---
name: voice-reply
version: 1.0.0
description: |
  Local text-to-speech using Piper voices via sherpa-onnx. 100% offline, no API keys required.
  Use when user asks for a voice reply, audio response, spoken answer, or wants to hear something read aloud.
  Supports multiple languages including German (thorsten) and English (ryan) voices.
  Outputs Telegram-compatible voice notes with [[audio_as_voice]] tag.
metadata:
  openclaw:
    emoji: "🎤"
    os: ["linux"]
    requires:
      bins: ["ffmpeg"]
      env: ["SHERPA_ONNX_DIR", "PIPER_VOICES_DIR"]
---

# Voice Reply

Generate voice audio replies using local Piper TTS via sherpa-onnx. Completely offline, no cloud APIs needed.

## Features

- **100% Local** - No internet connection required after setup
- **No API Keys** - Free to use, no accounts needed
- **Multi-language** - German and English voices included
- **Telegram Ready** - Outputs voice notes that display as bubbles
- **Auto-detect Language** - Automatically selects voice based on text

## Prerequisites

1. **sherpa-onnx** runtime installed
2. **Piper voice models** downloaded
3. **ffmpeg** for audio conversion

## Installation

### Quick Install

```bash
cd scripts
sudo ./install.sh
```

### Manual Installation

#### 1. Install sherpa-onnx

```bash
sudo mkdir -p /opt/sherpa-onnx
cd /opt/sherpa-onnx
curl -L -o sherpa.tar.bz2 "https://github.com/k2-fsa/sherpa-onnx/releases/download/v1.12.23/sherpa-onnx-v1.12.23-linux-x64-shared.tar.bz2"
sudo tar -xjf sherpa.tar.bz2 --strip-components=1
rm sherpa.tar.bz2
```

#### 2. Download Voice Models

```bash
sudo mkdir -p /opt/piper-voices
cd /opt/piper-voices

# German - thorsten (medium quality, natural male voice)
curl -L -o thorsten.tar.bz2 "https://github.com/k2-fsa/sherpa-onnx/releases/download/tts-models/vits-piper-de_DE-thorsten-medium.tar.bz2"
sudo tar -xjf thorsten.tar.bz2 && rm thorsten.tar.bz2

# English - ryan (high quality, clear US male voice)
curl -L -o ryan.tar.bz2 "https://github.com/k2-fsa/sherpa-onnx/releases/download/tts-models/vits-piper-en_US-ryan-high.tar.bz2"
sudo tar -xjf ryan.tar.bz2 && rm ryan.tar.bz2
```

#### 3. Install ffmpeg

```bash
sudo apt install -y ffmpeg
```

#### 4. Set Environment Variables

Add to your OpenClaw service or shell:

```bash
export SHERPA_ONNX_DIR="/opt/sherpa-onnx"
export PIPER_VOICES_DIR="/opt/piper-voices"
```

## Usage

```bash
{baseDir}/bin/voice-reply "Text to speak" [language]
```

### Parameters

| Parameter | Description | Default |
|-----------|-------------|---------|
| text | The text to convert to speech | (required) |
| language | `de` for German, `en` for English | auto-detect |

### Examples

```bash
# German (explicit)
{baseDir}/bin/voice-reply "Hallo, ich bin dein Assistent!" de

# English (explicit)
{baseDir}/bin/voice-reply "Hello, I am your assistant!" en

# Auto-detect (detects German from umlauts and common words)
{baseDir}/bin/voice-reply "Guten Tag, wie geht es dir?"

# Auto-detect (defaults to English)
{baseDir}/bin/voice-reply "The weather is nice today."
```

## Output Format

The script outputs two lines that OpenClaw processes for Telegram:

```
[[audio_as_voice]]
MEDIA:/tmp/voice-reply-output.ogg
```

- `[[audio_as_voice]]` - Tag that tells Telegram to display as voice bubble
- `MEDIA:path` - Path to the generated OGG Opus audio file

## Available Voices

| Language | Voice | Quality | Description |
|----------|-------|---------|-------------|
| German (de) | thorsten | medium | Natural male voice, clear pronunciation |
| English (en) | ryan | high | Clear US male voice, professional tone |

## Adding More Voices

Browse available Piper voices at:
- https://rhasspy.github.io/piper-samples/
- https://github.com/k2-fsa/sherpa-onnx/releases/tag/tts-models

Download and extract to `$PIPER_VOICES_DIR`, then modify the script to include the new voice.

## Troubleshooting

### "TTS binary not found"
Ensure `SHERPA_ONNX_DIR` is set and contains `bin/sherpa-onnx-offline-tts`.

### "Failed to generate audio"
Check that voice model files exist: `*.onnx`, `tokens.txt`, `espeak-ng-data/`

### Audio plays as file instead of voice bubble
Ensure the output includes `[[audio_as_voice]]` tag on its own line before the `MEDIA:` line.

## Credits

- [sherpa-onnx](https://github.com/k2-fsa/sherpa-onnx) - Offline speech processing
- [Piper](https://github.com/rhasspy/piper) - Fast local TTS voices
- [Thorsten Voice](https://github.com/thorstenMueller/Thorsten-Voice) - German voice dataset


---
Source attribution: kbarbel640-del
Original project: https://github.com/kbarbel640-del/skills/blob/e7e336ac628c3e3bd771aff1aaa469c93778f94a/skills/stolot0mt0m/voice-reply/SKILL.md
License: MIT
License information: https://opensource.org/license/mit
Original upstream instructions; downloaded from Mega AI Hub.

## Upstream license notice

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 clawdbot

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.



# Mega AI Hub resource metadata

Creator / publisher: kbarbel640-del
Original project: https://github.com/kbarbel640-del/skills/blob/e7e336ac628c3e3bd771aff1aaa469c93778f94a/skills/stolot0mt0m/voice-reply/SKILL.md
Attribution basis: Source repository record

Fields of work: Marketing, Customer Support
Roles: Content Marketer, Customer Experience, Support Agent
Specialties: Specialty not specified
Tools: Ffmpeg, Piper Voices, Sherpa Onnx
Country applicability: Country not specified
Classification basis: Source catalog labels
Instruction SHA-256: 36ee374dbee23e6cbd845ea7dbd57cf02148bb2d29e6677256610f33245b59b0