Files

Hermes b0ac1aec74 initial: Piper TTS default plugin

Runtime monkey-patch that changes tools.tts_tool.DEFAULT_PROVIDER from
'edge' to 'piper' at plugin load time. Zero fork needed.

- plugin.yaml with requires_pip: piper-tts
- __init__.py with _apply_piper_patch() + on_session_start hook
- README with installation and safety notes

2026-05-24 19:24:57 -04:00

1.6 KiB

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Hermes Piper Plugin

Makes Piper TTS the default provider instead of Microsoft Edge TTS.

Zero modifications to the Hermes repo. No fork required. The plugin monkey-patches tools.tts_tool.DEFAULT_PROVIDER at plugin load time.

Why

Piper is local, free, CPU-only — no API key, no cloud dependency
Edge TTS requires internet access and ffmpeg for Telegram voice bubbles
This eliminates the need to maintain a fork just to change the default

How it works

# At plugin load time, this single line runs:
tools.tts_tool.DEFAULT_PROVIDER = "piper"

That's it. DEFAULT_PROVIDER is read at call time, so changing it after import is safe. The plugin also logs the effective default at session start.

Installation

# 1. Ensure piper-tts is installed
pip install piper-tts

# 2. Install the plugin from Gitea
hermes plugins install ssh://git@code.lazyworkhorse.net:2222/Hermes/hermes-piper-plugin.git

# 3. Restart gateways to load the plugin

Config

The plugin changes the default provider. You can still override per session by setting tts.provider in ~/.hermes/config.yaml:

tts:
  provider: elevenlabs      # override per-session
  voice: "Adam"             # ElevenLabs voice

Requires

piper-tts Python package (installed via pip)
Piper voice models (downloaded automatically on first use, ~50MB each)

Safety

If piper-tts is not installed, the TTS tool returns an error asking the user to install it — no silent fallback to Edge
Removing the plugin restores the original Hermes default (Edge)
No data loss risk. No changes to any file in the Hermes repo.

1.6 KiB Raw Blame History