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TTS Server

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rookiemann edited this page Mar 15, 2026 · 1 revision

Extension 1: TTS Server (Text-to-Speech)

The TTS Server converts text to natural-sounding speech. It supports 10 different AI voice models, voice cloning, multi-language support, and emotional expression.

Server port: 8200 (configurable via TTS_SERVER_URL environment variable)

Installation

  1. Go to Tools > Extensions
  2. Click Install next to "Text-to-Speech Server"
  3. Wait for the installation to complete (downloads ~2-5 GB depending on models)
  4. Click Start to launch the server

Or install manually:

cd extensions/tts-server
install.bat
launcher.bat api

Available TTS Models

Model Size Best For Voice Cloning Languages GPU VRAM
kokoro 82M Fast English TTS, 54 built-in voices No (preset voices only) English ~1 GB
xtts 500M General purpose, best multilingual Yes (from WAV/MP3 reference) 17 languages ~2 GB
dia 1.6B Two-speaker dialogue with emotions No (uses [S1]/[S2] tags) English ~4 GB
bark 1B Expressive speech with laughter, music, non-verbal sounds No (preset voices) Multilingual ~3 GB
fish 500M Fast voice cloning with minimal reference audio Yes (few seconds of audio) Multilingual ~2 GB
chatterbox 500M Conversational with emotion control Yes English ~2 GB
f5 300M Diffusion-based high-quality cloning Yes Multilingual ~2 GB
qwen 7B Chinese + English bilingual Yes Chinese, English ~8 GB
vibevoice 1.5B Wide emotional range Yes English ~4 GB
higgs 3B Works on CPU (no GPU needed) Yes English CPU or ~3 GB

How to Use TTS

Simple text-to-speech: Say: "Read this text aloud: Hello, welcome to Hermes Agent!" Or: "Generate speech saying 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' using Kokoro"

With a specific voice: Say: "Generate speech with the af_heart voice: I love this application"

Dialogue with Dia model: Say: "Generate a dialogue: [S1] Hey, how's it going? [S2] (laughs) I'm doing great! [S1] That's wonderful to hear."

The [S1] and [S2] tags mark different speakers. Dia automatically uses different voices for each speaker and can express emotions in parentheses.

Voice cloning (xtts, fish, f5):

  1. Place a reference audio file (WAV or MP3, 5-30 seconds of clear speech) in: 
    extensions/tts-server/voices/
  2. Say: "Generate speech using xtts with voice 'my_voice.wav': Hello, this is my cloned voice"

TTS Tools Reference

Tool How to Use It
tts_server_status "Is the TTS server running?"
tts_server_generate "Generate speech: [your text]" with optional model and voice
tts_server_models "What TTS models are available?"
tts_server_model_load "Load the xtts model"
tts_server_model_unload "Unload the TTS model to free GPU memory"
tts_server_voices "List available voices for Kokoro"
tts_server_jobs "Show TTS generation jobs"

TTS Troubleshooting

"TTS server unreachable":

  • Make sure the TTS server is running (check Tools > Extensions)
  • Start it with launcher.bat api in the extensions/tts-server/ folder
  • Check that the port (8200) isn't being used by another application

"Model not loaded":

  • The server needs to load a model before generating speech
  • Say "Load the kokoro model" or use the tts_server_model_load tool
  • First-time loading downloads model weights (~1-8 GB depending on model)

"Out of GPU memory":

  • Unload other models (LM Studio models, other TTS models)
  • Use a smaller model (kokoro is smallest at 82M)
  • Use higgs if you want to run on CPU without GPU

Audio sounds robotic/bad:

  • Try a different model — each model has different strengths
  • For English, kokoro and xtts produce the best quality
  • For emotional expression, dia or bark are best
  • Make sure the text is clear and properly punctuated

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