Blabber (OpenAI TTS) MCP server

Blabber-MCP is a server that gives large language models a voice by connecting them to OpenAI's Text-to-Speech API. It allows your AI applications to convert text into natural-sounding speech with various voice options, making your AI interactions more engaging and accessible.

Installation and Configuration

To use Blabber-MCP, you need to add its configuration to your Model Context Protocol (MCP) client's settings file. Follow these steps:

1. Obtain an API key from OpenAI
2. Add the following configuration to the mcpServers object in your MCP settings file (e.g., mcp_settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "blabber-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/full/path/to/blabber-mcp/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY",
        "AUDIO_PLAYER_COMMAND": "xdg-open",
        "DEFAULT_TTS_VOICE": "nova"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "alwaysAllow": []
    }
  }
}

Important Configuration Notes:

• Replace "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY" with your actual OpenAI API key
• Use the full, absolute path to the built index.js file in the args parameter
• The AUDIO_PLAYER_COMMAND is optional and specifies the command to play audio (options include cvlc, vlc, mpv, ffplay, afplay, or xdg-open). It defaults to cvlc
• The DEFAULT_TTS_VOICE is optional and sets your preferred default voice. Options are alloy, echo, fable, onyx, nova, and shimmer. It defaults to nova

Using Blabber-MCP

Once configured, you can use the text_to_speech tool through your MCP client.

Available Parameters:

• input (string, required): The text you want converted to speech
• voice (string, optional): Voice type (alloy, echo, fable, onyx, nova, shimmer)
• model (string, optional): Model quality (tts-1 or tts-1-hd)
• response_format (string, optional): Audio format (mp3, opus, aac, flac)
• play (boolean, optional): Set to true to automatically play the audio after saving

Example Usage:

To use the tool, send a request like this from your MCP client:

<use_mcp_tool>
  <server_name>blabber-mcp</server_name>
  <tool_name>text_to_speech</tool_name>
  <arguments>
  {
    "input": "Hello from Blabber MCP!",
    "voice": "shimmer",
    "play": true
  }
  </arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

Response:

The server saves the audio file to the output/ directory within the Blabber-MCP project folder and returns a JSON response:

{
  "message": "Audio saved successfully. Playback initiated using command: cvlc",
  "filePath": "path/to/speech_1743908694848.mp3", 
  "format": "mp3",
  "voiceUsed": "shimmer"
}

Features Summary

Blabber-MCP offers several customization options:

• Multiple Voices: Choose from OpenAI's voice options (alloy, echo, fable, onyx, nova, shimmer)
• Quality Options: Standard (tts-1) or high-definition (tts-1-hd) models
• Format Selection: Output audio in mp3, opus, aac, or flac format
• Automatic Playback: Optionally play generated audio immediately
• Configurable Defaults: Set your preferred voice and player via configuration

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "blabber-mcp" '{"command":"node","args":["/full/path/to/blabber-mcp/build/index.js"],"env":{"OPENAI_API_KEY":"YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY","AUDIO_PLAYER_COMMAND":"xdg-open","DEFAULT_TTS_VOICE":"nova"},"disabled":false,"alwaysAllow":[]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "blabber-mcp": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/full/path/to/blabber-mcp/build/index.js"
            ],
            "env": {
                "OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY",
                "AUDIO_PLAYER_COMMAND": "xdg-open",
                "DEFAULT_TTS_VOICE": "nova"
            },
            "disabled": false,
            "alwaysAllow": []
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "blabber-mcp": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/full/path/to/blabber-mcp/build/index.js"
            ],
            "env": {
                "OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY",
                "AUDIO_PLAYER_COMMAND": "xdg-open",
                "DEFAULT_TTS_VOICE": "nova"
            },
            "disabled": false,
            "alwaysAllow": []
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect