Cloud TTS via Replicate for narration, audiobooks, voice cloning, and content creation
tier
extended
applyTo
**/*tts*,**/*speech*,**/*audio*,**/*narration*
$schema
../SKILL-SCHEMA.json
Text-to-Speech Skill
Domain: AI Audio Generation Version: 3.0.0 Last Updated: 2026-04-09 Author: Alex (Master Alex) Staleness Watch: See EXTERNAL-API-REGISTRY.md for source URLs and recheck cadence
Overview
Cloud-based speech synthesis via Replicate for narration, audiobooks, voice cloning, and content creation. Uses paid Replicate TTS models (MiniMax Speech, Chatterbox, Qwen TTS) for high-quality output.
Note: The VS Code extension's built-in Edge TTS feature was removed in v7.4.0. This skill now focuses exclusively on Replicate cloud TTS for script-based audio generation.
Supported emotions: auto, happy, sad, angry, fearful, disgusted, surprised
Voice Cloning (Chatterbox / Qwen)
Provide a 5+ second audio sample to clone a voice:
const output = await replicate.run("resemble-ai/chatterbox-turbo", {
input: {
text: "Content to speak in the cloned voice",
audio_prompt: referenceAudioDataURI, // 5+ seconds WAV/MP3
},
});
Voice Design (Qwen TTS)
Create a voice from a natural language description:
const output = await replicate.run("qwen/qwen3-tts", {
input: {
text: "Content to speak",
tts_mode: "voice_design",
voice_description:
"A warm, friendly female voice with a slight British accent",
},
});
When to Use Each Model
Scenario
Recommended
Why
Narration, audiobooks
Speech 2.8 HD
Studio-grade quality, 40+ languages
Quick drafts, iteration
Speech 2.8 Turbo
Fast, cheapest per-token
Clone a specific voice
Chatterbox Turbo
5-second sample, natural pauses
Voice from description
Qwen TTS
No sample needed, describe the voice
Non-English content
Speech 2.8 Turbo/HD
Broadest language support (40+)
macOS Offline Fallback: say
macOS ships 30+ built-in neural voices via the say command. Instant, offline, zero-cost. Useful for quick reads and completion notifications.
say "Hello from Alex"
say -f document.txt
say -o output.m4a --data-format=aac "Dream state finished"
say -v Alex "I am Alex, reading your documentation"
Completion notifications for long operations:
node .github/muscles/brain-qa.cjs --mode quick && say "Brain QA complete"
Accessibility Benefits
Use Case
Benefit
Vision impaired
Full document access via audio
Multitasking
Review code while walking/driving
Learning
Auditory reinforcement of reading
Proofreading
Catch errors by hearing text
Content creation
Generate narration for videos, podcasts
Version History
v3.0.0 (2026-04-09)
Rewritten: removed all Edge TTS references (feature removed in v7.4.0)
Focus on Replicate cloud TTS models (MiniMax, Chatterbox, Qwen)
Added staleness watch URLs for 30-day re-check cadence