SpeakToMe MCP

SpeakToMe MCP is a local Python MCP server for Linux. It records from a microphone on the same machine, transcribes rolling audio windows with a local faster-whisper small model, and can also speak local text through espeak-ng, all over stdio.

Scope

• Linux only for v1
• stdio transport only
• local microphone capture through sounddevice
• local transcription through faster-whisper
• rolling duration based listening started by start_listening(duration_seconds=...)
• transcript returned by poll_transcription(session_id) when the session is stopped
• one active in-memory session at a time
• local text to speech through espeak-ng

Prerequisites

You need:

• Linux
• Python 3.11 or newer
• a working microphone input device
• system audio libraries required by sounddevice, usually PortAudio plus ALSA or PipeWire user-space packages on Linux
• espeak-ng installed if you want to use speak_text

If you want the uv workflow, install uv. If sounddevice cannot open devices, install the PortAudio runtime or development package used by your distro, then confirm your normal desktop audio stack is working. If speak_text fails, confirm espeak-ng is installed and available on PATH for the same Linux user session that starts the MCP host.

Install

Install from PyPI

pip install speaktome-mcp

Install from GitHub

pip install git+https://github.com/alma3lol/SpeakToMeMCP.git

Install from local source or an unpacked source archive

Download the repository source, or unpack a release source archive, then run:

pip install .

Install a development environment with uv

uv sync --locked --all-extras --dev

Run and verify the CLI

Installed console script:

speaktome-mcp --help

Start the server with the installed console script:

speaktome-mcp

Module entrypoint fallback:

python -m speaktome_mcp --help

The server only supports stdio. Running speaktome-mcp without extra flags starts the stdio MCP server.

MCP host configuration

This server is meant to be launched by an MCP host that can start a stdio process.

Example using the installed console script

{
  "command": "speaktome-mcp",
  "args": []
}

Example using a local uv-managed checkout

{
  "command": "uv",
  "args": ["run", "speaktome-mcp"]
}

Example using the module entrypoint

{
  "command": "python",
  "args": ["-m", "speaktome_mcp"]
}

The host owns process startup and shutdown. SpeakToMe MCP does not expose a separate network service. It stays in a local stdio process and returns completed tool responses to the host.

How to use in agents

If you are wiring this server into an agentic MCP host, keep the configuration simple and launch one local stdio process.

Installed package configuration

{
  "command": "speaktome-mcp",
  "args": []
}

Local checkout configuration

{
  "command": "uv",
  "args": ["run", "speaktome-mcp"]
}

Recommended agent tool flow

1. Call list_microphone_devices if the agent needs to inspect or choose a microphone.
2. Call start_listening(duration_seconds=...) with a duration between 1 and 30 seconds to start rolling local capture.
3. Wait for the user to finish speaking, then call poll_transcription(session_id) to stop the active session and return the latest completed transcript window.
4. If the agent wants local spoken feedback, call speak_text(text) after transcription or as a separate step.
5. Treat stop_listening(session_id) as a deprecated compatibility alias for poll_transcription(session_id), not the preferred path for new agent flows.

Guardrails for agent hosts

• Only one active session is allowed at a time. Do not call start_listening(duration_seconds=...) again until the current session has been stopped with poll_transcription(session_id) or the deprecated stop_listening(session_id) alias.
• duration_seconds must be an integer from 1 through 30.
• poll_transcription(session_id) can return a successful pending result if no rolling window completed before the session was stopped. In that case, data.status is "pending" and data.transcript is empty.
• This server is Linux only and depends on local resources: a microphone, the local faster-whisper small model, and espeak-ng if the agent uses speak_text(text).
• Audio capture, transcription, and speech are local to the machine running the MCP host. This project does not use cloud speech-to-text or cloud text-to-speech APIs.

Startup behavior and first run expectations

The server eagerly loads the transcription backend during startup instead of waiting for the first tool call.

What that means in practice:

• startup can take longer than a minimal scaffold because the local Whisper model is prepared before the server reports ready
• first run may take noticeably longer if the small model is not already cached locally
• first-run model preparation or download may require network access to obtain model assets
• model load failures happen at startup, not halfway through a recording session

The runtime transcription backend is the local faster-whisper small model.

Recording lifecycle

The server enforces one active session at a time and keeps only the latest completed rolling window:

idle -> recording -> idle

Important behavior:

• start_listening(duration_seconds=N) only works while the server is idle
• the server immediately starts rolling N second capture windows in the background
• only the latest completed window is retained, older completed windows are replaced
• poll_transcription(session_id) stops the rolling session and returns the latest completed transcript, or a pending result if no window completed yet
• stop_listening(session_id) is a deprecated compatibility alias for poll_transcription(session_id)
• audio is buffered in memory only for the active session

Tool contract

The MCP surface exposes exactly six tools:

1. list_microphone_devices
2. start_listening
3. poll_transcription
4. stop_listening
5. speak_text
6. get_server_status

All tools return a structured envelope.

Success shape:

{
  "ok": true,
  "tool": "tool_name",
  "data": {}
}

Error shape:

{
  "ok": false,
  "tool": "tool_name",
  "error": {
    "code": "error_code",
    "message": "human readable message",
    "details": {}
  }
}

Known error codes used by the contract:

• invalid_argument
• invalid_state
• no_active_session
• session_mismatch
• runtime_failure

list_microphone_devices

Arguments: none

Success data:

{
  "devices": [
    {
      "id": 0,
      "name": "Built-in Microphone",
      "max_input_channels": 1,
      "default_sample_rate": 48000,
      "is_default": true
    }
  ]
}

Notes:

• only input-capable devices are listed
• id is the value to pass back into start_listening(device_id=...)
• is_default reflects the current default input device if one is available

start_listening

Arguments:

• duration_seconds: int, required, 1 through 30
• device_id: int | null = null
• sample_rate: int | null = null

Behavior:

• if device_id is omitted, the server tries the default input device, then falls back to the first available input device
• if sample_rate is omitted, the selected device's default sample rate is used
• starts one active in-memory rolling session and returns a generated session_id immediately

Success data:

{
  "session_id": "2ac2d8b7-7d88-4c1c-a6ab-2f2a4ecf97e6",
  "device_id": 0,
  "sample_rate": 48000,
  "state": "recording",
  "mode": "rolling",
  "duration_seconds": 5
}

Common contract failures:

• invalid_argument if duration_seconds is missing, not an integer, less than 1, greater than 30, device_id is negative, or sample_rate is not a positive integer
• invalid_state if a session is already recording
• runtime_failure for device open failures and other runtime backend errors

poll_transcription

Arguments:

• session_id: str

Behavior:

• validates that the requested session matches the active recording session
• stops future rolling capture immediately
• discards any in-progress window
• returns the latest completed transcript if one exists
• returns status: "pending" with an empty transcript if no capture window completed yet

Success data:

{
  "session_id": "2ac2d8b7-7d88-4c1c-a6ab-2f2a4ecf97e6",
  "status": "ready",
  "transcript": "hello from whisper",
  "state": "idle",
  "duration_seconds": 5,
  "completed_windows": 2,
  "transcript_updated_at": "2026-07-01T12:00:00Z"
}

Pending success data:

{
  "session_id": "2ac2d8b7-7d88-4c1c-a6ab-2f2a4ecf97e6",
  "status": "pending",
  "transcript": "",
  "state": "idle",
  "duration_seconds": 5,
  "completed_windows": 0,
  "transcript_updated_at": null
}

Common contract failures:

• invalid_argument if session_id is empty
• no_active_session if nothing is currently recording
• session_mismatch if the provided session id does not match the active one
• invalid_state if the server is not currently in the recording state
• runtime_failure if stopping or rolling transcription cleanup fails

stop_listening

Arguments:

• session_id: str

Behavior:

• deprecated compatibility alias for poll_transcription(session_id)
• stops the same rolling session through the same code path
• returns the same core payload plus deprecation metadata

Success data:

{
  "session_id": "2ac2d8b7-7d88-4c1c-a6ab-2f2a4ecf97e6",
  "status": "ready",
  "transcript": "hello from whisper",
  "state": "idle",
  "duration_seconds": 5,
  "completed_windows": 2,
  "transcript_updated_at": "2026-07-01T12:00:00Z",
  "deprecated": true,
  "replacement": "poll_transcription"
}

speak_text

Arguments:

• text: str, required, non-empty after trimming, maximum 1000 characters

Behavior:

• speaks text locally on Linux through espeak-ng
• uses no cloud text to speech backend

Success data:

{
  "spoken": true,
  "backend": "espeak-ng",
  "characters": 11
}

Common contract failures:

• invalid_argument if text is empty after trimming or longer than 1000 characters
• runtime_failure if espeak-ng is missing or the local command fails

get_server_status

Arguments: none

Success data:

{
  "state": "idle",
  "active_session_id": null
}

state is one of idle or recording for the rolling public flow.

Practical usage flow

1. Call list_microphone_devices to inspect available inputs.
2. Call start_listening(duration_seconds=5) with an optional device_id and optional sample_rate.
3. Let the user speak while the server keeps capturing rolling 5 second windows.
4. Call poll_transcription(session_id) when you want to stop and collect the latest completed window.
5. If data.status is pending, no full window completed before stop.
6. If you need backward compatibility, stop_listening(session_id) returns the same core result with deprecation metadata.
7. Call speak_text(text) to play local speech through espeak-ng.

Development

Create a local development environment:

uv sync --locked --all-extras --dev

Run the project from the checkout:

uv run speaktome-mcp

Check the module entrypoint from the checkout:

uv run python -m speaktome_mcp --help

Testing

Run the test suite with:

uv run pytest -q

Privacy and data handling

• microphone audio is captured locally on the Linux machine running the server
• transcription is performed locally with faster-whisper
• text to speech is performed locally with espeak-ng
• the project does not use a cloud transcription API
• the project does not use a cloud text to speech API
• audio for the active session is buffered in memory only while that session is running
• only the latest completed transcript window is retained in memory while a rolling session is active
• the current implementation does not intentionally persist active-session audio or transcripts to disk
• first-run model preparation or download may contact model distribution infrastructure so the required model assets can be cached locally

You should still treat the machine, the MCP host, and any host-side logs as part of your privacy boundary. A host application may log tool calls or transcript results even though this server itself keeps only in-memory active-session buffers.

Troubleshooting

No microphone device available

Symptoms:

• list_microphone_devices returns an empty devices list
• start_listening fails because no usable input device is available

What to check:

• confirm the microphone is connected and recognized by Linux
• confirm the device is exposed to the same user session that launches the MCP host
• confirm your Linux audio stack is installed and running

PortAudio or audio backend problems

Symptoms:

• device listing fails
• recording start fails with a runtime_failure
• the underlying error mentions PortAudio, ALSA, PipeWire, or device open failures

What to check:

• install the PortAudio packages used by your distro
• confirm ALSA or PipeWire is available in the same user session that launches the MCP host
• if the MCP host runs inside a container, VM, or sandbox, confirm the microphone device is actually passed through

Microphone permission denied

Symptoms:

• device listing or recording start fails with a runtime_failure
• the underlying reason mentions permission denial

What to check:

• allow microphone access in your desktop or sandbox environment if one is in use
• retry from the same Linux user session that can normally access the microphone

Model startup or load failure

Symptoms:

• the server process exits during startup instead of staying available to the host
• startup errors mention the faster-whisper model failing to load

What to check:

• run your install command again to confirm the Python environment is complete
• make sure the machine can complete the first-run model preparation step
• if the model is not already cached, confirm temporary network access is available so model assets can be fetched
• retry after confirming the local Python environment can import faster_whisper

Because the model is loaded eagerly, these failures happen before the first recording starts.

espeak-ng missing or speech playback fails

Symptoms:

• speak_text fails with runtime_failure
• the underlying reason mentions espeak-ng not being found or exiting with an error

What to check:

• install espeak-ng with your distro package manager
• confirm espeak-ng is on PATH for the same Linux user session that launches the MCP host
• try espeak-ng --version in that same environment to confirm the binary is available

Release and download options

You can use this project in several public distribution forms:

• install the published package with pip install speaktome-mcp
• install directly from GitHub with pip install git+https://github.com/alma3lol/SpeakToMeMCP.git
• download the repository source or a GitHub release source archive, unpack it, then run pip install .

If you want to inspect a tagged release before installing, check the GitHub Releases page for source archives and packaged artifacts.