README.md

August 2, 2026 · View on GitHub

Description

This plugin connects OpenVoiceOS to an OpenVoiceOS TTS Server instance. It sends text to the server and returns the synthesized audio to OVOS.

Install

pip install ovos-tts-plugin-server

Configuration

  "tts": {
    "module": "ovos-tts-plugin-server",
    "ovos-tts-plugin-server": {
        "host": "https://tts.smartgic.io/piper",
        "v2": true,
        "verify_ssl": true,
        "tts_timeout": 5
     }
 }
  • host: the URL of the TTS server. The plugin appends /synthesize to this URL.
  • v2: use the v2 API, if the server offers it.
  • verify_ssl: verify the server's SSL certificate. Set this to false for a self-signed certificate, but see the security warning before you do.
  • tts_timeout: timeout, in seconds, for a request to the server. The default is 5 seconds.

v2 API (ovos-tts-server 0.0.3a10 and later)

If the TTS server plugin supports v2, set v2 to true to use the newer API. The host value stays the same either way. For example, it stays https://tts.smartgic.io/piper regardless of the v2 setting.

Security warning

You can set verify_ssl to false to disable SSL verification, but this is not recommended. Use it only for testing. For production, use a private CA or a certificate from Let's Encrypt instead.

Run your own server. Your text stays on your own hardware, you do not depend on somebody else's uptime, and you pick the voices.

pip install ovos-tts-server phoonnx
ovos-tts-server --engine ovos-tts-plugin-phoonnx

phoonnx is the recommended engine: it runs ONNX voices on CPU across 1000+ languages, downloads a voice the first time it is used, and can pick a default voice per language, so one server covers all of them. A prebuilt image is available too — see phoonnx's docker docs.

Then point this plugin at it:

  "tts": {
    "module": "ovos-tts-plugin-server",
    "ovos-tts-plugin-server": {
      "host": "https://your-server.example",
      "v2": true
    }
  }

Public servers

With no host configured, the plugin falls back to public servers.

These are a community courtesy, not a service. They exist so you can try OVOS without setting anything up first. They are provided on a best-effort basis with no guarantees of uptime, latency, voice availability, privacy, or continued existence, and they can change or disappear without notice. They are meant for demos, evaluation and onboarding — not for production, and not for anything you would not want a third party to receive.

For anything beyond trying it out, self-host.

License

Apache-2.0