voice

name	voice
description	Voice input/output, transcription, TTS, API keys; manages ~/.voice/voice_config.json.
serve	voice-keys daemon start

Voice setup (STT/TTS)

Voice lets the user talk to you through the mic and hear your responses spoken aloud in the Vesta app.

This skill is also your one voice backend: it owns the STT/TTS providers, keys, and chosen voice, so anything that speaks or listens on your behalf uses the same voice; setting it up here is what turns them on.

When to offer setup

• User mentions voice, microphone, speaking aloud, hearing you, TTS, STT, transcription
• User complains the mic button is disabled or they can't hear you
• New container, user hasn't set up voice yet. Offer once early, then drop it (track in memory so you don't nag)

The setup flow

1. Ask which they want: Deepgram for input (speech-to-text), ElevenLabs for output (text-to-speech). Both are independent; the user may configure only one.
2. Walk them through getting a key: see SETUP.md for the per-provider link and where to find the key.
3. Validate the key before saving:

   voice-keys validate --provider deepgram --key <key>
   

4. Save the key:

   voice-keys set-key --domain stt --provider deepgram --key <key>
   

5. Pick a voice (TTS only). Ask the user if they'd prefer a male or female voice, then set an appropriate default:
   • Male voices: Roger (laid-back), Charlie (deep, Australian), George (warm, British), Liam (energetic), Chris (charming), Brian (deep, resonant), Daniel (steady, British)
   • Female voices: Sarah (mature), Laura (enthusiastic), Alice (clear, British), Matilda (professional), Jessica (playful), Lily (velvety, British)

   voice-keys set-voice --id <voice_id>
   

6. Ensure the voice server is running. The app fetches config from it.

   voice-keys daemon start
   

   Check with voice-keys daemon status.
7. Confirm, e.g. "Voice is ready! You can use the mic button now. You can also change voices, listen to previews, and tweak settings from the settings page in the app."

Commands

Daemon: voice-keys daemon start|stop|restart|status. Start is idempotent (never stacks a duplicate) and owns the register-service call; status reports the port plus each domain's provider and enabled state. Manage the daemon only through these commands, never raw screen.

# See current state
voice-keys status

# Keys
voice-keys validate --provider {deepgram|elevenlabs} --key <k>
voice-keys set-key --domain {stt|tts} --provider {deepgram|elevenlabs} --key <k>
voice-keys clear --domain {stt|tts}   # removes provider + keys entirely

# Enable/disable (keeps configuration intact, just toggles on/off)
voice-keys enable --domain {stt|tts}
voice-keys disable --domain {stt|tts}

# TTS voice selection
voice-keys set-voice --id <voice_id>
voice-keys add-voice --id <voice_id> --name <name> --description "..."
voice-keys remove-voice --id <voice_id>

# STT keyterms (words the transcription should bias toward)
voice-keys add-keyterm <term>
voice-keys remove-keyterm <term>

# STT end-of-turn tuning
voice-keys set-eot --threshold 0.8
voice-keys set-eot --timeout-ms 10000

Common asks

• "Disable TTS / stop speaking" → disable --domain tts (keeps keys, just turns it off)
• "Enable TTS / start speaking again" → enable --domain tts
• "Disable STT / turn off the mic" → disable --domain stt
• "Remove voice completely" → clear --domain tts (wipes provider + keys)
• "I want you to sound like " → set-voice --id <matching voice_id from status>
• "Make sure you recognize '{AGENT_NAME}'" → add-keyterm {AGENT_NAME}
• "Finalize my turns faster" → lower --threshold (e.g. 0.6)
• "Stop cutting me off" → raise --threshold (e.g. 0.9) or raise --timeout-ms

Providers

Deepgram (STT, voice input)

• Domain: stt, provider name: deepgram
• Model: flux-general-en (~$0.0048/min)
• New accounts get $200 free credit
• Keyterms bias the transcription toward specific words (e.g. the agent's name)

ElevenLabs (TTS, voice output)

• Domain: tts, provider name: elevenlabs
• Model: eleven_flash_v2_5, output format: mp3_22050_32
• Free tier: 10k characters/month
• Ships with premade voices; users can also add custom/cloned voices from their ElevenLabs account
• Adding a voice: when the user provides an ElevenLabs voice ID without a name or description, fetch them from the API before calling add-voice:

  curl -s https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/voices/<id> | python3 -c "
  import sys,json; v=json.load(sys.stdin); l=v.get('labels',{})
  print(v.get('name',''))
  print(', '.join(p for p in [l.get('description',''),l.get('accent',''),l.get('gender','')] if p))"
  

  Use the first line as --name and the second as --description. If the fetch fails, ask the user.