Docs/Getting started/Before you begin

Before you begin

What you need to know before getting started

AudioGuideKit is designed to be approachable for non-developers while remaining flexible enough for technical users who want to customize everything. Here's what you'll need to get started.

What you'll need

Required

Audio content

MP3 or M4A audio files for your tour stops. These need to be hosted somewhere accessible via URL (we'll cover options in the Media section).

A computer

Mac, Windows, or Linux—anything that can run Node.js.

A place to host

A static hosting service like Vercel, Netlify, or GitHub Pages.

Nice to have

  • Basic command line familiarity - You'll run a few terminal commands, but we'll walk you through each one
  • A code editor - VS Code is free and works great; we're also fans of Zed, but any text editor will do
  • Images - Photos for each tour stop. Optional—stops work fine with just audio and text, but images make the experience richer. Free sources like Unsplash work well, or host your own.
  • Audio recording equipment - Or just your phone! Modern smartphones record surprisingly good audio

Technical requirements

AudioGuideKit uses:

  • Node.js 18+ or Bun (recommended) for running the development server
  • Git for cloning the repository

Don't have these installed? No problem. The Installation guide walks through setting everything up.