| name | elevenlabs-tts |
| description | Generate high-quality speech for Pompom companion using ElevenLabs TTS API v3 |
ElevenLabs TTS Skill
Generate high-quality speech for Pompom companion using ElevenLabs Text-to-Speech API v3.
When to Use
- Pompom speaks via the TTS voice system (
pompom-voice.ts ElevenLabsEngine)
- Voice test (
/pompom:voice test)
- Commentary, assistant replies, and reaction speech events
Pompom Voice Config
- Default Voice: Jessica Anne Bogart - Chatty and Friendly
- Voice ID:
g6xIsTj2HwM6VR4iXFCw
- Model:
eleven_v3
- API Key:
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY from environment (~/.env.secrets)
- Privacy: Zero Retention Mode —
enable_logging=false query param + xi-no-log: true header
- Stability: 0.0 (Creative — maximum expressiveness for animated character)
- Similarity Boost: 0.85
- Style: 0.8
- Speed: 1.1 (slightly faster for punchy animated character lines)
- Speaker Boost: true
- Output: PCM 24kHz, wrapped in WAV for playback
Available Voices
| Name | Voice ID | Style |
|---|
| Jessica Anne Bogart - Chatty (default) | g6xIsTj2HwM6VR4iXFCw | Chatty, friendly |
| Lily - Soft, Cute and Sweet | Pt5YrLNyu6d2s3s4CVMg | Soft, sweet |
| Cherry Twinkle - Bubbly and Sweet | XJ2fW4ybq7HouelYYGcL | Bubbly |
| Flicker - Cheerful Fairy | piI8Kku0DcvcL6TTSeQt | Cheerful |
| Jessica Anne Bogart - Eloquent | flHkNRp1BlvT73UL6gyz | Eloquent, dramatic |
| Sarah - Mature, Confident | EXAVITQu4vr4xnSDxMaL | Professional |
Integration with Pompom
The voice engine is in extensions/pompom-voice.ts (ElevenLabsEngine class). Speech events flow:
say() in pompom.ts fires a SpeechEvent- pompom-extension.ts routes it to
enqueueSpeech()
- Speech queue applies personality gating, cooldown, dedup
- ElevenLabsEngine.synthesize() calls the API
- Audio plays at configured volume via native OS player (afplay/paplay/aplay)
Eleven v3 Best Practices
Voice Settings for Animated Characters
- Stability 0.0 (Creative): Required for audio tags. Maximum expressiveness — perfect for animated characters with short, emotional utterances
- Similarity Boost 0.85: High fidelity to source voice while allowing emotional range
- Style 0.8: Strong stylistic expression for character personality
- Speed 1.1: Slightly faster delivery suits short, punchy lines like "Yum!", "Wheee!", "Got it!"
Audio Tags (v3 Only)
Eleven v3 supports emotional audio tags — used throughout Pompom's speech:
[excited] — energetic reactions (ball, dance, game, treats)[happy] — warm moments (petting, hugs, feeding, accessories)[whispers] — quiet moments (sleep, nap)[sighs] — contentment (waking from nap)[mischievously] — playful moments (peekaboo)[sings] — musical moments (la la la)[curious] — weather observations (clouds rolling in)[concerned] — weather warnings (storm brewing)
Rules:
- Tags only work with stability 0.0 — NOT 0.5 or 1.0
- One tag per utterance (Pompom's lines are short)
- Match tag to the voice's character — don't force mismatched emotions
- Tag goes at the start of the text:
[excited] Catch the stars!
Text Preparation
- Keep sentences short and conversational (Pompom's lines are 2-6 words)
- Use contractions ("I'm", "that's", "let's")
- Use exclamation marks for energy, ellipses for pauses
- CAPITALIZATION adds emphasis and urgency
- No special characters — sanitized by
sanitizeSpeechText()
Pauses & Pacing
v3 does NOT support SSML <break> tags. Use instead:
- Ellipses (...) — adds pause and weight ("Time for a nap... zZz")
- Dashes (—) — short pause
- CAPITALIZATION — increases emphasis
Engine-Specific Behavior
Audio tags like [laughs], [sighs], [excited] are ElevenLabs v3 only.
When Kokoro or Deepgram is the active engine, tags are automatically stripped
before synthesis — the text "Hello!" still reaches the engine, but "[laughs]" is removed.
No engine loses features because of another engine's limitations.
Kokoro supports Markdown pronunciation: [word](/IPA/) and stress: [word](+2)
Deepgram Aura-2 uses natural prosody from punctuation — no markup needed.
Stability Settings (v3 exact values only)
- 0.0 (Creative): Most expressive — our default for Pompom
- 0.5 (Natural): Balanced — good for professional/mentor personalities
- 1.0 (Robust): Very stable, less responsive — good for zen personality
