What it does
Step into the story with Kokoro Audio. We create fully dramatized audio with full-cast performances and rich soundscapes. Our promise is to deliver "A cinematic experience, true to author's intent."
This app is the dedicated player for your Kokoro Audio library. Access titles purchased from our website and take the story with you, wherever you go.
Kokoro Audio buys the rights to popular novels and turns them into fully dramatized audiobooks. My job was to build everything the business runs on: the website where people buy audiobooks, the app where they listen to them, the admin panel that manages it all, and the backend underneath.
The website#
- Visitors can browse the whole catalogue, search it, and filter by genre, voice actor, or author.
- Every audiobook has its own detail page with full production details and a sample you can listen to before buying.
- Checkout runs on Stripe. GST is applied or removed automatically depending on where the customer is located.
- The store supports several kinds of coupons, from site-wide discount campaigns to codes issued for a single user.
- Receipts and purchase emails are sent through Resend.
The listening app#
- Anything bought on the website shows up in the app, ready to play at no extra cost.
- I wrote the audio player myself rather than using an off-the-shelf one. It streams, downloads titles for offline listening, and works without any internet connection.
- Playback can be controlled straight from the lock screen: play, pause, and skip.
- A sleep timer pauses the audio when it runs out, and playback speed is adjustable.
- Listening history syncs to the backend, so users never lose their place.
Behind the scenes#
- An admin panel gives the client full control of the catalogue and the platform.
- The whole project lives in a monorepo: web app, mobile app, shared packages, and cloud functions.
- I designed the database and storage from scratch, and wrote the cloud functions that handle payments, ownership, and delivery.
Technologies
Next.js for the storefront and admin panel
Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui
Expo (React Native) for the listening app
Firebase, with Firestore and storage
Cloud Functions
Stripe payments with GST handling and coupons
Resend for transactional email
A monorepo covering web, mobile, shared packages, and functions
My responsibilities
Designed and built the entire platform: website, admin panel, mobile app, and backend.
Designed the database schema and wrote every cloud function.
Built the checkout flow with Stripe, automatic GST handling, and a flexible coupon system.
Built the admin panel the client uses to run the platform.
Wrote a custom audio player with offline downloads, lock-screen controls, a sleep timer, and speed control.