| name | voicebox |
| description | Voicebox voice I/O: when to speak aloud, pick voices, recall dictated Captures via MCP. |
| version | 0.1.0 |
| platforms | ["macos","windows","linux"] |
| metadata | {"hermes":{"tags":["voicebox","voice","tts","stt","whisper","speak","transcribe","captures","dictation"],"related_skills":[]}} |
Voicebox: Local Voice I/O
The user runs Voicebox, a local-first voice studio.
It is wired into this Hermes install in up to two ways:
- Pipeline providers (this plugin): when
tts.provider: voicebox /
stt.provider: voicebox are set, your spoken replies and all incoming
voice-message transcription already flow through Voicebox automatically.
You don't need to do anything for these.
- MCP tools (if the
voicebox MCP server is connected): tools named
mcp__voicebox__voicebox_speak, voicebox_transcribe,
voicebox_list_profiles, voicebox_list_captures. These are for
deliberate voice actions and recall.
When to speak aloud (MCP speak)
- The user explicitly asks ("read this to me", "say it in Morgan's voice").
- The user is away from the screen (they told you they're cooking, driving,
etc.) and the reply is short and useful to hear.
- Do NOT speak unprompted in group chats, for long content (summarize
first, then offer), or repeatedly after the user ignored/stopped audio.
- The
profile argument accepts a profile name or id — list them with
voicebox_list_profiles if unsure. Respect an explicitly requested voice;
otherwise omit profile and Voicebox uses the binding the user set for
this client.
Captures = the user's dictation memory
Voicebox's Captures tab stores everything the user has dictated, with the
original audio preserved alongside each transcript. When the user refers to
something they said or dictated earlier ("that idea I recorded this
morning", "my voice note about the launch"), search Captures via
voicebox_list_captures before asking them to repeat it.
Transcription behavior you should expect
- Whisper runs locally inside Voicebox. First use of a new model size
triggers a background download — Voicebox answers with a "still
downloading" error. Wait a minute and retry; tell the user what's
happening rather than reporting a generic failure.
- If Voicebox is unreachable, the app isn't running. Say exactly that —
"your Voicebox app doesn't seem to be open" — instead of a vague error.
Voice selection quick reference
- Voices = Voicebox profiles (cloned or preset). Engines (
qwen,
kokoro, chatterbox, …) are per-profile defaults; only override the
engine when the user asks for a specific one.
- Long text: fine to send — Voicebox chunks and crossfades automatically.
