How do I install the Piper Tts skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/piper-tts in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Piper Tts safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: executes scripts, makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Piper Tts?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Piper Tts free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Piper Tts?

modbender (@modbender) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Piper Tts by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Piper Tts
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: modbender

Piper Tts

Local text-to-speech using Piper for voice message delivery. Use when the user asks for voice responses, audio messages, TTS, text-to-speech, voice notes, or wants to hear something spoken aloud. Converts text to speech locally (no cloud APIs, no cost, no latency) and delivers as voice messages on Telegram, Discord, or any channel supporting audio.

modbender Updated Sep 9, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

Piper TTS — Local Voice Messages

Generate voice messages using Piper, a fast local TTS engine. Zero cloud calls, zero cost, zero API keys.

Setup

If Piper is not installed, run the setup script:

scripts/setup-piper.sh

This installs piper-tts via pip and downloads a default voice (en_US-kusal-medium).

Generating Voice Messages

Use scripts/piper-speak.sh to generate and deliver voice:

scripts/piper-speak.sh "<text>" [voice]

text: The text to speak (required)
voice: Piper voice name (default: en_US-kusal-medium)

The script outputs an MP3 path. Include it in your reply as:

[[audio_as_voice]]
MEDIA:<path-to-mp3>

This delivers the audio as a native voice message on supported channels (Telegram, Discord, etc.).

Example Workflow

User asks: "Tell me a joke as audio"
Run: scripts/piper-speak.sh "Why do programmers prefer dark mode? Because light attracts bugs!"
Get MP3 path from output
Reply with [[audio_as_voice]] + MEDIA:<path>

Available Voices

After setup, download additional voices:

scripts/setup-piper.sh --voice en_US-ryan-high
scripts/setup-piper.sh --voice en_GB-northern_english_male-medium

Popular voices:

en_US-kusal-medium — Clear male voice (default, recommended)
en_US-ryan-high — High quality US male
en_US-hfc_male-medium — US male
en_GB-northern_english_male-medium — British male
Browse all: https://huggingface.co/rhasspy/piper-voices

Important Notes

Speed: Local generation is ~0.5-1s. Much faster than cloud TTS.
No API keys: Works completely offline after setup.
Platform: macOS (Apple Silicon + Intel), Linux. Requires Python 3.9+.
Do NOT set messages.tts.auto: "always" in OpenClaw config — it makes every response slow. Keep TTS on-demand.

---name: piper-ttsdescription: Local text-to-speech using Piper for voice message delivery. Use when the user asks for voice responses, audio messages, TTS, text-to-speech, voice notes, or wants to hear something spoken aloud. Converts text to speech locally (no cloud APIs, no cost, no latency) and delivers as voice messages on Telegram, Discord, or any channel supporting audio.--- # Piper TTS — Local Voice Messages Generate voice messages using [Piper](https://github.com/rhasspy/piper), a fast local TTS engine. Zero cloud calls, zero cost, zero API keys. ## Setup If Piper is not installed, run the setup script: ```bash scripts/setup-piper.sh ``` This installs `piper-tts` via pip and downloads a default voice (`en_US-kusal-medium`). ## Generating Voice Messages Use `scripts/piper-speak.sh` to generate and deliver voice: ```bash scripts/piper-speak.sh "<text>" [voice] ``` - `text`: The text to speak (required) - `voice`: Piper voice name (default: `en_US-kusal-medium`) The script outputs an MP3 path. Include it in your reply as: ``` [[audio_as_voice]] MEDIA:<path-to-mp3> ``` This delivers the audio as a native voice message on supported channels (Telegram, Discord, etc.). ## Example Workflow 1. User asks: "Tell me a joke as audio" 2. Run: `scripts/piper-speak.sh "Why do programmers prefer dark mode? Because light attracts bugs!"` 3. Get MP3 path from output 4. Reply with `[[audio_as_voice]]` + `MEDIA:<path>` ## Available Voices After setup, download additional voices: ```bash scripts/setup-piper.sh --voice en_US-ryan-high scripts/setup-piper.sh --voice en_GB-northern_english_male-medium ``` Popular voices: - `en_US-kusal-medium` — Clear male voice (default, recommended) - `en_US-ryan-high` — High quality US male - `en_US-hfc_male-medium` — US male - `en_GB-northern_english_male-medium` — British male - Browse all: https://huggingface.co/rhasspy/piper-voices ## Important Notes - **Speed**: Local generation is ~0.5-1s. Much faster than cloud TTS. - **No API keys**: Works completely offline after setup. - **Platform**: macOS (Apple Silicon + Intel), Linux. Requires Python 3.9+. - **Do NOT** set `messages.tts.auto: "always"` in OpenClaw config — it makes every response slow. Keep TTS on-demand.

Frequently asked questions