LinuxCommandLibrary

say

Convert text to audible speech

TLDR

Speak text aloud
$ say "[Hello, world]"
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Speak with a specific voice
$ say -v [Alex] "[Hello]"
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List all available voices
$ say -v "?"
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Speak text from a file
$ say -f [input.txt]
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Save speech to an audio file
$ say -o [output.aiff] "[Hello, world]"
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Speak at a specific rate (words per minute)
$ say -r [200] "[Speaking faster now]"
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Speak to a specific audio device
$ say -a "[Built-in Output]" "[Hello]"
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SYNOPSIS

say [-v voice] [-r rate] [-o outfile] [-f infile] [-a device] [text...]

DESCRIPTION

say converts text to audible speech using the macOS Speech Synthesis manager. It speaks text provided as arguments, from a file, or from standard input, either through audio output or saved to a file.
Multiple voices are available with different accents, languages, and personalities. The default voice and speech settings can be configured in System Settings under Accessibility > Spoken Content.
Output can be saved to AIFF, WAVE, m4af, or caff audio formats for later playback or processing.

PARAMETERS

-v voice

Use the specified voice instead of the system default
-r rate
Speech rate in words per minute
-f file
Read text from the specified file
-o file
Save speech to an audio file (AIFF, WAVE, m4af, or caff format)
-a device
Specify audio output device; use '?' to list devices
-n name:port
Send speech to a remote audio server
--interactive
Interactive mode for continuous text input

CAVEATS

Direct MP3 output is not supported; convert AIFF output using a separate tool. Voice availability depends on what is installed in macOS; additional voices can be downloaded from System Settings.

HISTORY

say has been included in macOS since the early days of Mac OS X, building on Apple's text-to-speech technology that dates back to the 1980s with MacinTalk. The command provides terminal access to the same speech synthesis used throughout the operating system.

SEE ALSO

espeak(1), festival(1), afplay(1)

> TERMINAL_GEAR

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