npm package: @iflow-mcp/shshalom-voicesmith-mcp
Description: Local AI voice for coding assistants — TTS & STT via MCP. Kokoro ONNX + faster-whisper, fully offline.
Latest version: 1.0.18

<p align="center">
  <img src="header.png" alt="VoiceSmith MCP" width="600">
</p>

# VoiceSmith MCP

Local AI voice for coding assistants. Gives your AI a real voice (text-to-speech) and ears (speech-to-text) via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Fully offline — no cloud APIs, no data leaves your machine.

## What You Get

- **54 distinct voices** via Kokoro ONNX (local TTS, ~300MB model)
- **Speech-to-text** via faster-whisper (local STT, ~150MB model)
- **Voice activity detection** via Silero VAD (local, 2MB)
- **Multi-session support** — run multiple Claude Code sessions, each with its own voice (single session for Cursor/Codex)
- **Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex**

## Quick Start

```bash
npx voicesmith-mcp install
```

The installer will:
1. Check system dependencies (Python 3.11+, espeak-ng, mpv)
2. Set up a Python virtual environment with all packages
3. Download TTS and STT models
4. Configure your IDE's MCP settings
5. Let you pick a voice
6. Inject voice behavior rules so the AI knows how to speak

Restart your IDE session after installing. The AI will greet you by voice on the first response.

## Usage

> [!NOTE]
> **Everything works out of the box.** After installing, just start a session — the AI speaks automatically. No configuration needed. The installer sets up voice behavior rules that teach the AI when and how to use its voice.

What the AI does automatically:

| Moment | What happens |
|--------|-------------|
| You give it a task | Gets to work (speaks only when clarifying approach) |
| It finishes work | Speaks a summary of what was done |
| It has a question | Asks out loud, then listens for your voice response |
| Voice tools unavailable | Falls back to text silently |

---

### Changing Voices Mid-Session

Ask the AI to switch voices at any time:

> *"Switch to Nova"*

If the voice is available, the AI switches immediately. If it's occupied by another session, the AI will tell you and show available alternatives.

Browse all 54 voices:

> *"Show me the available voices"*

Or preview them in a terminal: `npx voicesmith-mcp voices`

---

### Voice Persistence

> [!TIP]
> When you switch voices, the choice is saved automatically. Next time you start or resume a session, the AI uses the same voice — no need to switch again.

---

### Muting

In a meeting or shared space? Just ask:

> *"Mute the voice"*

The AI continues working normally — it just won't play audio. Say *"unmute"* when you're ready.

---

### Menu Bar App (macOS)

On macOS, VoiceSmith includes a native menu bar app for hands-free control:

- **Session Activity** — see all active sessions with real-time sparkline graphs
- **Quick toggles** — Media Ducking, Nudge on Timeout
- **Voice switcher** — browse and change from 54 voices, nested by language
- **Whisper model** — switch between base/small/medium/large-v3 with inline download progress
- **Audio devices** — choose audio output and input devices
- **Voice rules** — edit or reset to default
- **Updates** — check and install new versions

The menu bar app starts automatically at login and runs independently from IDE sessions.

---

### Audio Device Selection

Choose specific audio output (speakers/headphones) and input (microphone) devices from the menu bar app, or in config:

```json
{
  "tts": { "audio_output_device": "coreaudio/BuiltInSpeakerDevice" },
  "stt": { "audio_input_device": 1 }
}
```

Changes take effect immediately — no restart needed. If a configured device is unavailable, falls back to system default.

---

### Interrupting Speech

Press **Escape** while the AI is speaking to stop audio immediately. The AI stops mid-sentence and waits for your next input.

## Alternative Install

If you don't have Node.js or prefer a shell script:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/shshalom/voicesmith-mcp.git
cd voicesmith-mcp
./install.sh
```

Supports the same flags: `--claude`, `--cursor`, `--codex`, `--all`, `--uninstall`.

## MCP Tools

Once installed, your AI assistant has access to these tools:

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `speak` | Synthesize and play speech for a named agent |
| `listen` | Open the mic, record speech, return transcribed text |
| `speak_then_listen` | Speak a question, then immediately listen for the answer |
| `set_voice` | Change the voice for an agent name |
| `get_voice_registry` | See which voices are assigned and available |
| `list_voices` | Browse all 54 Kokoro voices |
| `mute` / `unmute` | Silence or resume voice output |
| `stop` | Stop playback or cancel an active recording |
| `status` | Server health and session info |
| `list_audio_devices` | List available audio input and output devices |

## How It Works

The MCP server runs as a local process alongside your IDE. It communicates over stdio (the MCP protocol). All processing happens on your machine:

- **TTS**: Kokoro ONNX — fast neural TTS, 54 voices, no GPU needed
- **STT**: faster-whisper — OpenAI Whisper running locally via CTranslate2
- **VAD**: Silero VAD — voice activity detection for clean recordings
- **Audio**: mpv for playback; CoreAudio via native app bundle on macOS (sounddevice fallback on Linux)
- **Media ducking**: Auto-pauses Apple Music, Spotify, and browser audio during speech (macOS)

## Multi-Session

**Claude Code:** Full multi-session support. Multiple Claude Code sessions can run simultaneously, each with its own voice. Session identity is tracked via Claude's `session_id` — resuming a session reclaims the same voice, and multiple terminals sharing the same session share the same voice. Orphaned servers are detected and cleaned up automatically.

**Cursor / Codex:** Single session only. Cursor runs one MCP server per config (shared across tabs), and Codex has no multi-session hooks. Voice works normally — just no multi-session coordination.

Cross-session audio is serialized via `flock` to prevent overlapping playback.

## Configuration

Config lives at `~/.local/share/voicesmith-mcp/config.json`. Key settings:

```json
{
  "main_agent": "Eric",
  "tts": {
    "default_voice": "am_eric",
    "audio_player": "mpv",
    "duck_media": true
  },
  "stt": {
    "model_size": "base",
    "language": "en",
    "vad_threshold": 0.3,
    "nudge_on_timeout": false
  }
}
```

| Setting | Description | Default |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| `tts.duck_media` | Auto-pause music/browser audio during speech (macOS) | `true` |
| `stt.nudge_on_timeout` | Speak "I didn't catch that" when listen times out | `false` |
| `stt.vad_threshold` | Voice detection sensitivity (lower = more sensitive) | `0.3` |

Re-run `npx voicesmith-mcp install` to change your voice or update settings. Existing configuration is preserved — only new defaults are added.

## Requirements

- **Python 3.11+** (3.11 or 3.12 recommended)
- **macOS** (primary platform) or Linux (partial support)
- **espeak-ng** — phoneme backend for Kokoro
- **mpv** — audio playback
- ~500MB disk space for models

> [!WARNING]
> **Windows is not supported yet.** The server uses Unix-specific features (file locking, audio commands, process detection). Windows support is planned — see [TODO](TODO.md) for details.

## Supported IDEs

| IDE | Config Location | Rules Location | Multi-Session |
|-----|----------------|----------------|---------------|
| Claude Code | `~/.claude.json` | `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` | Yes (via session_id) |
| Cursor | `~/.cursor/mcp.json` | `~/.cursor/rules/voicesmith.mdc` | No (single server) |
| Codex | `~/.codex/mcp.json` | `~/.codex/AGENTS.md` | No (single session) |

## Troubleshooting

### The AI can't hear me (listen returns empty or times out)

**Check microphone permissions.** On macOS, VoiceSmith uses a native app bundle (`VoiceSmithMCP.app`) for mic access. The first time it records, macOS should show a permission dialog for the app. If it didn't:

1. Open **System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone**
2. Look for **VoiceSmithMCP** and make sure it's enabled
3. If it's not listed, the LaunchAgent may not be running — try reinstalling: `npx voicesmith-mcp install`

> [!IMPORTANT]
> If the server detects silent audio (all zeros for ~320ms), it returns an error pointing you to the microphone permission settings. This usually means macOS TCC denied mic access.

**Check your audio input device.** If an external mic is selected but not connected, the server opens it but gets silence:
- Open **System Settings > Sound > Input** and verify the correct mic is selected
- Or ask the AI: *"What's the server status?"* — check that `stt.loaded` and `vad.loaded` are both `true`

**Another app is using the mic.** Apps like Zoom, Teams, or FaceTime can hold exclusive mic access. Close them and try again.

**Voice too quiet for VAD.** The voice activity detector might not pick up soft speech. You can lower the sensitivity threshold in `~/.local/share/voicesmith-mcp/config.json`:

```json
{
  "stt": {
    "vad_threshold": 0.2
  }
}
```

Lower values = more sensitive. Default is `0.3`. Restart the session after changing.

### The AI doesn't speak

- Check that **espeak-ng** and **mpv** are installed: `which espeak-ng mpv`
- Check the AI's status: ask *"What's your voice status?"*
- If muted, say *"Unmute"*

### The AI speaks with the wrong voice

This can happen when another session is holding your preferred voice name. Ask the AI: *"Switch to Eric"* — it will either switch or tell you what's available.

## Uninstall

```bash
npx voicesmith-mcp uninstall
# or if installed via git clone:
./install.sh --uninstall
```

Removes all files, models, MCP config entries, voice rules, LaunchAgents, and hooks cleanly.

## License

Apache 2.0