What mcp-voice-summary does
The mcp-voice-summary MCP server lets an MCP-compatible coding assistant read task summaries aloud after it modifies code, creates files, or runs commands. It is intended as an accessibility layer: instead of reading an entire assistant response, you can hear a concise account of what happened.
The assistant decides how much text to send based on the task. Small changes can produce a short sentence, while multi-step work can receive a fuller summary. Playback is queued and handled asynchronously, so the speech operation returns without making the assistant wait for the audio to finish.
How it works
The server communicates with its MCP client over standard input and output. It exposes speak_summary for spoken notifications and set_language for changing the language or gender during a session. Language selection can use an ISO 639-1 code, a regional variant, or the system language. Gender can be female, male, or the language default.
Two synthesis engines are available. edge generates neural speech through Microsoft's services and requires an internet connection for every utterance. sapi5 uses installed system voices and works offline. On Linux, SAPI5 relies on espeak-ng and audio playback needs a compatible player such as ffplay from FFmpeg or mpg123.
Setup and configuration
Install the package with pip install mcp-voice-summary, then configure the installed mcp-voice-summary command in an MCP client. uvx can launch it without a separate package installation. Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Cline can invoke it through a standard MCP configuration.
Python 3.10 or newer is required, and the server supports Windows, macOS, and Linux. SAPI5 requires the platform-specific extra or dependencies described by the project. Edge needs no additional Python dependency, but it does need network access. No environment block is required: the server uses the operating system language and its defaults when configuration is omitted.
Optional settings control the engine, voice name, language, gender, rate, volume, playback program, queue limits, word limits, timeout, mute mode, redaction, rate limiting, summary age, and full or short notification mode. Restart the MCP client after changing configuration. VOICE_NAME takes precedence over other voice selection settings.
Tools and capabilities
The mcp-voice-summary MCP server provides these documented capabilities:
- Speak a task summary through the selected voice.
- Change language and gender at runtime with
set_language.
- Select offline or neural synthesis engines.
- Queue notifications without blocking the assistant.
- Redact credentials from spoken summaries by default.
- Limit summary size and notification queue growth.
Limitations and notes
Automatic language detection is unreliable for short summaries, even when it reports high confidence. A fixed language is more dependable for brief messages. Gender selection applies only to the Edge engine; SAPI5 does not expose voice gender and cannot honor that choice.
The mcp-voice-summary MCP server is audio-output software rather than a transcription or conversation system. It speaks summaries supplied by the assistant and does not describe a separate code-analysis tool. Linux users may need to install an audio player, and Edge users must accept that utterance audio is generated by Microsoft's servers. The project is licensed under MIT.