Hear It

Turn any article into a podcast — instantly.

Hear It is an iOS app that converts long-form web articles into natural-sounding audio. Paste a link, pick a voice, and listen while you commute, cook, or work out.

Features

• One-tap conversion — paste any article URL and get a spoken version in seconds
• Natural voices — powered by OpenAI's text-to-speech with multiple voice options
• Background playback — keep listening while you use other apps
• Article library — revisit past audio from your personal library
• Smart extraction — strips ads, nav bars, and page chrome so the spoken audio stays focused on the article

How It Works

1. Paste an article URL (or share from your browser)
2. Choose a voice
3. Hear It extracts the article and generates spoken audio
4. Listen from the built-in player with full background audio support

Architecture

Component	Stack
iOS app	SwiftUI, AVFoundation
API runtime	Express, TypeScript
Auth	Supabase Auth
TTS	OpenAI gpt-4o-mini-tts
Database	Supabase (Postgres)
Hosting	Render (Docker)
Analytics	PostHog
Error tracking	Sentry

flowchart LR
    A["iOS App"] --> B["API Runtime"]
    B --> C["Job pipeline (same Node process today)"]
    B --> D["Supabase Auth"]
    C --> E["OpenAI TTS"]
    C --> F["ffmpeg"]
    C --> G["Supabase Postgres"]
    C --> H["Supabase Storage"]
    A --> H

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Today the HTTP API and background job pipeline run in the same Node service. The code keeps those responsibilities separated so they can move into distinct API and worker services later without changing the client contract.

Repository Layout

apps/
  ios/          SwiftUI iPhone app
  api/          Express API server (extraction, TTS, job management)
docs/           Product and technical design notes
scripts/        Dev tooling

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• Yarn
• Xcode 26+ (for iOS development)
• XcodeGen

API Server

yarn install
yarn dev

The API starts on http://localhost:3000.

yarn dev runs the local file-backed development server from apps/api/src/server.ts. That path is meant for fast iteration and can work in a few different auth modes:

• no auth env configured: pass-through auth for local UI iteration
• SUPABASE_JWT_SECRET only: shared-secret verification with Supabase JWKS fallback against the default project
• explicit SUPABASE_URL: JWKS verification against that project

Useful local env:

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...          # Required for real TTS (omit for fake provider)
SUPABASE_URL=...               # Optional explicit Supabase project URL for auth verification
SUPABASE_JWT_SECRET=...        # Optional shared-secret fallback for local auth verification

For a production-like local run, build and start apps/api/src/production.ts instead. That path requires real storage and database env such as:

POSTGRES_URL=...
SUPABASE_URL=...
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=...
SUPABASE_STORAGE_BUCKET=audio  # Optional; defaults to "audio"

Run it with:

yarn --cwd apps/api build
yarn --cwd apps/api start:production

Optional variables:

Variable	Default	Description
OPENAI_TTS_MODEL	gpt-4o-mini-tts	TTS model
TTS_CONCURRENCY	5	Parallel TTS jobs
AUDIO_PUBLIC_BASE_URL	/audio	Audio URL prefix
AUDIO_OUTPUT_DIR	data/audio	Local audio storage (dev)

iOS App

cd apps/ios
cp local.xcconfig.example local.xcconfig
# Edit local.xcconfig → set DEVELOPMENT_TEAM to your Apple Team ID
xcodegen generate
open HearIt.xcodeproj

Build and run on Simulator (uses http://127.0.0.1:3000) or a physical device (configure the API URL in the in-app Settings screen).

Debug Launch Overrides

These are available in Debug builds and are useful for local iteration and automation:

Variable	Description
HEAR_IT_DEBUG_API_BASE_URL	Temporarily overrides the app's API base URL for that debug launch without mutating persisted defaults
HEAR_IT_DEBUG_AUTOCREATE_URL	Auto-fills and submits a URL once the app boots
HEAR_IT_DEBUG_AUTOMATION=seek-and-reopen	Runs the seek-and-reopen playback automation used during player debugging

If you want the share extension to use a local backend too, save that URL through the in-app Settings screen so it propagates through the shared app-group defaults.

The repo also includes .xcodebuildmcp/config.yaml with simulator, device, and UI automation workflows enabled for local iOS debugging.

Privacy

Hear It collects minimal data. See the full Privacy Policy served by the API.

• No cross-app tracking
• No data sold to third parties
• Anonymous analytics only (PostHog)
• Crash reporting via Sentry (no personal content)

License

Private — all rights reserved.