speak

name	speak
description	Play spoken audio on the host machine. Use whenever the user would benefit from hearing something aloud.

Voice Alerts

You can speak text aloud on the user's machine to proactively alert them.

When to use

When the user asks you to speak, read aloud, remind them by voice, or anytime voice output is more natural than text.

How to use

Detect your environment first, then use the right method:

if [ -d /workspace/ipc ]; then
  # NanoClaw container — write IPC file
  cat > /workspace/ipc/commands/speak-$(date +%s).json << 'EOF'
{"type": "speak", "text": "该开会了"}
EOF
else
  # Claude Code or local — call directly
  agent-speak "该开会了"
fi

Design principle

Keep it simple. Don't specify engine or voice — the user has configured their default. Just send the text. Language is auto-detected.

Only specify voice if the user explicitly asks:

agent-speak -v Samantha "Hello"

Or in IPC:

{"type": "speak", "text": "Hello", "voice": "Samantha"}

Combining with messages

For important alerts, speak AND send a text message so the user has a written record.