Mac Say MCP - TypeScript Edition

MCP Server for text-to-speech using macOS say command, written in TypeScript and built with esbuild.

Features

• 🎵 Text-to-Speech: Convert text to speech instantly
• 🔊 Audio File Generation: Save TTS as AIFF, WAV, or MP4 files
• 🗣️ Voice Management: List and demo system voices
• ⚙️ System Info: Get TTS capabilities and configuration
• 🚀 TypeScript: Full type safety and modern development experience
• 📦 Fast Build: Lightning-fast builds with esbuild

Quick Start

Installation

Local Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Start the server
npm start

Global Installation

# Install globally from npm (when published)
npm install -g mac-say-mcp

# Or install from local directory
npm install -g .

# Use directly
mac-say-mcp

NPM Package Installation

For MCP clients, you can use the npm package directly with npx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mac-say-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mac-say-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "TTS_DEFAULT_VOICE": "Alex",
        "TTS_DEFAULT_RATE": "200"
      }
    }
  }
}

This approach:

• ✅ Always uses the latest published version
• ✅ No need for local builds or global installation
• ✅ Automatic package installation with -y flag
• ✅ Perfect for CI/CD and shared configurations

Development

# Type checking
npm run typecheck

# Build in watch mode
npm run build:watch

# Development mode (watch + restart)
npm run dev

Available Scripts

• npm run build - Build the TypeScript code with esbuild
• npm run build:watch - Build in watch mode for development
• npm run start - Build and start the MCP server
• npm run dev - Development mode with auto-rebuild
• npm run clean - Clean build artifacts
• npm run typecheck - Run TypeScript type checking
• npm run prod - Production build with minification

MCP Tools

1. tts_speak

Convert text to speech and play immediately:

{
  "name": "tts_speak",
  "arguments": {
    "text": "Hello, world!",
    "voice": "Alex",
    "rate": 200
  }
}

2. tts_save_audio

Save text-to-speech as audio file:

{
  "name": "tts_save_audio", 
  "arguments": {
    "text": "Hello, world!",
    "filename": "greeting",
    "voice": "Samantha",
    "rate": 180,
    "format": "wav"
  }
}

3. tts_list_voices

List available system voices:

{
  "name": "tts_list_voices",
  "arguments": {
    "language": "en"
  }
}

4. tts_voice_demo

Play a demo with specific voice:

{
  "name": "tts_voice_demo",
  "arguments": {
    "voice": "Victoria",
    "text": "This is a voice demonstration"
  }
}

5. tts_system_info

Get system TTS information:

{
  "name": "tts_system_info",
  "arguments": {}
}

Configuration

Set default voice and rate via environment variables:

TTS_DEFAULT_VOICE=Samantha TTS_DEFAULT_RATE=180 npm start

Or via command line:

node dist/index.js --defaultRate 250

MCP Client Setup

Note: Replace /path/to/mac-say-mcp with the actual path to your project directory. Use pwd in the project directory to get the full path.

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mac-say-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mac-say-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "TTS_DEFAULT_VOICE": "Alex",
        "TTS_DEFAULT_RATE": "200"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code MCP Extension

{
  "mcp.servers": [
    {
      "name": "mac-say-mcp",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mac-say-mcp@latest"]
    }
  ]
}

Cursor IDE

Add to your Cursor settings or create a .cursormcp configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mac-say-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mac-say-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "TTS_DEFAULT_VOICE": "Alex",
        "TTS_DEFAULT_RATE": "200"
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, use the built-in MCP server configuration in Cursor:

1. Open Cursor Settings
2. Go to "MCP Servers"
3. Add a new server:
   • Name: mac-say-mcp
   • Command: npx
   • Args: -y mac-say-mcp@latest

Zencoder

For Zencoder AI assistant integration, add to your MCP configuration:

{
  "servers": {
    "mac-say-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mac-say-mcp@latest"],
      "description": "Text-to-speech server using macOS say command",
      "env": {
        "TTS_DEFAULT_VOICE": "Alex",
        "TTS_DEFAULT_RATE": "200"
      }
    }
  }
}

Development Architecture

Project Structure

mac-say-mcp/
├── src/
│   └── index.ts          # TypeScript source code
├── dist/
│   └── index.js          # Compiled JavaScript (generated)
├── audio/                # Generated audio files
├── tsconfig.json         # TypeScript configuration
├── build.js              # esbuild configuration
└── package.json          # Dependencies and scripts

Type Safety

Full TypeScript support with:

• Interface definitions for all MCP tools
• Type guards for runtime parameter validation
• Strict type checking enabled
• Modern ES2022 target

Build Process

• esbuild for fast compilation and bundling
• External dependencies preserved (MCP SDK)
• ES Modules output for Node.js compatibility
• Source maps in development mode
• Minification in production mode

Audio Formats

Format	Extension	Quality	Size
AIFF	.aiff	High	Large
WAV	.wav	High	Large
MP4	.mp4	Good	Small

Voice Parameters

• Rate: 50-500 words per minute
• Voices: System-dependent (174 on typical macOS)
• Languages: Multiple languages supported

Error Handling

• Parameter validation with descriptive errors
• Type-safe error responses
• Graceful handling of missing voices
• File system error recovery

Requirements

• macOS: Required for say command
• Node.js: 18.0.0 or higher
• TypeScript: 5.3.0 or higher
• esbuild: 0.19.0 or higher

Release Management

This project uses automated releases with release-it and conventional changelog generation.

Creating Releases

# Patch release (1.0.0 → 1.0.1) - for bug fixes
npm run release:patch

# Minor release (1.0.0 → 1.1.0) - for new features  
npm run release:minor

# Major release (1.0.0 → 2.0.0) - for breaking changes
npm run release:major

# Test release without publishing
npm run release:dry

# Local testing (no publish/push)
npm run release:local:dry

Changelog Generation

The project automatically generates:

• CHANGELOG.md from conventional commit messages
• GitHub Release Notes from the latest changelog entries

# Generate changelog for latest version only
npm run changelog

# Update entire CHANGELOG.md file
npm run changelog:all

Commit Message Format

Use conventional commits for automatic changelog generation:

# Features
git commit -m "feat: add new voice filtering option"

# Bug fixes  
git commit -m "fix: resolve audio file generation error"

# Documentation
git commit -m "docs: update installation instructions"

# Breaking changes
git commit -m "feat!: change TTS API interface"

Release Process

1. Make changes with conventional commit messages
2. Run tests and type checking: npm run typecheck
3. Create release: npm run release:patch (or minor/major)
4. Automatic steps:
   • Version bump in package.json
   • CHANGELOG.md update
   • Git commit and tag
   • GitHub release with changelog
   • npm package publication

Contributing

1. Make changes in src/index.ts
2. Use conventional commit messages
3. Run npm run typecheck to verify types
4. Test with npm run build && npm start
5. Update documentation as needed

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Troubleshooting

Build Issues

# Clear build cache
npm run clean
npm run build

Type Errors

# Check TypeScript errors
npm run typecheck

Runtime Issues

# Test say command directly
say -v Alex "Hello world"
say -v "?" # List voices

Audio File Issues

# Check audio directory permissions
ls -la audio/

This TypeScript version provides better development experience with type safety, modern tooling, and fast builds while maintaining full compatibility with the original MCP server functionality.