Win Tts

win-tts

Text-to-speech using the Windows built-in speech engine (SAPI 5). Speak text aloud or save to WAV files. Multilingual, fully offline, zero external dependencies.

Works on Windows 10/11 with PowerShell 5.1+.

List Available Voices

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech
$synth = New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer
$synth.GetInstalledVoices() | ForEach-Object {
    $v = $_.VoiceInfo
    Write-Host ('{0} | {1} | {2}' -f $v.Name, $v.Culture, $v.Gender)
}
$synth.Dispose()
"

Common voices: Microsoft David Desktop (en-US, Male), Microsoft Zira Desktop (en-US, Female), Microsoft Hanhan Desktop (zh-TW, Female).

Additional voices can be installed via Settings → Time & Language → Speech.

Speak Text

Basic (Default Voice)

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech
$synth = New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer
$synth.Speak('TEXT_TO_SPEAK')
$synth.Dispose()
"

Replace TEXT_TO_SPEAK with the text to speak aloud.

With Specific Voice

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech
$synth = New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer
$synth.SelectVoice('VOICE_NAME')
$synth.Speak('TEXT_TO_SPEAK')
$synth.Dispose()
"

Replace VOICE_NAME with one of the installed voice names (e.g., Microsoft David Desktop).

Chinese (Traditional)

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech
$synth = New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer
$synth.SelectVoice('Microsoft Hanhan Desktop')
$synth.Speak('你好，這是一個語音合成測試。')
$synth.Dispose()
"

Control Speed and Volume

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech
$synth = New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer
$synth.Rate = RATE
$synth.Volume = VOLUME
$synth.Speak('TEXT_TO_SPEAK')
$synth.Dispose()
"

• RATE: -10 (slowest) to 10 (fastest), default 0
• VOLUME: 0 (silent) to 100 (loudest), default 100

Save Speech to WAV File

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech
$synth = New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer
$synth.SetOutputToWaveFile('OUTPUT_PATH')
$synth.Speak('TEXT_TO_SPEAK')
$synth.SetOutputToDefaultAudioDevice()
$synth.Dispose()
Write-Host 'Saved to OUTPUT_PATH'
"

Replace OUTPUT_PATH with the full path for the WAV file (e.g., C:\Users\me\speech.wav).

Speak with SSML

Use SSML for fine-grained control over pronunciation, pauses, emphasis, and pitch:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech
$synth = New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer
$ssml = @'
<speak version='1.0' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2001/10/synthesis' xml:lang='en-US'>
  <voice name='Microsoft David Desktop'>
    <prosody rate='medium' pitch='default'>
      Hello! <break time='500ms'/>
      This is <emphasis level='strong'>important</emphasis>.
    </prosody>
  </voice>
</speak>
'@
$synth.SpeakSsml($ssml)
$synth.Dispose()
"

SSML Quick Reference

Recommended Workflows

Agent reads results aloud

1. Agent completes a task (search, analysis, etc.)
2. win-tts: speak the summary to the user

Listen → Process → Respond

1. win-whisper: record and transcribe user speech
2. Agent processes the request
3. win-tts: speak the response aloud

Read document aloud

1. Read file contents
2. win-tts: save to WAV for playback
3. Or speak directly for real-time reading

Bilingual announcement

1. win-tts (David): speak English version
2. win-tts (Hanhan): speak Chinese version

Notes

• Fully offline — no API keys, no network, no external dependencies.
• Uses .NET System.Speech.Synthesis (SAPI 5), built into Windows.
• Default voices: David (en-US male), Zira (en-US female), Hanhan (zh-TW female).
• More voices available via Settings → Time & Language → Speech → Add voices.
• WAV output is PCM format — compatible with win-whisper for round-trip testing.
• For higher-quality neural voices, consider Microsoft Edge TTS (requires network).
• Combine with win-whisper for a complete voice conversation loop.