Jarvis Voice

⚠️ CRITICAL: Do NOT use the tts tool

The built-in tts tool uses Edge TTS (cloud, wrong voice, no effects). Always use the jarvis shell command instead.

How to Speak

Every response that warrants voice output must include BOTH:

1. Audio execution FIRST — run the jarvis command in background BEFORE writing the reply:

   exec(command='jarvis "Your spoken text here."', background=true)
   

   This fires immediately — the user hears the voice BEFORE the text appears on screen.

2. Visible transcript — bold Jarvis: prefix followed by the spoken text:

   **Jarvis:** *Your spoken text here.*
   

   The webchat UI has custom CSS + JS that automatically detects **Jarvis:** and renders the following text in purple italic (.jarvis-voice class, color #9b59b6). You just write the markdown — the styling is automatic.

This is called hybrid output: the user hears the voice first, then sees the transcript.

Note: The server-side triggerJarvisAutoTts hook is DISABLED (no-op). It fired too late (after text render). Voice comes exclusively from the exec call.

Command Reference

jarvis "Hello, this is a test"

• Backend: sherpa-onnx offline TTS (Alan voice, British English, en_GB-alan-medium)
• Speed: 2x (--vits-length-scale=0.5)
• Effects chain (ffmpeg):
  • Pitch up 5% — tighter AI feel
  • Flanger — metallic sheen
  • 15ms echo — robotic ring
  • Highpass 200Hz + treble boost +6dB — crisp HUD clarity
• Output: Plays via aplay to default audio device, then cleans up temp files
• Language: English ONLY. The Alan model cannot handle other languages.

Rules

1. Always background: true — never block the response waiting for audio playback.
2. Always include the text transcript — the purple Jarvis: line IS the user's visual confirmation.
3. Keep spoken text ≤ 1500 characters to avoid truncation.
4. One jarvis call per response — don't stack multiple calls.
5. English only — for non-English content, translate or summarize in English for voice.

When to Speak

• Session greetings and farewells
• Delivering results or summaries
• Responding to direct conversation
• Any time the user's last message included voice/audio

When NOT to Speak

• Pure tool/file operations with no conversational element
• HEARTBEAT_OK responses
• NO_REPLY responses

Webchat Purple Styling

The OpenClaw webchat has built-in support for Jarvis voice transcripts:

• ui/src/styles/chat/text.css — .jarvis-voice class renders purple italic (#9b59b6 dark, #8e44ad light theme)
• ui/src/ui/markdown.ts — Post-render hook auto-wraps text after <strong>Jarvis:</strong> in a <span class="jarvis-voice"> element

This means you just write **Jarvis:** *text* in markdown and the webchat handles the purple rendering. No extra markup needed.

For non-webchat surfaces (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.), the bold/italic markdown renders natively — no purple, but still visually distinct.

Installation (for new setups)

Requires:

• sherpa-onnx runtime at ~/.openclaw/tools/sherpa-onnx-tts/
• Alan medium model at ~/.openclaw/tools/sherpa-onnx-tts/models/vits-piper-en_GB-alan-medium/
• ffmpeg installed system-wide
• aplay (ALSA) for audio playback
• The jarvis script at ~/.local/bin/jarvis (or in PATH)

The jarvis script

#!/bin/bash
# Jarvis TTS - authentic JARVIS-style voice
# Usage: jarvis "Hello, this is a test"

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$HOME/.openclaw/tools/sherpa-onnx-tts/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

RAW_WAV="/tmp/jarvis_raw.wav"
FINAL_WAV="/tmp/jarvis_final.wav"

# Generate speech
$HOME/.openclaw/tools/sherpa-onnx-tts/bin/sherpa-onnx-offline-tts \
  --vits-model=$HOME/.openclaw/tools/sherpa-onnx-tts/models/vits-piper-en_GB-alan-medium/en_GB-alan-medium.onnx \
  --vits-tokens=$HOME/.openclaw/tools/sherpa-onnx-tts/models/vits-piper-en_GB-alan-medium/tokens.txt \
  --vits-data-dir=$HOME/.openclaw/tools/sherpa-onnx-tts/models/vits-piper-en_GB-alan-medium/espeak-ng-data \
  --vits-length-scale=0.5 \
  --output-filename="$RAW_WAV" \
  "$@" >/dev/null 2>&1

# Apply JARVIS metallic processing
if [ -f "$RAW_WAV" ]; then
  ffmpeg -y -i "$RAW_WAV" \
    -af "asetrate=22050*1.05,aresample=22050,\
flanger=delay=0:depth=2:regen=50:width=71:speed=0.5,\
aecho=0.8:0.88:15:0.5,\
highpass=f=200,\
treble=g=6" \
    "$FINAL_WAV" -v error

  if [ -f "$FINAL_WAV" ]; then
    aplay -D plughw:0,0 -q "$FINAL_WAV"
    rm "$RAW_WAV" "$FINAL_WAV"
  fi
fi

WhatsApp Voice Notes

For WhatsApp, output must be OGG/Opus format instead of speaker playback:

sherpa-onnx-offline-tts --vits-length-scale=0.5 --output-filename=raw.wav "text"
ffmpeg -i raw.wav \
  -af "asetrate=22050*1.05,aresample=22050,flanger=delay=0:depth=2:regen=50:width=71:speed=0.5,aecho=0.8:0.88:15:0.5,highpass=f=200,treble=g=6" \
  -c:a libopus -b:a 64k output.ogg

The Full JARVIS Experience

jarvis-voice gives your agent a voice. Pair it with ai-humor-ultimate and you give it a soul — dry wit, contextual humor, the kind of understated sarcasm that makes you smirk at your own terminal.

This pairing is part of a 12-skill cognitive architecture we've been building — voice, humor, memory, reasoning, and more. Research papers included, because we're that kind of obsessive.

👉 Explore the full project: github.com/globalcaos/tinkerclaw

Clone it. Fork it. Break it. Make it yours.

Setup: Workspace Files

For voice to work consistently across new sessions, copy the templates to your workspace root:

cp {baseDir}/templates/VOICE.md ~/.openclaw/workspace/VOICE.md
cp {baseDir}/templates/SESSION.md ~/.openclaw/workspace/SESSION.md
cp {baseDir}/templates/HUMOR.md ~/.openclaw/workspace/HUMOR.md

• VOICE.md — injected every session, enforces voice output rules (like SOUL.md)
• SESSION.md — session bootstrap that includes voice greeting requirements
• HUMOR.md — humor configuration at maximum frequency with four pattern types (dry wit, self-aware AI, alien observer, literal idiom)

Both files are auto-loaded by OpenClaw's workspace injection. The agent will speak from the very first reply of every session.

Included Files