Piper

What Piper is

Piper is a free local neural text-to-speech engine that generates WAV audio and supports 44 languages. It embeds espeak-ng for phonemization and offers a command-line interface, web server, Python API and C/C++ API. The project lists API, Linux, self-hosted and web platforms, and provides instructions for training new voices. Installation is listed as `pip install piper-tts`.

The repository identifies GPL-3.0 as its license and lists the plan at no cost. Commercial use is marked No, a key restriction for organizations considering it. The README names Home Assistant, NVDA, Open Voice Operating System, JetsonGPT and LocalAI among projects using Piper, and links Piper JNI as a Java binding. The Open Home Foundation owns and governs Piper among more than 250 open-source projects, standards, drivers and libraries. The foundation describes its principles as privacy, choice and sustainability for smart homes. The README says it is seeking Piper maintainers and gives [email protected] for inquiries.

Who it suits

Piper suits people seeking a local text-to-speech engine with several interfaces and 44 languages. Its listed non-commercial status means it is not suited to commercial use under the stated terms.

Getting started

1. Visit https://github.com/OHF-Voice/piper1-gpl.
2. Install Piper with `pip install piper-tts`.
3. Use its command-line interface, web server, Python API, or C/C++ API.
4. Follow the linked instructions if you want to train new voices.

Verdict

Piper offers multiple ways to integrate local text-to-speech and a broad language list at no listed cost. Its non-commercial-use restriction is important to check before adopting it.