Blog Audio: Gemini TTS Narration for Blog Posts

Generate professional audio narration of blog content using Google's Gemini TTS. Three modes: summary (200-300 word spoken overview), full article read-aloud, or two-speaker podcast dialogue. 30 voices, 80+ languages, HTML5 embed output.

Quick Reference

Command	What it does
/blog audio generate <file>	Generate audio narration of a blog post
/blog audio voices	Show available voices with characteristics
/blog audio setup	Check/configure API key for Gemini TTS

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+ (venv managed automatically by run.py)
• GOOGLE_AI_API_KEY environment variable (same key used by blog-image)
• FFmpeg (for WAV-to-MP3 conversion; falls back to WAV if missing)

Always Use run.py Wrapper

# CORRECT:
python3 scripts/run.py generate_audio.py --text "..." --voice Charon --json

# WRONG:
python3 scripts/generate_audio.py --text "..."  # Fails without venv

API Key Check (Gate Pattern)

Before generating audio, check for the API key:

test -n "${GOOGLE_AI_API_KEY:-}" && echo "GOOGLE_AI_API_KEY is set" || echo "GOOGLE_AI_API_KEY is not set"

• If set: proceed with generation
• If not set: guide the user: "Audio generation requires a Google AI API key. Get one free at https://aistudio.google.com/apikey Then set it: export GOOGLE_AI_API_KEY=your-key This can be the same key used by /blog image, but it must be exported in the shell."
• When called internally (from blog-write): return silently if key is missing. Never block the writing workflow.

Setup

For /blog audio setup:

1. Check if GOOGLE_AI_API_KEY is set in environment
2. If blog-image uses project .mcp.json, confirm the referenced env var is exported
3. If not, guide user to https://aistudio.google.com/apikey
4. Verify with a dry run: python3 scripts/run.py generate_audio.py --text "Test" --dry-run --json

Voice Selection