | None |
| Placement Position | Before or after content | After |
| Player Layout | Featured or compact player | Featured |
| Player Accent | Player color theme | Blue |
| Skip Controls | Show 15-second skip buttons | Enabled |
| Playback Speed Control | Show speed selector | Enabled |
| Default Playback Speed | Initial listener playback speed | 1x |
| 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 | – |