TTS providers

Select a provider with --provider in flag mode or tts.provider in a prompt. The accepted IDs are openai, azure, google, amazon, and edge. OpenAI is the default.

Credentials belong in environment variables or global configuration, not prompt YAML. In flag mode, credential flags take precedence over environment variables, which take precedence over ~/.config/anki-llm/config.json.

Settings at a glance

Provider	Voice example	Region	`model` meaning	`speed`
OpenAI	`alloy`	Unsupported	TTS model, default `gpt-4o-mini-tts`	Provider speed
Azure	`ja-JP-MasaruMultilingualNeural`	Required	Unsupported	Unsupported
Google	`ja-JP-Neural2-B`	Unsupported	Unsupported	`audioConfig.speakingRate`
Amazon	`Takumi`	Required	Polly engine	Unsupported
Edge	`ja-JP-NanamiNeural`	Unsupported	Unsupported	SSML prosody rate

All providers support format: mp3. The current implementation writes MP3 audio. Furigana routing differs by provider: Azure uses SSML <sub>, while the other providers replace annotated kanji with plain kana.

OpenAI

OpenAI resolves credentials in this order:

--api-key
ANKI_LLM_API_KEY
OPENAI_API_KEY

A custom --api-base-url, ANKI_LLM_API_BASE_URL, or global api_base_url can point OpenAI TTS requests at a compatible endpoint. A custom endpoint can run without a key if the server permits it.

Persist defaults:

anki-llm config set tts_provider openai
anki-llm config set tts_voice alloy
anki-llm config set tts_model gpt-4o-mini-tts
anki-llm config set tts_format mp3

---
deck: English
note_type: Basic
field_map:
  front: Front
  back: Back
tts:
  target: Audio
  source:
    field: front
  provider: openai
  voice: alloy
  model: gpt-4o-mini-tts
  format: mp3
  speed: 1.0
---

Common voice IDs include alloy, ash, ballad, coral, echo, fable, nova, onyx, sage, and shimmer. Consult the OpenAI TTS guide for the provider’s current catalog.

Azure Neural TTS

Azure needs a Speech subscription key and region.

Source	Key	Region
CLI	`--api-key`	`--azure-region`
Environment	`AZURE_TTS_KEY`	`AZURE_TTS_REGION`
Global config	`azure_tts_key`	`azure_tts_region`

export AZURE_TTS_KEY="your-subscription-key"
export AZURE_TTS_REGION="eastus"

anki-llm tts Japanese \
  --field Audio \
  --text-field Reading \
  --provider azure \
  --voice ja-JP-MasaruMultilingualNeural \
  --azure-region eastus

---
deck: Japanese::Vocab
note_type: VocabCard
field_map:
  reading: Reading
tts:
  target: Audio
  source:
    field: reading
  provider: azure
  voice: ja-JP-MasaruMultilingualNeural
  region: eastus
  format: mp3
---

Azure voices use <locale>-<Voice>Neural names. region is required. model and speed are rejected in prompt YAML and ignored as provider settings. Browse the Azure language and voice list.

Google Cloud Text-to-Speech

Enable Text-to-Speech in a Google Cloud project and create an API key. Credentials resolve from --api-key, then GOOGLE_TTS_KEY, then the global google_tts_key setting.

export GOOGLE_TTS_KEY="your-google-cloud-key"

---
deck: Japanese::Vocab
note_type: VocabCard
field_map:
  reading: Reading
tts:
  target: Audio
  source:
    field: reading
  provider: google
  voice: ja-JP-Neural2-B
  format: mp3
  speed: 1.0
---

Supply the complete voice name, such as ja-JP-Neural2-B, en-US-Wavenet-D, or cmn-CN-Wavenet-A. anki-llm derives languageCode from the first two segments. region and model are unsupported. speed is sent as audioConfig.speakingRate. See the Google voice list.

Amazon Polly

Polly uses AWS credentials and a region.

Source	Access key	Secret	Region	Session token
CLI	`--aws-access-key-id`	`--aws-secret-access-key`	`--aws-region`	Environment only
Environment	`AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID`	`AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`	`AWS_REGION`, then `AWS_DEFAULT_REGION`	`AWS_SESSION_TOKEN`
Global config	`aws_tts_access_key_id`	`aws_tts_secret_access_key`	`aws_tts_region`	Unsupported

export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="your-access-key-id"
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="your-secret-access-key"
export AWS_REGION="us-east-1"

---
deck: Japanese::Vocab
note_type: VocabCard
field_map:
  reading: Reading
tts:
  target: Audio
  source:
    field: reading
  provider: amazon
  voice: Takumi
  region: us-east-1
  model: neural
  format: mp3
---

voice is a Polly VoiceId, such as Joanna, Matthew, Takumi, or Mizuki. model selects the Polly engine and accepts exactly standard, neural, generative, or long-form. region is required and speed is unsupported. A voice and region must support the selected engine. See the Polly voice list.

Microsoft Edge TTS

Edge uses Microsoft’s consumer Read Aloud service. It needs no API key, region, or model.

---
deck: Japanese::Vocab
note_type: VocabCard
field_map:
  reading: Reading
tts:
  target: Audio
  source:
    field: reading
  provider: edge
  voice: ja-JP-NanamiNeural
  format: mp3
  speed: 1.0
---

Voice IDs are Edge short names such as en-US-JennyNeural and ja-JP-NanamiNeural. speed becomes an SSML prosody rate. Prompt YAML rejects region and model.

Edge is an unofficial free provider backed by a consumer endpoint. Service availability and throttling can differ from paid APIs. If a large batch is throttled, retry with fewer concurrent requests, for example --batch-size 1.

Browse exact voice IDs

Use anki-llm tts-voices to filter the bundled catalog, audition a voice, and copy a valid provider-specific YAML scaffold.