talk-pi

Pi extension for local tools voice capture, Whisper transcription, and Piper TTS playback

Packages

Package details

extension

Install talk-pi from npm and Pi will load the resources declared by the package manifest.

npm repohome report
$ pi install npm:talk-pi
Package
talk-pi
Version
1.0.16
Published
Jun 3, 2026
Downloads
2,264/mo · 82/wk
Author
castelloes
License
MIT
Types
extension
Size
89.4 KB
Dependencies
3 dependencies · 0 peers
Pi manifest JSON
{
  "extensions": [
    "./talk-pi.ts"
  ]
}

Security note

Pi packages can execute code and influence agent behavior. Review the source before installing third-party packages.

README

talk-pi

Talk-Pi is Pi extension for local voice capture, Whisper transcription, and Piper TTS playback.

What it does

  • /talk-pi opens unified voice menu
  • push-to-talk records audio and sends it to Whisper
  • replies are spoken with Piper
  • voice model and output language can be selected between English and Portuguese
  • Voice Language and mute state are saved and restored on the next open
  • downloads show Talk-pi: Downloading 📥

Install

pi install npm:talk-pi

pi install brings Talk-Pi package plus bundled tools. At runtime, Talk-Pi prefers ~/.pi/agent/extensions/talk-pi when ~/.pi exists, otherwise it creates/uses local ./tools, so no PATH setup is needed.

Requirements

  • Node.js 24+
  • ~/.pi/agent/extensions/talk-pi when a user-scoped .pi folder exists, otherwise local ./tools
  • ./tools/piper/piper or ./tools/piper/piper.exe
  • voice capture uses bundled microphone support
  • Piper voice model under ./tools/piper/models/
  • Whisper model under ./tools/whisper/models/

Talk-Pi prefers ~/.pi/agent/extensions/talk-pi when available and falls back to local ./tools for fresh installs.

Setup & Configuration

  1. Copy .env.example to .env.
  2. Run pi install npm:talk-pi to bring bundled tools automatically.
  3. If ~/.pi exists, keep user-scoped tools under ~/.pi/agent/extensions/talk-pi.
  4. If ~/.pi does not exist, Talk-Pi creates and uses local ./tools in the install folder.
  5. Adjust TALK_PI_TOOLS_DIR only if the local tools/ folder lives somewhere else.
Variable Default / Note
TALK_PI_SEND_TRANSCRIPT_KEY F9
TALK_PI_INSERT_TRANSCRIPT_KEY F10
TALK_PI_TOOLS_DIR ./tools (override)
TALK_PI_PIPER_BIN ./tools/piper/piper
TALK_PI_PIPER_MODEL_PATH ./tools/piper/models/pt_BR-faber-medium.onnx
TALK_PI_TTS_OUTPUT_DIR ~/.pi/agent/extensions/talk-pi/tts
TALK_PI_WHISPER_MODEL_PATH ./tools/whisper/models/ggml-base.bin
TALK_PI_WHISPER_MODEL_URL https://huggingface.co/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/resolve/main/ggml-base.bin
TALK_PI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT_MS 60000
TALK_PI_TRANSCRIBE_FIRST_TIMEOUT_MS 600000

Usage

  1. Open /talk-pi.
  2. Choose push-to-talk.
  3. Record speech.
  4. Wait for Whisper transcription.
  5. Listen to Piper reply, or send/insert transcript as needed.

Platform notes

  • Windows, Linux, and macOS use same setup.
  • Unzip Piper into ~/.pi/agent/extensions/talk-pi/piper when using a user-scoped .pi folder, or ./tools/piper for a local install.
  • No separate recorder install needed.
  • Put voice and Whisper models under ~/.pi/agent/extensions/talk-pi/piper/models or ./tools/piper/models, and the Whisper model under the matching whisper/models folder.
  • TALK_PI_TOOLS_DIR is only needed if the tools folder lives elsewhere.

Publish

npm publish --access public