FAQ
Short answers about which platforms it runs on, accounts, offline use, phones, your own audio files, licensing and what it costs.
Is it free?
Yes. Thaumaturgy is in free open beta — the app, the library and accounts. Help shape it: suggestions, feature requests and sound requests all go straight to us.
Which platforms can I run it on, and what is different about each?
The web app and the Google Play app are the same thing — the Play app is a shell around this site, so anything deployed here is in it the same day. Everything below is true of both.
| Web | Google Play | iOS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Available | Yes | Yes | Not yet |
| Price | Free | Free | — |
| What it is | The site | A shell around the site | — |
| Whole library | Streamed | Streamed | — |
| Offline | After first use | After first use | — |
| Account and sync | Optional | Optional | — |
| Listen along | Yes | Yes | — |
| Plays with the screen off | Yes | Yes | — |
| New sounds and features | Immediately | Immediately | — |
“After first use” means the browser keeps the app on your device, and keeps each sound once it has played — so a scene you have run before will run again with the wifi off, and one you have never opened will not. If you know you will be somewhere without a connection, open the scenes you plan to use once while you still have one and they will be there.
A Fire tablet build existed until October 2026 and was withdrawn: it installed the whole library for true first-launch offline, but it could not sync, could not join a broadcast, and only changed when a new version was uploaded by hand. Thaumaturgy still runs on a Fire tablet in the browser.
Nothing plays on my iPhone
Safari needs a tap before any sound. Press PLAY, a scene, or a board button once and everything works from then on.
The first tap on a button was late
Sounds load in the background when you load a board or pick an environment ("loading sounds n/N" shows in the boards bar). Give it a few seconds on slow Wi-Fi; after that every tap is instant.
I moved a dial and nothing changed
Check the layer is switched on (the toggle by its name) and that the environment is playing. Dials apply live while it runs.
Can two people run it at once?
Each browser is independent. If you sign in on two devices, they share the saved work, but each plays its own sound.
How many layers should an environment have?
As many as it needs, up to twelve. Past about eight the mix gets muddy — if a scene sounds busy, back a layer off with its volume or distance rather than adding more.
Where's the review page?
/review is a curation tool for the library, not part of the app. It's linked from the app's footer while the library is being built out.
Something's broken
Reload the page first — your environment, boards and scenes come back. If it's still wrong, note what you did and tell us.
Updated 10 November 2026