Getting Started

1. The Basics

Install and Launch

1. When Vex launches, download and run the installer.
2. On first launch, Vex walks you through a short setup wizard: microphone selection, voice engine test, and optional account creation.
3. You land on the Dashboard, where the voice engine status, active profile, and recent actions are all visible at a glance.

How Vex Works

Vex listens for your voice (via push-to-talk or wake word), converts speech to text locally on your machine, then figures out what game action you want and executes it. The key insight: most commands are resolved locally without any AI call.

The resolution order is:

1. Manual actions you have defined (always free, always instant)
2. Binding-based actions from your active profile, imported files, or game defaults
3. Cached AI results from previous commands
4. AI resolution (only on cache miss, uses credits or requires Pro/Ultra)

Once the AI resolves a command, the result is cached locally. Next time you say the same thing, it resolves instantly without an AI call.

Free vs Paid

The free tier gives you manual voice-to-action mappings, 50 monthly AI credits, and basic voices. You can use Vex without an account for manual actions only. Pro ($4.99/mo) adds unlimited AI credits, all voices, and more. See the pricing page for full details.

2. Profiles

Profiles are how you organise Vex per game. Each profile has its own game selection, binding files, wake word, voice, personality, and watcher configurations. You can create unlimited profiles on all tiers.

Vex can auto-switch profiles when it detects your game window is active, or you can switch manually via voice ("Switch to DCS") or the dashboard's profile dropdown.

3. Voice Commands

Activation

Two ways to activate Vex:

• Push-to-talk (PTT), hold a key or joystick button while speaking. Configurable per profile.
• Wake word, say your wake word (e.g. "Hey Vex") and Vex starts listening. Runs locally, no cloud call.

Speaking Naturally

You do not need to memorise exact phrases. The AI understands intent, so these all do the same thing:

For manual actions (free tier), you define exact trigger phrases. For AI-resolved commands (Pro/Ultra or credits), speak however you like.

System Commands

Some commands control Vex itself rather than your game. These are always free and do not use AI credits:

• “Stop listening” / “Go to sleep”, pause the voice engine
• “Start listening” / “Wake up”, resume
• “Switch to [profile name]”, change active profile
• “Help”, activate Vision Help Mode (Ultra)

4. Supported Games

Vex works with any game that accepts keyboard, mouse, or virtual joystick input. You do not need a game definition pack to use Vex.

However, supported games come with game definition packs that provide default keybindings, a catalogue of known actions, and context for the AI to give better results.

Games with Definition Packs

More game packs are added regularly. If your game is not listed, Vex still works. Provide your own bindings, or let the AI resolve common actions.

Importing Game Bindings

For supported games, Vex can read your actual game config files directly. Head to your profile’s Bindings tab and click Add File:

Vex shows a preview of parsed bindings before you confirm the import. Supported game-native formats:

• Star Citizen: Import your actionmaps.xml from USER/Client/0/Profiles/default/
• Other games: Import whatever binding/config file the game uses. Vex has built-in parsers for XML, INI, and JSON. If the format is not recognised, the AI will attempt to parse it for you.

Binding Resolution Order

When you say a command, Vex looks up the action in this order:

1. Your imported bindings (highest priority, your actual keybinds)
2. Game defaults (from the game definition pack, if available)
3. AI-resolved actions (used when Vex needs to infer a sensible action)

This means if you use default keybinds for a supported game, you may not need to import anything at all.

5. Custom Bindings

If you want to provide your own binding file (for an unsupported game, or to define custom mappings), it must be in Vex’s own format. Vex does not use game-native formats for custom uploads. It converts supported game formats internally when you import them.

The recommended format for custom bindings is YAML, but you can also use JSON or INI.

schema_version: 1
game: my_game

actions:
  - id: landing_gear
    description: Toggle landing gear
    category: flight
    default_key:
      key: "G"

  - id: boost
    description: Activate afterburner
    category: flight
    default_key:
      key: "SPACE"
      modifiers: ["lshift"]

  - id: self_destruct
    description: Self destruct sequence
    category: ship_systems
    default_key:
      key: "BACKSPACE"
      modifiers: ["alt"]
      hold_duration: 3000

  - id: fire_countermeasures
    description: Deploy countermeasures
    category: combat
    default_key:
      key: "G"
      double_tap: true

{
  "flight": {
    "landing_gear": "g",
    "boost": "space"
  },
  "ui": {
    "eject": "enter"
  }
}

{
  "flight": {
    "landing_gear": {
      "key": "g",
      "type": "keyboard"
    },
    "boost": {
      "key": "space",
      "modifiers": ["lshift"]
    }
  },
  "combat": {
    "fire_missile": {
      "key": "f",
      "modifiers": ["lctrl", "lalt"],
      "type": "keyboard"
    }
  }
}

[flight]
landing_gear = G
boost = SPACE

[combat]
fire = F
crouch = C

# vJoy bindings use vjoy:DeviceID:Button syntax
[hardware]
weapon1 = vjoy:1:5
weapon2 = vjoy:2:10

6. Binding File Formats

A summary of what Vex accepts and when to use each format.

Important: XML import is specifically for importing game-native config files (like Star Citizen’s actionmaps.xml). Vex converts these to its internal format automatically. If you are writing your own custom bindings from scratch, use YAML, JSON, or INI.

Security Limits

Binding files are subject to the following limits to prevent abuse:

• Maximum 1 MB per file
• Maximum 1,000 actions per file
• Maximum 3,000 total merged actions per profile

7. Vision Mode

Vision Mode is like having a mate watching over your shoulder. It analyses your screen to provide helpful information, but never takes control.

What is Vision Mode?

Vision Mode lets Vex see and understand parts of your screen. It comes in two forms:

• Help Mode for one-time questions about anything on screen
• Watcher Mode for continuous monitoring of specific areas

Important safety principles:

• Vision Mode is passive and informational only
• It never triggers actions automatically
• It simply informs you when it detects something you asked it to watch for

Help Mode

Select any area of your screen, ask a question, and get AI analysis. It is perfect for:

• "What does this warning light mean?"
• "Am I lined up with the runway?"
• "Which of these two items is better?"

Help Mode is an Ultra tier feature. Each request is independent and not saved to your profile.

Watcher Mode

Define a screen region and describe what to watch for. Vex monitors it periodically and notifies you when something changes.

How it works:

• Runs on a configurable interval (e.g., every 5 to 30 seconds)
• Uses change detection to only alert when something new appears
• Automatically pauses when the game window is not active
• Stops if you are inactive (no mouse or keyboard input)

Watchers are saved per-profile:

• Each profile has its own set of watchers
• Watchers only run when that profile's game window is active
• Enable or disable individual watchers per profile

Example use cases:

• Watch for enemy indicators on radar
• Monitor shield or hull status bars
• Track mission objective completion

Tier Limits

Add-ons: Extra watcher slots are $2/month each, or get a Watcher Pack (5 slots) for $100/year.

Setting Up Watchers

1. Go to your profile's Vision tab
2. Click Add Watcher
3. Select the screen area to monitor (a selection overlay will appear)
4. Choose the watcher type and check interval
5. Describe what to watch for (e.g., "red warning text", "shield bar below 50%")
6. Choose a Vex-only trigger action, enable the watcher, and save
7. Use Test from the watcher card to verify it works

You can also set up watchers by voice. Say "Vex, watch my health bar and tell me if I'm going to die" and Vex will automatically detect the region and configure the watcher for you.