pi-xai-tts

A pi extension that reads aloud the last AI assistant output using xAI's Text-to-Speech API.

Installation

Install via npm:

$ pi install npm:pi-xai-tts

Or install from git:

$ pi install git:github.com/richardanaya/pi-xai-tts

Configuration

Create a JSON file at ~/.pi/xai-tts.json with your API key:

{
  "xaiApiKey": "your-api-key-here",
  "voice": "leo"
}

Replace your-api-key-here with your actual xAI API key. You can get one at https://console.x.ai/

Optional Settings

• voice: The voice to use for speech synthesis. Options:

  • leo (default) - Authoritative, strong
  • eve - Energetic, upbeat
  • ara - Warm, friendly
  • rex - Confident, clear
  • sal - Smooth, balanced

• language: BCP-47 language code (e.g., en, zh, pt-BR). Defaults to en.

• speed: Playback speed multiplier (e.g., 0.5 for half speed, 1.5 for 1.5x speed, 2.0 for double speed). Defaults to 1.0 (normal speed). Range: 0.5 to 2.0.

Usage

After the AI responds to your message, type /listen to hear the last assistant message read aloud.

To stop playback early, type /listen-stop.

Examples

# Ask pi something
> What is the capital of France?

[pi responds with "The capital of France is Paris..."]

# Listen to the response
/listen

# The response will be read aloud using xAI TTS

# Stop playback early if needed
/listen-stop

Requirements

This extension requires FFmpeg to be installed, specifically the ffplay command.

Installing FFmpeg

• macOS:

  brew install ffmpeg

• Ubuntu/Debian:

  sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

• Fedora:

  sudo dnf install ffmpeg

• Windows: Download from https://ffmpeg.org/download.html and add to PATH

API Reference

This extension uses the xAI Text-to-Speech API:

• Endpoint: POST https://api.x.ai/v1/tts
• Documentation: https://docs.x.ai/developers/model-capabilities/audio/text-to-speech