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, 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
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 |
| 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 | – |