CLI Command Reference

May 11, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

Complete reference for all VoiceMode command-line interface commands.

Global Options

voicemode [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options:
  --version   Show the version and exit
  -h, --help  Show this message and exit
  --debug     Enable debug mode and show all warnings

Core Commands

voicemode (default)

Start the MCP server (stdio transport)

voicemode

serve

Start the MCP server with HTTP transport for remote access

voicemode serve [OPTIONS]

Options:
  --host TEXT                  Host to bind to (default: 127.0.0.1)
  -p, --port INTEGER           Port to bind to (default: 8765)
  --transport, -t [streamable-http|sse]
                               Transport protocol to use (default: streamable-http)
  --log-level [debug|info|warning|error]
                               Logging level (default: info)
  --allow-anthropic / --no-allow-anthropic
                               Allow Anthropic IP ranges (160.79.104.0/21)
  --allow-tailscale / --no-allow-tailscale
                               Allow Tailscale IP range (100.64.0.0/10)
  --allow-ip CIDR              Add custom CIDR to allowlist (repeatable)
  --allow-local / --no-allow-local
                               Allow localhost connections (default: true)
  --secret SECRET              Require secret path segment for access
  --token TOKEN                Require Bearer token authentication

Examples:
# Local development with streamable-http (default - localhost only)
voicemode serve

# Explicitly specify streamable-http transport
voicemode serve --transport streamable-http

# Use SSE transport (deprecated - for legacy compatibility)
voicemode serve --transport sse

# Allow Anthropic's Claude.ai and Claude Cowork to connect
voicemode serve --allow-anthropic

# Custom IP allowlist
voicemode serve --allow-ip 192.168.1.0/24 --allow-ip 10.0.0.0/8

# Allow all devices on your Tailscale network
voicemode serve --allow-tailscale

# Strict Anthropic-only mode (no localhost)
voicemode serve --allow-anthropic --no-allow-local

# URL secret authentication (recommended for Claude.ai)
voicemode serve --secret my-secret-uuid

# Bearer token authentication
voicemode serve --token my-secret-token

# Defense in depth: combine IP allowlist + token
voicemode serve --allow-anthropic --token my-secret-token

# SSE with secret path segment (deprecated)
voicemode serve --transport sse --secret my-secret-uuid

# Enable debug logging for troubleshooting
voicemode serve --log-level debug

Transport Options

The --transport option selects the HTTP transport protocol for the MCP server.

Streamable HTTP (Recommended)

The streamable-http transport is the modern, recommended transport for MCP servers:

  • Uses /mcp as the base endpoint path
  • Better performance and reliability
  • Supports bidirectional streaming
  • Recommended for all new deployments

Example: voicemode serve --transport streamable-http creates endpoint at http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp

SSE (Deprecated)

The sse (Server-Sent Events) transport is maintained for backward compatibility:

  • Uses /sse as the base endpoint path
  • One-way server-to-client streaming only
  • Will show a deprecation warning when used
  • Consider migrating to streamable-http

Example: voicemode serve --transport sse creates endpoint at http://127.0.0.1:8765/sse

Environment Variable

You can also set the default transport via environment variable:

export VOICEMODE_SERVE_TRANSPORT=streamable-http  # or 'sse'
voicemode serve

The CLI option takes precedence over the environment variable.

Migrating from SSE to Streamable HTTP

If you are currently using SSE transport and want to migrate to streamable-http:

  1. Update your serve command: Change --transport sse to --transport streamable-http (or remove it entirely since streamable-http is the default)

  2. Update your client endpoint: Change the URL path from /sse to /mcp:

    • Before: http://your-host:8765/sse
    • After: http://your-host:8765/mcp

  3. If using secret paths, the structure remains the same:

    • Before: http://your-host:8765/sse/{secret}
    • After: http://your-host:8765/mcp/{secret}

  4. Test your connection before deploying to production

Security Options

IP Allowlist

The --allow-anthropic flag adds Anthropic's outbound IP ranges to the allowlist, enabling connections from Claude.ai and Claude Cowork. The --allow-tailscale flag adds the Tailscale CGNAT range (100.64.0.0/10), allowing any device on your Tailscale network to connect. Use --allow-ip to add custom CIDR ranges.

By default, localhost connections are allowed (--allow-local). Use --no-allow-local to disable this for strict remote-only access.

Logging

The --log-level option controls the verbosity of server logs. Available levels are debug, info (default), warning, and error. Use --log-level debug for troubleshooting connection issues.

URL Secret Authentication

The --secret option adds a secret path segment to the endpoint URL:

  • Endpoint becomes /{base_path}/{secret} instead of /{base_path}
  • Acts as a pre-shared key embedded in the URL
  • Returns 404 (not 403) for incorrect paths to avoid revealing endpoint existence
  • Ideal for Claude.ai which accepts any URL but doesn't support OAuth

Examples:

  • Streamable HTTP: voicemode serve --secret abc123 creates endpoint at /mcp/abc123
  • SSE: voicemode serve --transport sse --secret abc123 creates endpoint at /sse/abc123

Bearer Token Authentication

The --token option requires all requests to include a valid Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer <token>

Returns 401 Unauthorized for missing or invalid tokens.

converse

Have a voice conversation directly from the command line

voicemode converse [OPTIONS]

Options:
  --voice TEXT          Override TTS voice
  --model TEXT          Override TTS model
  --debug               Enable debug mode
  --skip-tts            Text-only output (skip TTS)
  --skip-stt            Speak only; skip listening for a response (replaces --no-wait)
  --timeout INTEGER     Recording timeout in seconds

--no-wait is deprecated. It still works (and is still completed by the shell) but prints a deprecation notice and will be removed in a future release. Use --skip-stt instead.

transcribe

Transcribe audio with optional word-level timestamps

voicemode transcribe [OPTIONS]

Options:
  --timestamps     Include word-level timestamps
  --output TEXT    Output file path (default: stdout)
  --format TEXT    Output format: text, json, vtt, srt

Examples:
echo "Hello" | voicemode transcribe
voicemode transcribe < audio.wav
voicemode transcribe --timestamps < recording.wav

Diagnostic Commands

diag

Diagnostic tools for voicemode

voicemode diag [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Commands:
  devices       List available audio input and output devices
  info          Show voicemode installation information
  registry      Show voice provider registry with all discovered endpoints

Service Management

whisper

Manage Whisper STT service

# Installation and setup
voicemode whisper install [--model MODEL]
voicemode whisper uninstall

# Service control
voicemode whisper start
voicemode whisper stop
voicemode whisper restart
voicemode whisper status

# Service management
voicemode whisper enable    # Start at boot
voicemode whisper disable   # Don't start at boot

# Model management
voicemode whisper models                    # List available models
voicemode whisper model active             # Show active model
voicemode whisper model active MODEL       # Set active model
voicemode whisper model install MODEL      # Install specific model
voicemode whisper model remove MODEL       # Remove model

# Logs and debugging
voicemode whisper logs [--follow]

Available models:

  • tiny, tiny.en (39 MB)
  • base, base.en (142 MB)
  • small, small.en (466 MB)
  • medium, medium.en (1.5 GB)
  • large-v1, large-v2, large-v3 (2.9-3.1 GB)
  • large-v3-turbo (1.6 GB)

kokoro

Manage Kokoro TTS service

# Installation and setup
voicemode kokoro install
voicemode kokoro uninstall

# Service control
voicemode kokoro start
voicemode kokoro stop
voicemode kokoro restart
voicemode kokoro status

# Service management
voicemode kokoro enable
voicemode kokoro disable

# Information
voicemode kokoro voices     # List available voices
voicemode kokoro logs [--follow]

livekit

Manage LiveKit RTC service

# Installation and setup
voicemode livekit install
voicemode livekit uninstall [--remove-all-data]

# Service control
voicemode livekit start
voicemode livekit stop
voicemode livekit restart
voicemode livekit status

# Service management
voicemode livekit enable
voicemode livekit disable

# Configuration
voicemode livekit update    # Update service files
voicemode livekit logs [--follow]

Soundfonts

soundfonts

Toggle soundfont playback for Claude Code hooks

# Quick toggle (session-scoped)
voicemode soundfonts off          # Disable immediately
voicemode soundfonts on           # Re-enable

# Persistent config change
voicemode soundfonts on --config  # Enable + update voicemode.env
voicemode soundfonts off --config # Disable + update voicemode.env

# Check current state
voicemode soundfonts status       # Shows sentinel file + env var state

The off command creates a sentinel file (~/.voicemode/soundfonts-disabled) that the hook receiver checks before playing sounds. The --config flag also updates VOICEMODE_SOUNDFONTS_ENABLED in ~/.voicemode/voicemode.env.

Claude Code Integration

claude hooks

Manage Claude Code hook integration

# Install hooks
voicemode claude hooks add

# Remove hooks
voicemode claude hooks remove

# List installed hooks
voicemode claude hooks list

Hooks connect Claude Code's tool events to VoiceMode's soundfont system. The add command registers the hook receiver script with Claude Code's settings.

Configuration Commands

config

Manage voicemode configuration

# Show current configuration
voicemode config show

# Initialize default config
voicemode config init

# Test configuration
voicemode config test

# Edit configuration
voicemode config edit

Conversation Management

exchanges

Manage and view conversation exchange logs

# View recent exchanges
voicemode exchanges

# View specific exchange
voicemode exchanges show EXCHANGE_ID

# Clear exchange logs
voicemode exchanges clear

Utility Commands

completions

Generate or install shell completion scripts

# Install completions for your shell
voicemode completions install

# Generate completion script for specific shell
voicemode completions bash
voicemode completions zsh
voicemode completions fish

Environment Variables

Commands respect environment variables for configuration:

# Use specific API key
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... voicemode converse

# Enable debug mode
VOICEMODE_DEBUG=true voicemode

# Use local services
VOICEMODE_TTS_BASE_URLS=http://localhost:8880/v1 voicemode converse

Exit Codes

  • 0: Success
  • 1: General error
  • 2: Command line syntax error
  • 3: Service not running
  • 4: Service already running
  • 5: Permission denied
  • 127: Command not found

Examples

Basic Usage

# Start MCP server
voicemode

# Have a conversation
voicemode converse

# Transcribe audio file
voicemode transcribe < recording.wav

Service Setup

# Full local setup
voicemode whisper install
voicemode kokoro install
voicemode whisper enable
voicemode kokoro enable

Development

# Debug mode with all saves
VOICEMODE_DEBUG=true VOICEMODE_SAVE_ALL=true voicemode converse

# Test local changes
uvx --from . voicemode

# Check diagnostics
voicemode diag info

Troubleshooting

# Check what's running
voicemode whisper status
voicemode kokoro status

# View logs
voicemode whisper logs --follow
voicemode kokoro logs --follow

# Check registry and providers
voicemode diag registry

# Restart services
voicemode whisper restart
voicemode kokoro restart