Cloud Library

Your Mac converts your Audible books and puts them in a storage bucket you own. Your Library runs on your own free Convex account. It keeps your sign-in, the list of books and where you are in each, and it serves your web app, where you listen on any phone or computer.

Nobody else holds your books or your keys. Vox keeps your keys in your Mac's Keychain.

What you need

Backblaze storage costs about $3.96 a month for 1,000 books. See What it costs.

Set up

The setup window lists its steps on the left. This guide follows them in order.

1. Choose a setup

   Choose Cloud Library, then click Continue.

2. Library backend

   Your Library runs on your own free Convex account. Vox sets it up. You only need a key.

   In Convex

   1. Create a free account at convex.dev.
   2. Create a project. Any name works; "vox" is fine.
   3. Open the project's Settings, then URL and Deploy Key, and generate a Production deploy key.
   4. Copy the key, and the Cloud URL shown on the same page.

   In Vox

   Paste them into Deploy key and Cloud URL, then click Continue. Vox checks the key before it moves on. The deploy key stays in your Mac's Keychain.

3. Storage

   Books go to a bucket in your own storage account. Leave Backblaze B2 selected.

   In Backblaze

   1. Create a Private bucket with Default Encryption turned on and Object Lock left off.
   2. Choose Application Keys, then Add a New Application Key, with read and write access to that bucket only. Copy the key when Backblaze shows it.
   3. Add a payment card to your Backblaze account.
   4. Open Caps & Alerts and set the daily caps to storage $0.10 a day (about 440 GB) and download $0.50 a day (about 51 GB). The Open Caps & Alerts button in Vox opens the same page.

   In Vox

   Field	What to enter
   Bucket name	The bucket you created.
   Region	The bucket's region, such as eu-central-003.
   Endpoint	Shown on the bucket's page in Backblaze. The region is the part after "s3.".
   Key ID	The application key's keyID.
   Application key	The key itself.

   Click Continue. Vox checks that the key can read and write the bucket.

   Do not skip the caps

   New Backblaze accounts start with every cap at $0, so downloads stop after 1 GB a day and your phone cannot fetch more books until midnight UTC.

   Other storage

   Choose Other S3-compatible. Any storage that speaks S3 over HTTPS works, including a NAS that is reachable from the internet. Make a key with read and write access to one bucket, and fill in Endpoint address and Secret key. Your provider's prices apply.

4. Books folder

   Vox downloads and converts each book in this folder before adding it to your Library, and the converted book stays here. Click Choose… and pick a folder on a drive with room. An external drive or a NAS works. Keep it connected while Vox works.

   Tick Keep the Audible originals too only if you want them. They take about the same space again.

5. Your account

   This is how you sign in to your Library. Fill in Your name, Email, Password and Password again. The password needs at least 10 characters.

   Click Put my Library online. Vox uses the password once, to create your account. It is not saved on your Mac.

6. Go online

   Vox puts your Library online and ticks off each step. This takes a minute or two. Keep the window open.

   1. Check your storage key
   2. Check your Convex key
   3. Set download permissions on the bucket
   4. Set up your Library backend
   5. Upload the Library backend
   6. Put your web app online
   7. Create your account
   8. Connect this Mac to your Library

   Your Library serves the web app itself, at its own address. There is nothing else to host.

   If a step fails, click Try again. It picks up where it stopped. Copy report copies the list of steps if you need help. When the heading says Your Library is online, click Continue.

7. Connect Audible

   Vox lists the books you have bought. You sign in on Amazon's own page, so Vox never sees your password.

   1. Choose your Audible store and click Continue in browser.
   2. Sign in on the Amazon page that opens in your browser.
   3. Amazon's last page may show an error. That is expected. Copy the full address from the address bar.
   4. Paste it into Paste the address here and click Connect. The sign-in expires in 15 minutes.

   No Audible account? Click I don't use Audible. After setup, choose Convert a file in the Vox Liberata window's toolbar, or drop an AAX or AAXC file on the window.

8. Choose your first books

   Vox checks your Audible purchases. Tick a book or two and click Add to Library. Vox downloads each one, converts it and adds it to your Library.

   Books start one at a time, with a 3 minute pause between them and at most 20 a day. You can change both in Settings › Behaviour. Click Continue while they run; Vox keeps working in the menu bar. Skip for now moves on without adding any.

9. Listen on your phone

   Vox shows a QR code for your web app. Point your phone's camera at it, then follow Your phone. You can also do this later.

10. Done

    Vox shows your web app's address, with Copy and Open in browser. Sign in there with your email.

    Two switches decide what happens next:

    • Add new Audible purchases to your Library: books you buy later are added without asking.
    • Open Vox Liberata at login: so books keep being added while you are away.

    Click Open Vox Liberata. The Vox Liberata window opens at your Audible purchases, where you can add more.

Afterwards

The menu bar

Vox lives in the menu bar, with the V mark. It keeps adding books with its windows closed. Click it for status, the queue, Add a phone…, Check Audible now, Pause work and Settings….

What it costs

Settings › Storage, under What it costs, shows how much your Library holds, the estimated monthly cost, the free allowances used and the recommended caps. These are estimates. Backblaze's bill is what counts.

Keep a backup

In Settings › Storage, under Backup, turn on Keep a backup. Under Back up to, choose A folder on this Mac or A folder on a NAS, then click Choose…. Back up existing books copies the books you added before. Backing up to another S3 bucket comes later.

Remove a book

In the Vox Liberata window, select the book and click Remove from Library…. Vox deletes it from your storage straight away. With a backup, the copy stays for 30 days, and Settings › Storage › Recently removed can restore it. An Audible book stays in your purchases, so you can add it again.