How Audex actually works

A self-hosted-first audio and audiobook player for Android. It doesn't host or stream any content of its own — it plays from a media server you already run, files already on your device or in your own cloud storage, internet radio, and your own PDFs and EPUBs read aloud. Nothing to re-upload, nothing rented back to you.

No. Local files, a Google Drive/Dropbox/OneDrive folder, internet radio, and your own books all work with nothing else set up. A media server is one more source you can add, not a requirement to get started.

30 days with every feature unlocked, starting the first time you open the app, tied to your Google account rather than the install — reinstalling doesn't reset it. After the trial, a single $5 payment through Google Play unlocks Audex for good. There's no subscription at any point.

From Settings: "Media servers" to connect a server, "Local files" to add a folder from your device or a cloud account, or "Books" to import a PDF or EPUB. Each source shows up as its own tab in your Library once added.

Jellyfin, Emby, Plex, Subsonic and its compatible siblings (Navidrome, OpenSubsonic, Airsonic), Audiobookshelf, and Kodi.

Settings → Media servers → Add a server. Pick the type, enter its address (and username/password if it needs one), and Audex tests the connection before saving — so you know it worked before you leave the screen.

Yes, each with its own nickname. Switch between them from the same source picker you use for Local Files and Books.

On Jellyfin, Emby, Plex, and Kodi, Audex can browse and play video the same way it plays audio. Subsonic-family servers and Audiobookshelf are audio-only, matching what those platforms themselves serve.

No — credentials are saved encrypted on your device the first time you connect, so you're not re-entering them on every launch.

First, confirm the server itself is actually reachable from wherever your phone currently is — the same Wi-Fi network at home, or a VPN/reverse proxy if you're away. Then double-check that the address and port saved in Audex still match what the server is really listening on; a server restart or a router change can shift this.

Yes, from any server — download a track, an album, or a whole playlist so a spotty connection doesn't interrupt a commute.

Any folder on your device via the system file picker, plus one-tap shortcuts for WhatsApp's and WhatsApp Business's voice-note folders and your phone's own voice recorder folder.

Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, a WebDAV address, or an SMB network share.

Automatically, into Albums, Artists, and Folders, based on each file's own tags and its location on disk — there's no manual tagging step.

Yes — a connected cloud folder downloads once to your device, then plays exactly like a local file with no live connection needed afterward.

PDF and EPUB.

Audex reads the book's own table of contents where one exists, rather than guessing chapter breaks from a fixed page count — so chapters in the app match the real chapters in the book.

A fully offline neural voice (nothing sent anywhere once it's downloaded), your phone's own built-in text-to-speech as a no-setup fallback, or a Google Cloud Text-to-Speech voice using an API key you supply yourself.

Cloud voices sound noticeably more natural. Using your own key also means your usage is billed against your own Google Cloud free-tier allowance — it's never shared with any other Audex user's usage.

It's billed to your own Google Cloud account, not shared with any other Audex user, and the Text-to-Speech API includes a free monthly quota that's generous for typical listening.

1. Create a Google Cloud project

   If you don't already have one, create a new project — this is just a free container for the API you're about to enable. Any name works.

   Create a project in Google Cloud Console
2. Enable billing on the project

   Google Cloud requires a billing account attached before it will issue API keys for most APIs, even ones with a free tier — you won't be charged unless you go past the free monthly quota, and you can set a spending cap.

   Set up billing
3. Enable the Text-to-Speech API

   With your project selected, enable the Cloud Text-to-Speech API for it — the same link Audex's own "Get an API key" button opens.

   Enable the Text-to-Speech API
4. Create an API key

   Go to APIs & Services → Credentials, click Create Credentials, and choose API key. Google Cloud generates the key immediately — copy it somewhere safe.

   Open Credentials
5. Recommended: restrict the key to Text-to-Speech only

   On the same Credentials page, click the key you just created, and under API restrictions choose Restrict key and select only Cloud Text-to-Speech API — so the key can't be used for anything else if it were ever leaked.

6. Paste it into Audex

   In Audex, go to Settings → Books & voices → Cloud voices, turn on Use your own Google Cloud API key, and paste the key in. It's stored encrypted, only on your device.

Yes, per book or per chapter.

The Radio Browser directory — a free, community-maintained list of thousands of real internet radio stations, searchable by name, country, or genre.

Yes — paste any direct stream URL you already have.

A correction curve measured for a specific pair of headphones, so the equalizer reshapes what you hear to match how that exact model performs — not a generic bass/treble guess. Audex bundles 113 of them.

Automatically matches loudness between tracks recorded at different volumes, so you're not reaching for the volume dial every time a new track starts.

Yes — speed and pitch are independent controls, so slowing a lecture down doesn't make the narrator sound like a chipmunk.

Yes, with a fixed duration or an "end of current track/chapter" option.

Yes, to any Chromecast-compatible device, from any source.

Yes — browse and control playback from the car's own screen, with steering-wheel button support.

Yes, a standalone companion for your watch. Download tracks directly to it for a run with no phone nearby, or mirror whatever's currently playing on your phone in real time.

Yes, a separate app built for the living room and a remote, with the same server connections, radio, and offline downloads as the phone app — plus a way to send local files straight from your phone to the TV over your home network.

No — one purchase, tied to your Google account, covers every device you sign into.

No. One payment, once, after the free trial. Nothing recurs, and no feature is later moved behind a second paywall.

No, both are tied to your Google account rather than the install, so they carry over automatically.

See Delete Your Account and Data — it explains exactly what is and isn't deleted, and lets you confirm and delete it immediately.

Not on any server we operate — it's stored on your device only. See the full Privacy Policy for exactly what does and doesn't leave your device.

No, never — and there are no analytics or tracking SDKs in the app either.