Voice Skill

The Voice skill provides enhanced text-to-speech functionality using edge-tts, allowing you to convert text to spoken audio with multiple playback options.

Features

•Text-to-speech conversion using Microsoft Edge's TTS engine
•Support for various voice options and audio settings
•Direct playback of generated audio
•Automatic cleanup of temporary audio files
•Integration with the MEDIA system for audio playback

Installation

Before using this skill, you need to install the required dependency:

bash

pip3 install edge-tts

Or use the skill's install action:

javascript

await skill.execute({ action: 'install' });

Usage

Direct Speaking (Recommended)

Speak text directly without storing to file:

javascript

const result = await skill.execute({
  action: 'speak',  // New improved action
  text: 'Hello, how are you today?'
});
// Audio is played directly and temporary file is cleaned up automatically

Text-to-Speech with File Generation

Convert text to speech with default settings:

javascript

const result = await skill.execute({
  action: 'tts',
  text: 'Hello, how are you today?'
});
// Returns a MEDIA link to the audio file

With direct playback:

javascript

const result = await skill.execute({
  action: 'tts',
  text: 'Hello, how are you today?',
  playImmediately: true  // Plays the audio immediately after generation
});

With custom options:

javascript

const result = await skill.execute({
  action: 'tts',
  text: 'This is a sample of voice customization.',
  options: {
    voice: 'zh-CN-XiaoxiaoNeural',
    rate: '+10%',
    volume: '-5%',
    pitch: '+10Hz'
  }
});

Play Existing Audio File

Play an existing audio file:

javascript

const result = await skill.execute({
  action: 'play',
  filePath: '/path/to/audio/file.mp3'
});

List Available Voices

Get a list of available voices:

javascript

const result = await skill.execute({
  action: 'voices'
});

Cleanup Temporary Files

Clean up temporary audio files older than 1 hour (default):

javascript

const result = await skill.execute({
  action: 'cleanup'
});

Or specify a custom age threshold:

javascript

const result = await skill.execute({
  action: 'cleanup',
  options: {
    hoursOld: 2  // Clean files older than 2 hours
  }
});

Options

The following options are available for text-to-speech:

•voice: The voice to use (default: 'zh-CN-XiaoxiaoNeural')
•rate: Speech rate adjustment (default: '+0%')
•volume: Volume adjustment (default: '+0%')
•pitch: Pitch adjustment (default: '+0Hz')

Supported Voices

Edge-TTS supports many voices in different languages:

•Chinese: zh-CN-XiaoxiaoNeural, zh-CN-YunxiNeural, zh-CN-YunyangNeural
•English (US): en-US-Standard-C, en-US-Standard-D, en-US-Wavenet-F
•English (UK): en-GB-Standard-A, en-GB-Wavenet-A
•Japanese: ja-JP-NanamiNeural
•Korean: ko-KR-SunHiNeural
•And many more...

File Management

•Audio files are temporarily stored in the temp directory
•Files are automatically cleaned up after 1 hour (default)
•Direct speaking option cleans up files after 5 seconds

Requirements

•Python 3.x
•pip package manager
•edge-tts library (install via pip3 install edge-tts)