Claude Code TTS Plugin

A Text-to-Speech MCP server plugin for Claude Code that converts text to speech using OpenAI's TTS API. Get audio feedback from Claude as you work!

Demo

Features

Deterministic Auto-Speak: Every Claude response is automatically spoken (via Stop hook)
6 High-Quality Voices: alloy, echo, fable, onyx, nova, shimmer
Worker Pool Architecture: Non-blocking queue with concurrent processing
Mutex-Protected Playback: One audio plays at a time, no overlapping
Cross-Platform: macOS (afplay), Linux (mpv/ffplay/mpg123), Windows (PowerShell)
Standalone CLI: speak-text binary for direct TTS without MCP

Quick Install

hljs language-bash

# One-liner installation
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ybouhjira/claude-code-tts/main/install.sh | bash

Or install manually:

hljs language-bash

git clone https://github.com/ybouhjira/claude-code-tts.git ~/.claude/plugins/claude-code-tts
cd ~/.claude/plugins/claude-code-tts
make install

Requirements

Go 1.21+ (for building from source)
OpenAI API Key with TTS access
Audio Player:
- macOS: afplay (built-in)
- Linux: mpv, ffplay, or mpg123
- Windows: PowerShell (built-in)

Configuration

Set your OpenAI API key:

hljs language-bash

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

Or add to your shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc).

Architecture

hljs language-scss

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     Claude Code                              │
│                         │                                    │
│                    MCP Protocol                              │
│                         │                                    │
│  ┌──────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │              TTS MCP Server (Go)                     │    │
│  │  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │    │
│  │  │              Tool Handlers                   │    │    │
│  │  │   speak(text, voice)  │  tts_status()       │    │    │
│  │  └─────────────┬─────────┴─────────────────────┘    │    │
│  │                │                                     │    │
│  │  ┌─────────────▼─────────────────────────────┐      │    │
│  │  │           Worker Pool (2 workers)          │      │    │
│  │  │  ┌─────────┐    ┌─────────────────────┐   │      │    │
│  │  │  │ Job     │───►│ Queue (50 slots)    │   │      │    │
│  │  │  │ Submit  │    └──────────┬──────────┘   │      │    │
│  │  │  └─────────┘               │              │      │    │
│  │  │                   ┌────────▼────────┐     │      │    │
│  │  │                   │ Worker 1 │ 2    │     │      │    │
│  │  │                   └────────┬────────┘     │      │    │
│  │  └────────────────────────────│──────────────┘      │    │
│  │                               │                      │    │
│  │  ┌────────────────────────────▼──────────────────┐  │    │
│  │  │              OpenAI TTS API                    │  │    │
│  │  │         POST /v1/audio/speech                  │  │    │
│  │  │         Model: tts-1                           │  │    │
│  │  └───────────────────┬────────────────────────────┘  │    │
│  │                      │                               │    │
│  │  ┌───────────────────▼────────────────────────────┐  │    │
│  │  │         Audio Player (Mutex Protected)          │  │    │
│  │  │   macOS: afplay │ Linux: mpv │ Win: PowerShell  │  │    │
│  │  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │    │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Usage

speak(text, voice)

Convert text to speech and play it aloud.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`text`	string	Yes	Text to speak (max 4096 chars)
`voice`	string	No	Voice to use (default: alloy)

Available Voices:

Voice	Description
`alloy`	Neutral, balanced
`echo`	Male, warm
`fable`	British accent
`onyx`	Deep male
`nova`	Female, friendly
`shimmer`	Soft female

Example:

hljs language-css

Use the speak tool to say "Build completed successfully!" with the nova voice.

tts_status()

Get the current status of the TTS system.

Returns:

hljs language-json

{
  "worker_count": 2,
  "queue_size": 50,
  "queue_pending": 0,
  "total_processed": 15,
  "total_failed": 0,
  "is_playing": false,
  "recent_jobs": [...]
}

Automatic TTS (Deterministic)

This plugin includes a Stop hook that automatically speaks the first sentence of every Claude response. No configuration needed - it just works.

How it works:

hljs language-css

Claude responds → Stop hook fires → First sentence extracted → Audio plays

The hook runs in the background and won't block Claude's responses.

speak-text CLI

A standalone binary for direct TTS without going through MCP:

hljs language-bash

# Basic usage
speak-text "Hello world"

# With voice selection
speak-text -voice onyx "Error occurred"

Located at ~/.claude/plugins/claude-code-tts/bin/speak-text after installation.

Project Structure

hljs language-graphql

claude-code-tts/
├── cmd/
│   ├── tts-server/
│   │   └── main.go           # MCP server entry point
│   └── speak-text/
│       └── main.go           # Standalone CLI binary
├── hooks/
│   └── auto-speak.sh         # Stop hook for deterministic TTS
├── internal/
│   ├── audio/
│   │   └── player.go         # Cross-platform audio playback
│   ├── server/
│   │   ├── server.go         # MCP server & tool handlers
│   │   └── worker.go         # Worker pool implementation
│   └── tts/
│       └── openai.go         # OpenAI TTS client
├── plugin.json                # Plugin metadata + hook config
├── Makefile                   # Build automation
└── install.sh                 # One-liner installer

Building from Source

hljs language-bash

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ybouhjira/claude-code-tts.git
cd claude-code-tts

# Build
make build

# Install to Claude Code plugins
make install

# Run tests
make test

Troubleshooting

"OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable is required"

Set your OpenAI API key:

hljs language-bash

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

"No suitable audio player found on Linux"

Install one of: mpv, ffplay, or mpg123:

hljs language-bash

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install mpv

# Fedora
sudo dnf install mpv

# Arch
sudo pacman -S mpv

Audio not playing on macOS

Check that afplay works:

hljs language-bash

# Test with a sample audio file
afplay /System/Library/Sounds/Ping.aiff

Queue is full

The default queue size is 50. If you're hitting this limit:

Wait for current jobs to complete
Check tts_status() to see pending jobs
The queue will drain as jobs are processed

High latency

OpenAI TTS API typically takes 1-3 seconds per request
Audio files must download completely before playing
Consider keeping messages short for faster feedback

API Costs

This plugin uses OpenAI's tts-1 model:

Cost: ~$0.015 per 1,000 characters
Example: "Hello, world!" (13 chars) = ~$0.0002

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Credits

OpenAI TTS API
mcp-go - Go MCP implementation
Model Context Protocol

claude-code-tts

Claude Code TTS Plugin

Features

Quick Install

Requirements

Configuration

Architecture

Usage

speak(text, voice)

tts_status()

Automatic TTS (Deterministic)

speak-text CLI

Project Structure

Building from Source

Troubleshooting

"OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable is required"

"No suitable audio player found on Linux"

Audio not playing on macOS

Queue is full

High latency

API Costs

Contributing

License

Credits

Similar Packages

Tags

Original Author

Publisher