Agent skill

Read Aloud

Text-to-speech read-aloud for manuscripts using free open-source Piper TTS with natural-sounding voices

Install Read Aloud

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Ckokoski/AuthorAgent --skill read-aloud -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Ckokoski/AuthorAgent read-aloud --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud .claude/skills/read-aloud && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "read-aloud" agent skill from https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent/tree/main/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud into .claude/skills/read-aloud/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-aloud", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent/tree/main/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Ckokoski/AuthorAgent --skill read-aloud -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Ckokoski/AuthorAgent read-aloud --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud .agents/skills/read-aloud && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "read-aloud" agent skill from https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent/tree/main/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud into .agents/skills/read-aloud/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-aloud", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Ckokoski/AuthorAgent --skill read-aloud -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Ckokoski/AuthorAgent read-aloud --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud .cursor/skills/read-aloud && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "read-aloud" agent skill from https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent/tree/main/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud into .cursor/skills/read-aloud/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-aloud", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent.git --path skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Ckokoski/AuthorAgent --skill read-aloud -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Ckokoski/AuthorAgent read-aloud --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud .gemini/skills/read-aloud && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "read-aloud" agent skill from https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent/tree/main/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud into .gemini/skills/read-aloud/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-aloud", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Ckokoski/AuthorAgent read-aloud

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Ckokoski/AuthorAgent --skill read-aloud -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud .github/skills/read-aloud && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "read-aloud" agent skill from https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent/tree/main/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud into .github/skills/read-aloud/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-aloud", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Ckokoski/AuthorAgent --skill read-aloud -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Ckokoski/AuthorAgent read-aloud --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud .opencode/skills/read-aloud && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "read-aloud" agent skill from https://github.com/Ckokoski/AuthorAgent/tree/main/skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud into .opencode/skills/read-aloud/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-aloud", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: read-aloud
GitHub stars: 124
Token cost: ~1.3k tokens
SKILL.md length: 513 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 23
Repo updated: Jul 11, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Text-to-speech read-aloud for manuscripts using free open-source Piper TTS with natural-sounding voices

Works in 5 steps: Listen — Read Aloud plays your chapter → Flag — Mark spots that sound wrong… → Review — After playback, see all flagged… → …
Tasks that involve Text to speech and voice
SKILL.md covers Why Read Aloud?, Engine: Piper TTS, Read Modes and Ear-Edit Workflow, plus 4 more sections
Calls pip

What it does

Read Aloud is an agent skill from Ckokoski/AuthorAgent. Text-to-speech read-aloud for manuscripts using free open-source Piper TTS with natural-sounding voices

Its SKILL.md is about 1.3k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Media & Creative, covering Text to speech and voice. The repository describes itself as: The Autonomous AI Writing Agent — a secure, author-focused AI for fiction and nonfiction authors (Planning, Revision, Promotion, and more). The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve Text to speech and voice

Example prompts

“/read-aloud”

Requirements

Python 3

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

Listen — Read Aloud plays your chapter
Flag — Mark spots that sound wrong (keyboard shortcut or voice command)
Review — After playback, see all flagged locations with context
Fix — Edit each flagged passage
Re-listen — Hear just the fixed sections to verify

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 47e9570. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- pip
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use pip, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Read Aloud loads about 1.3k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 29 tokens; SKILL.md has 513 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~29
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from Ckokoski/AuthorAgent at commit 47e9570, republished under its MIT licence (© Ckokoski). 513 words, ~1,265 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/read-aloud/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: read-aloud
description: Text-to-speech read-aloud for manuscripts using free open-source Piper TTS with natural-sounding voices
author: Writing Secrets
version: 1.0.0
triggers: read aloud, read this, speak, text to speech, tts, listen, audio preview, read chapter, hear it
permissions: file:read, file:write, system:exec

Read Aloud — Premium Skill

Turn your manuscript into speech using free, open-source text-to-speech. Hear your prose the way a reader would — because the ear catches what the eye misses.

Why Read Aloud?

Every professional editor will tell you: read your work aloud. It reveals:

Awkward phrasing that looks fine on screen
Sentences that are too long to speak in one breath
Repeated words your eye skips but your ear catches
Dialogue that sounds unnatural when spoken
Pacing problems that only rhythm reveals
Tongue-twisters and consonant clusters

This skill automates that process with natural-sounding AI voices.

Engine: Piper TTS

AuthorClaw uses Piper TTS — a fast, free, open-source text-to-speech engine:

MIT licensed — completely free, no API costs, no subscriptions
Runs locally — your manuscript never leaves your machine
CPU-only — no GPU required (works on any computer)
Natural voices — neural network voices, not robotic
Fast — generates audio faster than real-time
Offline — works without internet

Setup (One-Time)

bash

# Install Piper (included in AuthorClaw setup wizard)
pip install piper-tts

# Download a voice model (~100MB each)
# AuthorClaw will prompt you to pick one on first use

Available Voice Styles

en_US-lessac-medium — Clear American narrator (recommended for fiction)
en_US-libritts-high — High quality, natural cadence
en_GB-alba-medium — British narrator
en_US-amy-medium — Female American voice
Multiple languages available for translated works

Read Modes

Chapter Read

Read an entire chapter from your project:

read chapter 7

Generates audio file saved to workspace/audio/
Plays through system audio
Shows word-by-word highlighting in dashboard (if connected)

Selection Read

Read a specific passage:

read aloud [paste or select text]

Quick listen for a specific section
Great for testing dialogue flow

Dialogue Mode

Reads with distinct pausing for dialogue vs. narration:

Slight pause before and after quoted speech
Different cadence for dialogue vs. description
Helps you hear if your dialogue sounds natural

Revision Mode

Reads slowly with pauses between paragraphs:

Gives you time to note issues
Automatically marks the timestamp when you say "flag" or press a key
Generates a revision note file with flagged locations

Show full SKILL.md (223 more words)Show less

Ear-Edit Workflow

A structured process for audio-based revision:

Listen — Read Aloud plays your chapter
Flag — Mark spots that sound wrong (keyboard shortcut or voice command)
Review — After playback, see all flagged locations with context
Fix — Edit each flagged passage
Re-listen — Hear just the fixed sections to verify

Ear-Edit Report: Chapter 7
───────────────────────────
Duration: 18:42
Flags: 6

Flag 1 — 02:14 (Paragraph 4)
"She walked through the door and walked across the room and sat down."
Issue: Triple action chain, repeated "walked"
Suggestion: Vary the verbs, combine actions

Flag 2 — 05:38 (Paragraph 11)
"The simultaneously spectacular and spectacularly simultaneous..."
Issue: Tongue-twister / consonant cluster
Suggestion: Simplify

[... remaining flags ...]

Audio Export

Generate audio files from your manuscript:

WAV — Uncompressed, highest quality
MP3 — Compressed, smaller files
Chapter-by-chapter — Separate files per chapter
Full manuscript — Single continuous audio file

Useful for:

Sending audio versions to beta readers
Creating audiobook demos
Personal review while commuting/walking
Accessibility for readers with visual impairments

Integration

Voice Profile — Adjusts reading speed and emphasis to match your genre
Ghostwriter Pro — Read AI-generated scenes aloud immediately
Dictation Cleanup — Listen to cleaned-up dictation to verify it sounds right
Book Bible — Consistent pronunciation of character/location names

Performance

Generates ~10 minutes of audio per minute of processing (CPU)
A full chapter (~4,000 words) takes ~30 seconds to generate
Audio quality: Near-professional narration quality
Storage: ~1MB per minute of audio (MP3)

Commands

read aloud — Read selected/pasted text
read chapter [number] — Read a full chapter
read dialogue [chapter] — Read with dialogue emphasis
ear edit [chapter] — Start an ear-edit revision session
export audio [chapter/all] — Generate audio files
set voice [voice-name] — Change the TTS voice
list voices — Show available voice models
read speed [slow/normal/fast] — Adjust reading speed

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud of Ckokoski/AuthorAgent.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 47e9570

Compare with similar skills

Read Aloud next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Read Aloud compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Read Aloud this skillCkokoski/AuthorAgent	124	—	~1.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	3 mo ago
MoneyPrinterTurbo Video Generatorharry0703/MoneyPrinterTurbo	129k	—	~2.1k	Automated safety check: Warn	MIT	today
HyperFrames Media Useheygen-com/hyperframes	60k	—	~2.4k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
Openspec OnboardSAP/e-mobility-charging-stations-simulator	227	25 repos	~3.5k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Blog AudioAgriciDaniel/claude-blog	2.3k	1 repos	~2.2k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	yesterday
Musictadaspetra/loop	296	2 repos	~827	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	8 days ago

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Questions about Read Aloud

What does Read Aloud do?

Text-to-speech read-aloud for manuscripts using free open-source Piper TTS with natural-sounding voices. Read Aloud is an agent skill from Ckokoski/AuthorAgent.

When should I use Read Aloud?

Read Aloud fits situations like: tasks that involve Text to speech and voice.

How do I install Read Aloud in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add Ckokoski/AuthorAgent --skill read-aloud -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud in Ckokoski/AuthorAgent) into .claude/skills/read-aloud in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Read Aloud in Codex?

Run `npx skills add Ckokoski/AuthorAgent --skill read-aloud -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/_archived/premium/read-aloud in Ckokoski/AuthorAgent) into .agents/skills/read-aloud in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Read Aloud in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add Ckokoski/AuthorAgent --skill read-aloud -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/read-aloud, .gemini/skills/read-aloud, .github/skills/read-aloud and .opencode/skills/read-aloud in your project.

What does Read Aloud need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Read Aloud needs the command-line tools its instructions call (pip). Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Read Aloud access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use pip, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Read Aloud safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Read Aloud use?

Read Aloud is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Read Aloud use?

About 1.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.1k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Read Aloud?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Read Aloud: MoneyPrinterTurbo Video Generator (harry0703/MoneyPrinterTurbo, 129k stars), HyperFrames Media Use (heygen-com/hyperframes, 60k stars), Openspec Onboard (SAP/e-mobility-charging-stations-simulator, 227 stars) and Blog Audio (AgriciDaniel/claude-blog, 2.3k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Read Aloud?

Ckokoski (a GitHub user) maintains it in Ckokoski/AuthorAgent, which has 124 GitHub stars. The repository holds 23 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on July 11, 2026.

Source: Ckokoski/AuthorAgent on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Read Aloud

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Read Aloud — Premium Skill

Why Read Aloud?

Engine: Piper TTS

Setup (One-Time)

Available Voice Styles

Read Modes

Chapter Read

Selection Read

Dialogue Mode

Revision Mode

Ear-Edit Workflow

Audio Export

Integration

Performance

Commands

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from Ckokoski/AuthorAgent

Related

Questions about Read Aloud