tts

When to Use

• User wants to convert text to spoken audio
• User asks for "read aloud", "TTS", "text to speech", "voice narration"
• User says "朗读", "配音", "语音合成"
• User wants multi-speaker scripted audio or dialogue

When NOT to Use

• User wants a podcast-style discussion with topic exploration (use /podcast)
• User wants an explainer video with visuals (use /explainer)
• User wants to generate an image (use /image-gen)

Purpose

Convert text into natural-sounding speech audio. Two paths:

1. Quick mode (--mode direct): Single voice, low-latency, sync. For casual chat, reading snippets, instant audio.
2. Script mode (--mode smart): Multi-speaker, per-segment voice assignment. For dialogue, audiobooks, scripted content.

Hard Constraints

• Always check CLI auth following shared/cli-authentication.md
• Follow shared/cli-patterns.md for CLI execution, errors, and interaction patterns
• Never hardcode speaker IDs in CLI calls — use built-in defaults from shared/speaker-selection.md as fallback only; fetch from the speakers CLI when the user wants to change voice
• Always read config following shared/config-pattern.md before any interaction
• Always follow shared/speaker-selection.md for speaker selection (text table + free-text input)
• Never save files to ~/Downloads/ or /tmp/ as primary output — save artifacts to the current working directory with friendly topic-based names (see shared/config-pattern.md § Artifact Naming)

Mode Detection

Determine the mode from the user's input automatically before asking any questions:

Interaction Flow

Step -1: CLI Auth Check

Follow shared/cli-authentication.md. If the CLI is not installed or the user is not logged in, auto-install and auto-login — never ask the user to run commands manually.

Then follow shared/cli-authentication.md § Auth Mode Detection to determine AUTH_MODE and set:

if [ "$AUTH_MODE" = "openapi" ]; then
  CMD_PREFIX="listenhub openapi tts"
else
  CMD_PREFIX="listenhub tts"
fi

All subsequent CLI calls use $CMD_PREFIX instead of hardcoded listenhub tts.

Step 0: Config Setup

Follow shared/config-pattern.md Step 0 (Zero-Question Boot).

If file doesn't exist — silently create with defaults and proceed:

mkdir -p ".listenhub/tts"
echo '{"outputMode":"inline","language":null,"defaultSpeakers":{}}' > ".listenhub/tts/config.json"
CONFIG_PATH=".listenhub/tts/config.json"
CONFIG=$(cat "$CONFIG_PATH")

Do NOT ask any setup questions. Proceed directly to the Interaction Flow.

If file exists — read config silently and proceed:

CONFIG_PATH=".listenhub/tts/config.json"
[ ! -f "$CONFIG_PATH" ] && CONFIG_PATH="$HOME/.listenhub/tts/config.json"
CONFIG=$(cat "$CONFIG_PATH")

Setup Flow (user-initiated reconfigure only)

Only run when the user explicitly asks to reconfigure. Display current settings:

当前配置 (tts)：
  输出方式：{inline / download / both}
  语言偏好：{zh / en / 未设置}
  默认主播：{speakerName / 使用内置默认}

Then ask:

1. outputMode: Follow shared/output-mode.md § Setup Flow Question.
2. Language (optional): "默认语言？"
   • "中文 (zh)"
   • "English (en)"
   • "每次手动选择" → keep null

After collecting answers, save immediately:

NEW_CONFIG=$(echo "$CONFIG" | jq --arg m "$OUTPUT_MODE" '. + {"outputMode": $m}')
# Save language if user chose one (not "每次手动选择")
if [ "$LANGUAGE" != "null" ]; then
  NEW_CONFIG=$(echo "$NEW_CONFIG" | jq --arg lang "$LANGUAGE" '. + {"language": $lang}')
fi
echo "$NEW_CONFIG" > "$CONFIG_PATH"
CONFIG=$(cat "$CONFIG_PATH")

Generation Speed

Default: 1.0x (original speed). Never ask about speed.

Only pass --speed when the user explicitly asks for a faster or slower reading — "慢一点"、"快一点"、"1.25 倍速"、"read it faster". Otherwise omit the flag.

• Range: any value from 0.5 to 2.0, at most two decimals — a continuous range, not fixed steps.
• Common values: 0.5, 0.75, 1 (default), 1.25, 1.5, 2; in-between values such as 0.85 or 1.35 work too.
• Meaning: the speaking rate of the generated audio, not a player playback rate.
• Map vague wording conservatively: "慢一点" → 0.85, "快一点" → 1.25, "慢很多" → 0.5, "快很多" → 1.75. A number the user names is passed through unchanged.

Show the speed in the confirmation summary only when it is not 1.

Quick Mode — $CMD_PREFIX create --mode direct

Step 1: Extract text

Get the text to convert. If the user hasn't provided it, ask:

"What text would you like me to read aloud?"

Step 2: Determine voice

• If config.defaultSpeakers.{language}[0] is set → use it silently (skip to Step 4)
• If not set → use the built-in default from shared/speaker-selection.md for the detected language (skip to Step 4)
• Only show speaker selection if the user explicitly asks to change voice

Step 3: Save preference

After the user explicitly selects a new voice (not when using defaults):

Question: "Save {voice name} as your default voice for {language}?"
Options:
  - "Yes" — update .listenhub/tts/config.json
  - "No" — use for this session only

Step 4: Confirm

Ready to generate:

  Text: "{first 80 chars}..."
  Voice: {voice name}
  Speed: {speed}x        # omit this line when speed is 1

Proceed?

Step 5: Generate

For short text, pass inline:

RESULT=$($CMD_PREFIX create --text "{text}" --mode direct --speaker "{name}" --lang {lang} [--speed {0.5-2.0}] --json 2>/tmp/lh-err)
EXIT_CODE=$?

if [ $EXIT_CODE -ne 0 ]; then
  ERROR=$(cat /tmp/lh-err)
  case $EXIT_CODE in
    2) echo "Auth error: run 'listenhub auth login'" ;;
    3) echo "Timeout: try --no-wait" ;;
    *) echo "Error: $ERROR" ;;
  esac
  rm -f /tmp/lh-err
fi
rm -f /tmp/lh-err

AUDIO_URL=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.audioUrl')

For long text, write to a temp file first (see shared/cli-patterns.md § Long Text Input):

cat > /tmp/lh-content.txt << 'ENDCONTENT'
Long text content goes here...
ENDCONTENT

RESULT=$($CMD_PREFIX create --text "$(cat /tmp/lh-content.txt)" --mode direct --speaker "{name}" --lang {lang} [--speed {0.5-2.0}] --json)
AUDIO_URL=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.audioUrl')

rm -f /tmp/lh-content.txt

Step 6: Present result

Read OUTPUT_MODE from config. Follow shared/output-mode.md for behavior.

inline or both: Display the audioUrl as a clickable link.

Present:

Audio generated!

在线收听：{audioUrl}

download or both: Also download the file. Generate a topic slug from the text content following shared/config-pattern.md § Artifact Naming.

SLUG="{topic-slug}"  # e.g. "server-maintenance-notice"
NAME="${SLUG}.mp3"
# Dedup: if file exists, append -2, -3, etc.
BASE="${NAME%.*}"; EXT="${NAME##*.}"; i=2
while [ -e "$NAME" ]; do NAME="${BASE}-${i}.${EXT}"; i=$((i+1)); done
curl -sS -o "$NAME" "$AUDIO_URL"

Present:

Audio generated!

已保存到当前目录：
  {NAME}

Script Mode — $CMD_PREFIX create --mode smart

Step 1: Get scripts

Determine whether the user already has a scripts array:

• Already provided (JSON or clear segments): parse and display for confirmation

• Not yet provided: help the user structure segments. Ask:

  "Please provide the script with speaker assignments. Format: each line as SpeakerName: text content. I'll convert it."

  Once the user provides the script, parse it into speaker-annotated text.

Step 2: Assign voices per character

For each unique character in the script:

• If config.defaultSpeakers.{language} has saved voices → auto-assign silently (one per character in order)
• If not set → use built-in defaults from shared/speaker-selection.md (Primary for first character, Secondary for second)
• Only show speaker selection if the user explicitly asks to change voices

Step 3: Save preferences

After all voices are assigned (if any were new):

Question: "Save these voice assignments for future sessions?"
Options:
  - "Yes" — update defaultSpeakers in .listenhub/tts/config.json
  - "No" — use for this session only

Step 4: Confirm

Ready to generate:

  Characters:
    {name}: {voice}
    {name}: {voice}
  Segments: {count}
  Speed: {speed}x        # omit this line when speed is 1
  Title: (auto-generated)

Proceed?

Step 5: Generate

Format the script text with speaker markers and submit. For multi-speaker scripts, include speaker names inline in the text. Run with run_in_background: true since script mode may take longer.

Submit (foreground) with --no-wait:

RESULT=$($CMD_PREFIX create --text "{formatted script with speaker markers}" --mode smart --speaker "{name1}" --speaker "{name2}" --lang {lang} [--speed {0.5-2.0}] --no-wait --json)
ID=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.id')
echo "Submitted: $ID"

For long scripts, write to a temp file first:

cat > /tmp/lh-content.txt << 'ENDCONTENT'
SpeakerA: First line of dialogue
SpeakerB: Second line of dialogue
...
ENDCONTENT

RESULT=$($CMD_PREFIX create --text "$(cat /tmp/lh-content.txt)" --mode smart --speaker "{name1}" --speaker "{name2}" --lang {lang} [--speed {0.5-2.0}] --no-wait --json)
ID=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.id')

rm -f /tmp/lh-content.txt

Poll (background) with run_in_background: true and timeout: 600000:

ID="<id-from-above>"
for i in $(seq 1 60); do
  RESULT=$(listenhub creation get "$ID" --json 2>/dev/null)
  STATUS=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.status // "processing"')

  case "$STATUS" in
    completed) echo "$RESULT"; exit 0 ;;
    failed) echo "FAILED: $RESULT" >&2; exit 1 ;;
    *) sleep 10 ;;
  esac
done
echo "TIMEOUT" >&2; exit 2

Step 6: Present result

When the background task completes, parse the result:

AUDIO_URL=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.audioUrl')
SUBTITLES_URL=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.subtitlesUrl // empty')
DURATION=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.audioDuration // empty')
CREDITS=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.credits // empty')

Read OUTPUT_MODE from config. Follow shared/output-mode.md for behavior.

inline or both: Display the audioUrl and subtitlesUrl as clickable links.

Present:

Audio generated!

在线收听：{audioUrl}
字幕：{subtitlesUrl}
时长：{audioDuration / 1000}s
消耗积分：{credits}

download or both: Also download the file. Generate a topic slug following shared/config-pattern.md § Artifact Naming.

SLUG="{topic-slug}"  # e.g. "welcome-dialogue"
NAME="${SLUG}.mp3"
# Dedup: if file exists, append -2, -3, etc.
BASE="${NAME%.*}"; EXT="${NAME##*.}"; i=2
while [ -e "$NAME" ]; do NAME="${BASE}-${i}.${EXT}"; i=$((i+1)); done
curl -sS -o "$NAME" "$AUDIO_URL"

Present:

已保存到当前目录：
  {NAME}

Updating Config

When saving preferences, merge into .listenhub/tts/config.json — do not overwrite unchanged keys.

• Quick voice: set defaultSpeakers.{language}[0] to the selected speakerId
• Script voices: set defaultSpeakers.{language} to the full array assigned this session
• Language: set language if the user explicitly specifies it

API Reference

• CLI execution patterns: shared/cli-patterns.md
• CLI authentication: shared/cli-authentication.md
• Speaker list: shared/cli-speakers.md
• Speaker selection guide: shared/speaker-selection.md
• Config pattern: shared/config-pattern.md
• Output mode: shared/output-mode.md

Composability

• Invokes: speakers CLI (for speaker selection)
• Invoked by: explainer (for voiceover)

Examples

Quick mode:

"TTS this: The server will be down for maintenance at midnight."

1. Detect: Quick mode (plain text, "TTS this")
2. Read config: defaultSpeakers.en is empty
3. Use built-in default: Mars (cozy-man-english)
4. Confirm → user approves
5. Generate:

   RESULT=$($CMD_PREFIX create --text "The server will be down for maintenance at midnight." --mode direct --speaker "Mars" --lang en --json)
   AUDIO_URL=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.audioUrl')

6. Present: display audioUrl as link (inline mode)

Script mode:

"帮我做一段双人对话配音，A说：欢迎大家，B说：谢谢邀请"

1. Detect: Script mode ("双人对话")
2. Parse segments: A -> "欢迎大家", B -> "谢谢邀请"
3. Read config: defaultSpeakers.zh empty
4. Use built-in defaults: 原野 (Primary) + 高晴 (Secondary)
5. Confirm → user approves
6. Generate:

   RESULT=$($CMD_PREFIX create --text "A: 欢迎大家
   B: 谢谢邀请" --mode smart --speaker "原野" --speaker "高晴" --lang zh --no-wait --json)
   ID=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.id')

7. Poll in background until complete
8. Present: audioUrl, subtitlesUrl, duration