text‑to‑audiobook

The first open‑source package that turns any EPUB into an audiobook that’s actually pleasant to listen to.

Features

• Sounds like a human: Accurate pronunciation and smooth delivery thanks to OpenAI's gpt-4o-mini-tts.
• Instant playback: Listen chapter‑by‑chapter right away; no need to wait for the whole book to be created.
• Universal format: Drop the finished file into Apple Books or any other audiobook player.
• Price transparency: See the estimated cost upfront and confirm before a cent is spent.
• Seamless restarts: Pause anytime and resume later without re‑processing completed chapters.
• Cleaner chapters: Automatically trims forewords, indexes, and other filler you’d rather skip.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or newer recommended)
• ffmpeg

Install text-to-audiobook

npm install -g text-to-audiobook

Quickstart

Set your OpenAI API key as an environment variable:

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk‑..."

Convert your EPUB file to an audiobook:

text-to-audiobook WarAndPeace.epub

During the run you’ll see a cost breakdown like:

Cost estimate (gpt-4o-mini-tts: text @ $0.60/M • audio @ $12/M)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 Already spent     ≈  $1.3275
 Remaining cost    ≈  $0.9824
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 Total cost        ≈  $2.3099

Proceed with the remaining cost? [y/N]

Answer Y to begin the conversion. A progress bar will track each chapter, and an .m4b file will appear in your directory as soon as the first chapter finishes. Open the .m4b file in any audiobook player whenever you’re ready.

Contributing

PRs are welcome! For major changes, open an issue to discuss what you’d like to add or change.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.