text-to-speech

name	text-to-speech
description	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.

Model Catalog

Model	Replicate ID	Cost	Voice Cloning	Languages	Best For
Speech 2.8 Turbo	minimax/speech-2.8-turbo	$0.06/1k tokens	No	40+	Fast, expressive, many voices
Speech 2.8 HD	minimax/speech-2.8-hd	higher	No	40+	Studio-grade high-fidelity
Chatterbox Turbo	resemble-ai/chatterbox-turbo	$0.025/1k chars	Yes (5s sample)	English	Voice cloning, natural pauses
Qwen TTS	qwen/qwen3-tts	$0.02/1k chars	Yes	10	Voice design from description

Voice Presets

Speech Turbo: Wise_Woman, Deep_Voice_Man, Casual_Guy, Lively_Girl, Young_Knight, Abbess, + 6 more Chatterbox: Andy, Luna, Ember, Aurora, Cliff, Josh, William, Orion, Ken Qwen TTS: Aiden, Dylan, Eric, Serena, Vivian, + 4 more

Emotion Control (Speech Turbo)

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

v2.5.0 (2026-02-09)

• Speak Prompt command, Voice Mode summarization, keyboard shortcuts (Edge TTS era)

v1.0.0 (2026-02-04)

• Initial implementation via MCP server