tts

name	tts
description	Generate podcast audio from script files using local Kokoro TTS

Text-to-Speech Podcast Generator

Convert a podcast script markdown file into MP3 audio using the locally installed Kokoro TTS CLI.

Input

• {{SCRIPT_PATH}} -- absolute path to the podcast script markdown file
• {{OUTPUT_PATH}} -- absolute path for the output MP3 (should be in podcasts/audio/)

Procedure

1. Read the script at {{SCRIPT_PATH}} and parse its contents.

2. Identify speakers. Lines prefixed with HOST: belong to the host speaker. Lines prefixed with EXPERT: belong to the expert speaker.

3. Attempt two-voice generation. Split the script into two temporary text files:

   • host_lines.txt -- contains only the HOST dialogue (strip the HOST: prefix)
   • expert_lines.txt -- contains only the EXPERT dialogue (strip the EXPERT: prefix)

4. Generate audio for each voice separately. If model files are available in the project root, pass --model and --voices flags. Otherwise let kokoro-tts use defaults:

   kokoro-tts host_lines.txt host.mp3 --format mp3 --voice af_heart --speed 1.0 --lang en-us
   kokoro-tts expert_lines.txt expert.mp3 --format mp3 --voice am_adam --speed 0.95 --lang en-us
   

5. Fallback: single-voice generation. If splitting by speaker is not practical (e.g., the script has no speaker prefixes, or interleaving the two audio tracks is not feasible), generate the full script as one file:

   kokoro-tts script.txt output.mp3 --format mp3 --voice af_heart --speed 1.0 --lang en-us
   

6. Place the final MP3 at {{OUTPUT_PATH}}. Ensure the parent directory exists before writing.

7. Clean up any temporary text files created during the process.

Voice Reference

Speaker	Voice ID	Speed	Language
HOST	af_heart	1.0	en-us
EXPERT	am_adam	0.95	en-us

Notes

• If kokoro-tts is not found on PATH, report the error clearly and do not attempt alternative TTS tools.
• Large scripts may take several minutes to process. Let the command run to completion.
• The output format is always MP3.