feat(VoiceServer): local TTS support, voice personalities, and automatic ElevenLabs fallback

[salaheldinaz]

Summary

• Fix .env path bug — server loaded ~/.env but PAI stores the key at ~/.config/PAI/.env, causing elevenlabs_api_key_configured to always report false and silently skipping all TTS audio
• Add local TTS engine — uses macOS built-in say command (zero dependencies, no API key) via new playLocalSpeech()
• Automatic ElevenLabs fallback — when ElevenLabs fails for any reason (402 unpaid voice, network error, missing key), server silently retries with local TTS so voice notifications always play
• Voice personality catalogue — curated list of 22 realistic English macOS voices with accent, gender, and personality descriptions grouped into natural and classic categories
• GET /voices/local endpoint — lists voices installed on the system with the active voice marked and instructions for switching
• Improved /health response — now exposes tts_provider, local_voice, local_tts_available; renames api_key_configured → elevenlabs_api_key_configured

Configuration

No breaking changes. Existing installs behave identically. To customise local TTS add to ~/.claude/settings.json:

"voiceServer": {
  "tts_provider": "local",
  "local_voice": "Daniel"
}

tts_provider options: "elevenlabs" (default — ElevenLabs with local fallback) or "local" (always local, no API call).

Browse available voices on your system:

curl http://localhost:8888/voices/local

Test plan

• /health returns local_tts_available: true and correct tts_provider
• GET /voices/local returns catalogue with active voice marked
• ElevenLabs 402 / missing key → local TTS plays, response still 200
• tts_provider: "local" → local TTS used directly, no ElevenLabs call
• tts_provider: "elevenlabs" with valid paid key → ElevenLabs used, unchanged behaviour
• .env loaded correctly from ~/.config/PAI/.env

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[danielmiessler]

Hey @salaheldinaz, thanks for raising this, and sorry it sat for a while.

We're changing how LifeOS ships. Instead of cloning a full ~/.claude directory and running it as a complete system, LifeOS is becoming a skill you install through an agentic installer. The installer hands integration to your own AI, which reads your actual machine (your OS, your paths, your harness) and wires the hooks and system prompt in where they belong.

That's aimed right at what you hit here. The old "one directory, one layout, hope it matches your setup" approach is exactly what broke for so many people, and the new model should handle it far better because your AI does the integration per machine instead of us guessing.

So we're closing this in prep for that release. If it still bites you once the skill-based version is out, reopen or file a fresh one and we'll jump on it. Appreciate you taking the time.