Eleven Labs Text-to-Speech

Generate high-quality audio from text using the Eleven Labs API. Ideal for podcast-style summaries, narration, and voice-overs.

Quick Start

# Generate audio with default voice (Rachel)
uv run scripts/generate_audio.py --text "Hello, this is a test."

# Generate from a text file
uv run scripts/generate_audio.py --file report.txt --output ~/Desktop/report.mp3

# Use a specific voice
uv run scripts/generate_audio.py --text "Breaking news..." --voice Josh

# List available voices
uv run scripts/list_voices.py

Scripts

generate_audio.py

Main script for TTS generation.

Arguments:

Argument	Description	Default
--text	Text content to convert	-
--file	Path to text file	-
--voice	Voice name or ID	Rachel
--model	Model ID	eleven_multilingual_v2
--output	Output file path	~/Desktop/audio_TIMESTAMP.mp3

Features:

• Auto-chunks text >10k characters at sentence boundaries
• Concatenates chunks into single MP3
• Returns JSON with metadata (file path, voice, model, char count, chunks)

list_voices.py

Fetch and display available voices.

Arguments:

Argument	Description	Default
--all	Show all voices (not just premade)	false
--json	Output as JSON	false

Curated Voices

Six voices selected for variety (see references/voices.md for details):

Voice	Style	Best For
Rachel	Calm, clear	Narration, podcasts (default)
Bella	Soft, gentle	Storytelling, meditation
Elli	Young, expressive	Casual content, tutorials
Josh	Deep, authoritative	News, professional content
Adam	Middle-aged, clear	Business, documentaries
Antoni	Warm, versatile	General purpose

Use list_voices.py to discover additional voices.

Models

Model	ID	Best For	Char Limit
Multilingual v2	eleven_multilingual_v2	Long-form (default)	10,000
Flash v2.5	eleven_flash_v2_5	Quick, real-time	40,000
Turbo v2.5	eleven_turbo_v2_5	Balanced	40,000
Eleven v3	eleven_v3	Maximum expression	3,000

Environment Setup

Requires ELEVENLABS_API_KEY in:

~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Geoffrey/secrets/.env

Examples

Daily Summary Podcast

# Generate individual segments
uv run scripts/generate_audio.py --file weather.txt --voice Rachel --output ~/Desktop/weather.mp3
uv run scripts/generate_audio.py --file news.txt --voice Josh --output ~/Desktop/news.mp3
uv run scripts/generate_audio.py --file calendar.txt --voice Bella --output ~/Desktop/calendar.mp3

Long Report

# Auto-chunks long text, concatenates into single file
uv run scripts/generate_audio.py --file quarterly_report.txt --model eleven_turbo_v2_5 --output report.mp3

Quick Test

uv run scripts/generate_audio.py --text "Testing one two three" --voice Adam

Output

Default: ~/Desktop/audio_YYYY-MM-DD_HHMMSS.mp3

Script returns JSON:

{
  "success": true,
  "file": "/Users/user/Desktop/audio_2026-01-23_143022.mp3",
  "voice": "Rachel",
  "model": "eleven_multilingual_v2",
  "characters": 1234,
  "chunks": 1
}

Limitations

• Character limits vary by model (see table above)
• One voice per generation (multi-voice requires separate files)
• Output format: MP3 only