Text-to-Speech (Reader + Editor)

Social Archiver includes built-in Text-to-Speech (TTS) for both Timeline Reader Mode and regular Markdown editing.

Overview

TTS is available in two places:

1. Reader Mode TTS: Read archived posts aloud inside Timeline Reader Mode
2. Editor TTS: Read any Markdown document (full doc or current selection)

Requirements

• TTS works with one provider at a time: Azure Cloud or Supertonic (on-device)
• Azure Cloud requires login to your Social Archiver account
• Supertonic is desktop-only and must be installed first

Default behavior

If Supertonic is selected but not installed, Social Archiver falls back to Azure automatically when you're logged in.

Obsidian Shell Execution Warning

Obsidian security scans may show a Shell Execution warning for Social Archiver. Azure Cloud TTS does not require local shell execution. The warning applies to the optional Supertonic on-device provider, where desktop Obsidian checks node/npm, installs local runtime files, and starts the local speech engine when you choose that provider.

Provider Options

Azure Cloud

• Uses Social Archiver backend + Azure Speech
• No local model installation needed
• Login required
• Broad language/voice coverage

Supertonic (On-device)

• Runs locally on your machine (desktop only)
• Uses built-in installer in plugin settings
• Best when you prefer local synthesis without cloud speech processing
• Supports 31 languages: en, ko, ja, ar, bg, cs, da, de, el, es, et, fi, fr, hi, hr, hu, id, it, lt, lv, nl, pl, pt, ro, ru, sk, sl, sv, tr, uk, vi

Supertonic Installer Guide

Open Settings → Social Archiver → Text-to-Speech and set provider to Supertonic.

If Supertonic is not installed, you'll see an install panel:

1. Click Install
2. Wait for staged progress messages (runtime → models → voices → verify)
3. After completion, restart playback from Reader or Editor TTS

If you already installed Supertonic 2, the same panel shows Update to v3.0.0. You do not need to uninstall first; the updater stages the new runtime and model files, then swaps them into the existing install path.

What the installer does:

• Installs runtime dependencies automatically
• Downloads ONNX models and voice style files
• Verifies installation integrity
• Installs to: ~/.social-archiver/tts/

Prerequisites

Supertonic installer checks for node and npm in your PATH. If missing, installation fails with a setup error.

After installation, settings also provide:

• Uninstall button
• Synthesis quality (fast, balanced, high)
• Current install path display

Reader Mode TTS

In Timeline Reader Mode, use the speaker button in the header to start reading.

Mini controller features:

• Play/pause
• Previous/next sentence
• Speed change
• Stop
• Progress indicator

Keyboard shortcuts:

Shortcut	Action
P	Play / pause
Shift + Left	Previous sentence
Shift + Right	Next sentence
[	Decrease speed
]	Increase speed
Esc	Stop reading

Editor TTS

Command Palette includes:

• Read document aloud (TTS)
• Read selection aloud (TTS)
• Pause / Resume reading (TTS)
• Stop reading (TTS)

There is also an editor context menu item:

• Read selection aloud

TTS Settings

Configure in Settings → Social Archiver → Text-to-Speech:

Setting	Description
TTS Provider	Azure Cloud or Supertonic
Speech speed	0.5x to 2.0x
Highlight current sentence	Highlight sentence while reading in Reader Mode
Auto-scroll to sentence	Keep current sentence visible while reading
Language	Auto-detect or force language
Synthesis quality	Supertonic-only quality/speed tradeoff

Language Behavior

• Supertonic 3 supports 31 languages locally; unsupported languages can still fall back to Azure when available
• Azure supports a wider voice catalog
• When Supertonic is primary and Azure is available, unsupported languages can fall back to Azure

Troubleshooting

TTS does not start

• Check provider configuration in settings
• If using Azure, confirm you are logged in
• If using Supertonic, confirm it is installed

Supertonic install failed

• Verify node --version and npm --version
• Retry install from settings
• On Windows, install Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable if runtime load errors appear

Reader button appears but no audio

• Try switching provider (Supertonic ↔ Azure)
• Reset language override to auto-detect
• Stop and restart reading

Privacy

• Supertonic: speech synthesis runs locally on your machine
• Azure: synthesis is requested through your authenticated Social Archiver backend session