skills/text-to-speech/SKILL.md
Generate speech audio from text using HeyGen's Starfish TTS model. Use when: (1) Generating standalone speech audio files from text, (2) Converting text to speech with voice selection, speed, and pitch control, (3) Creating audio for voiceovers, narration, or podcasts, (4) Working with HeyGen's /v1/audio endpoints, (5) Listing available TTS voices by language or gender.
npx skillsauth add heygen-com/skills text-to-speechInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
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Generate speech audio files from text using HeyGen's in-house Starfish TTS model. This skill is for standalone audio generation — separate from video creation.
All requests require the X-Api-Key header. Set the HEYGEN_API_KEY environment variable.
curl -X GET "https://api.heygen.com/v1/audio/voices" \
-H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY"
If HeyGen MCP tools are available (mcp__heygen__*), prefer them over direct HTTP API calls.
| Task | MCP Tool | Fallback (Direct API) |
|------|----------|----------------------|
| List TTS voices | mcp__heygen__list_audio_voices | GET /v1/audio/voices |
| Generate speech audio | mcp__heygen__text_to_speech | POST /v1/audio/text_to_speech |
mcp__heygen__list_audio_voices (or GET /v1/audio/voices)mcp__heygen__text_to_speech (or POST /v1/audio/text_to_speech) with text and voice_idaudio_url to download or play the audioRetrieve voices compatible with the Starfish TTS model.
Note: This uses
GET /v1/audio/voices— a different endpoint from the video voices API (GET /v2/voices). Not all video voices support Starfish TTS.
curl -X GET "https://api.heygen.com/v1/audio/voices" \
-H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY"
interface TTSVoice {
voice_id: string;
language: string;
gender: "female" | "male" | "unknown";
name: string;
preview_audio_url: string | null;
support_pause: boolean;
support_locale: boolean;
type: string;
}
interface TTSVoicesResponse {
error: null | string;
data: {
voices: TTSVoice[];
};
}
async function listTTSVoices(): Promise<TTSVoice[]> {
const response = await fetch("https://api.heygen.com/v1/audio/voices", {
headers: { "X-Api-Key": process.env.HEYGEN_API_KEY! },
});
const json: TTSVoicesResponse = await response.json();
if (json.error) {
throw new Error(json.error);
}
return json.data.voices;
}
import requests
import os
def list_tts_voices() -> list:
response = requests.get(
"https://api.heygen.com/v1/audio/voices",
headers={"X-Api-Key": os.environ["HEYGEN_API_KEY"]}
)
data = response.json()
if data.get("error"):
raise Exception(data["error"])
return data["data"]["voices"]
{
"error": null,
"data": {
"voices": [
{
"voice_id": "f38a635bee7a4d1f9b0a654a31d050d2",
"name": "Chill Brian",
"language": "English",
"gender": "male",
"preview_audio_url": "https://resource.heygen.ai/text_to_speech/WpSDQvmLGXEqXZVZQiVeg6.mp3",
"support_pause": true,
"support_locale": false,
"type": "public"
}
]
}
}
Convert text to speech audio using a specified voice.
POST https://api.heygen.com/v1/audio/text_to_speech
| Field | Type | Req | Description |
|-------|------|:---:|-------------|
| text | string | Y | Text content to convert to speech |
| voice_id | string | Y | Voice ID from GET /v1/audio/voices |
| speed | number | | Speech speed, 0.5-1.5 (default: 1) |
| pitch | integer | | Voice pitch, -50 to 50 (default: 0) |
| locale | string | | Accent/locale for multilingual voices (e.g., en-US, pt-BR) |
| elevenlabs_settings | object | | Advanced settings for ElevenLabs voices |
| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| model | string | Model selection (eleven_v3, eleven_turbo_v2_5, etc.) |
| similarity_boost | number | Voice similarity, 0.0-1.0 |
| stability | number | Output consistency, 0.0-1.0 |
| style | number | Style intensity, 0.0-1.0 |
curl -X POST "https://api.heygen.com/v1/audio/text_to_speech" \
-H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"text": "Hello! Welcome to our product demo.",
"voice_id": "YOUR_VOICE_ID",
"speed": 1.0
}'
interface TTSRequest {
text: string;
voice_id: string;
speed?: number;
pitch?: number;
locale?: string;
elevenlabs_settings?: {
model?: string;
similarity_boost?: number;
stability?: number;
style?: number;
};
}
interface WordTimestamp {
word: string;
start: number;
end: number;
}
interface TTSResponse {
error: null | string;
data: {
audio_url: string;
duration: number;
request_id: string;
word_timestamps: WordTimestamp[];
};
}
async function textToSpeech(request: TTSRequest): Promise<TTSResponse["data"]> {
const response = await fetch(
"https://api.heygen.com/v1/audio/text_to_speech",
{
method: "POST",
headers: {
"X-Api-Key": process.env.HEYGEN_API_KEY!,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify(request),
}
);
const json: TTSResponse = await response.json();
if (json.error) {
throw new Error(json.error);
}
return json.data;
}
import requests
import os
def text_to_speech(
text: str,
voice_id: str,
speed: float = 1.0,
pitch: int = 0,
locale: str | None = None,
) -> dict:
payload = {
"text": text,
"voice_id": voice_id,
"speed": speed,
"pitch": pitch,
}
if locale:
payload["locale"] = locale
response = requests.post(
"https://api.heygen.com/v1/audio/text_to_speech",
headers={
"X-Api-Key": os.environ["HEYGEN_API_KEY"],
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
json=payload,
)
data = response.json()
if data.get("error"):
raise Exception(data["error"])
return data["data"]
{
"error": null,
"data": {
"audio_url": "https://resource2.heygen.ai/text_to_speech/.../id=365d46bb.wav",
"duration": 5.526,
"request_id": "p38QJ52hfgNlsYKZZmd9",
"word_timestamps": [
{ "word": "<start>", "start": 0.0, "end": 0.0 },
{ "word": "Hey", "start": 0.079, "end": 0.219 },
{ "word": "there,", "start": 0.239, "end": 0.459 },
{ "word": "<end>", "start": 5.526, "end": 5.526 }
]
}
}
const result = await textToSpeech({
text: "Welcome to our quarterly earnings call.",
voice_id: "YOUR_VOICE_ID",
});
console.log(`Audio URL: ${result.audio_url}`);
console.log(`Duration: ${result.duration}s`);
const result = await textToSpeech({
text: "We're thrilled to announce our newest feature!",
voice_id: "YOUR_VOICE_ID",
speed: 1.1,
});
const result = await textToSpeech({
text: "Bem-vindo ao nosso produto.",
voice_id: "MULTILINGUAL_VOICE_ID",
locale: "pt-BR",
});
async function generateSpeech(text: string, language: string): Promise<string> {
const voices = await listTTSVoices();
const voice = voices.find(
(v) => v.language.toLowerCase().includes(language.toLowerCase())
);
if (!voice) {
throw new Error(`No TTS voice found for language: ${language}`);
}
const result = await textToSpeech({
text,
voice_id: voice.voice_id,
});
return result.audio_url;
}
const audioUrl = await generateSpeech("Hello and welcome!", "english");
Use SSML-style break tags in your text for pauses:
word <break time="1s"/> word
Rules:
s suffix: <break time="1.5s"/>GET /v1/audio/voices to find compatible voices — not all voices from GET /v2/voices support Starfish TTSsupport_locale before setting a locale — only multilingual voices support locale selectionpreview_audio_url before generating (may be null for some voices)word_timestamps in the response for caption syncing or timed text overlaysword <break time="1s"/> wordtools
Translate and dub a video into another language with voice cloning and lip-sync, powered by HeyGen Video Translation. The presenter keeps their face, their voice is cloned into the target language, and lips re-sync to the new audio — viewers see the same person speaking natively. Use when: (1) localizing an existing video into one or more languages ("translate this video to Spanish", "make this in French and German", "dub this into Japanese", "I need this in 10 languages for a launch"), (2) the user has a finished video and wants the SAME presenter speaking another language (not a new presenter — that's heygen-video), (3) podcast / audio-only translation ("translate this podcast", "dub the audio but keep my video"), (4) high-stakes translations where the user wants to review/edit subtitles before final render (the proofreads workflow), (5) "translate my video", "dub this", "localize this clip", "make a multilingual version", "subtitle and dub". Returns the translated video URL (or audio file for audio-only mode), one per target language. Chain signal: if the user wants to CREATE a new video in another language (no source video exists yet), route to heygen-video and write the script in the target language — do not use heygen-translate. Use heygen-translate only when there is an existing source video to localize. NOT for: creating new videos from scratch (use heygen-video), avatar creation (use heygen-avatar), TTS-only synthesis (use heygen-video with audio-only output), or text-only translation.
development
Generate HeyGen presenter videos via the v3 Video Agent pipeline — handles Frame Check (aspect ratio correction), prompt engineering, avatar resolution, and voice selection. Required for any HeyGen video generation. Replaces deprecated endpoints with v3. Use when: (1) generating any HeyGen video (via API or otherwise), (2) sending a personalized video message (outreach, update, announcement, pitch, knowledge), (3) creating a HeyGen presenter-led explainer, tutorial, or product demo with a human face, (4) "make a video of me saying...", "send a video to my leads", "record an update for my team", "create a video pitch", "make a loom-style message", "I want to appear in this video", "generate a HeyGen video", "make a talking head video". Accepts avatar_id from heygen-avatar for identity-first HeyGen videos, or uses a stock presenter. Returns video share URL + HeyGen session URL for iteration. Chain signal: when the user wants to create/design an avatar AND make a video in the same request, run heygen-avatar first, then return here. Conjunctions to watch: "and then", "and immediately", "first...then", "X and make a video", "design [presenter] and record" = always CHAIN. If the user provides a photo AND wants a video, route to heygen-avatar first. NOT for: avatar creation or identity setup (use heygen-avatar first), cinematic footage or b-roll without a presenter, translating videos, TTS-only, or streaming avatars.
development
Create a persistent HeyGen avatar — a reusable face + voice identity for the agent, the user, or any named character — powered by HeyGen Avatar V technology. Prompt-based creation by default (description → HeyGen builds it); photo upload is optional for real-person digital twins. Use when: (1) giving the agent a face + voice so it can present videos ("bring yourself to life", "create your avatar", "give yourself an avatar", "design a presenter", "set up an avatar", "let's make an avatar"), (2) the user wants to appear in videos as themselves ("create my avatar", "I want my face in a video", "digital twin of me", "build me an avatar"), (3) building a named character presenter ("create an avatar called Cleo", "design a character named X"), (4) establishing HeyGen identity before making videos — the correct FIRST step when no avatar exists yet. Chain signal: when the user says both an identity/avatar action AND a video action in the same request ("create an avatar AND make a video", "set up identity THEN create a video", "design a presenter AND immediately record"), run heygen-avatar first, then heygen-video. Returns avatar_id + voice_id — pass directly to heygen-video to create HeyGen videos. NOT for: generating videos (use heygen-video), translating videos, or TTS-only tasks.
development
Create HeyGen avatar videos via the v3 Video Agent pipeline — handles avatar resolution, aspect ratio correction, prompt engineering, and voice selection automatically. Required for any HeyGen API usage (api.heygen.com). Replaces deprecated v1/v2 endpoints with the optimized v3 pipeline. Use when: (1) calling any HeyGen API endpoint (api.heygen.com), (2) creating a HeyGen avatar or digital twin from a photo, (3) making a personalized video message (outreach, pitch, update, announcement, knowledge), (4) "make a video of me", "create my HeyGen avatar", "I want to appear in this video", (5) "send a video to my leads", "record an update for my team", "make a loom-style message", (6) building identity-first videos where the presenter IS the user or agent, Covers: HeyGen API, api.heygen.com, video generate, avatar create, voice list, talking photo, HeyGen avatar creation, voice design, photo → digital twin, HeyGen video generation, identity-first video, messaging-first video, AI presenter, talking head video. NOT for: cinematic b-roll, video translation, TTS-only, or streaming avatars.