Features
Core Features
Global Hotkey Overlay
Press a configurable global hotkey (default: Ctrl+Shift+Space) from anywhere to open a dark, always-on-top input overlay. The overlay auto-focuses the text input so you can start typing immediately.
Instant Speech
Press Enter to send. The Kokoro offline TTS engine generates speech audio and plays it to both your monitoring output and the virtual cable simultaneously.
Dual Audio Routing
Audio is played simultaneously to two outputs:
- Monitor Output — Your headphones or speakers (you hear the speech)
- Secondary Output — A virtual audio cable (voice apps hear the speech)
Stop Playback
Press Ctrl+Shift+Backspace to immediately halt any speech that's playing on both outputs.
System Tray
The app lives in the system tray. Right-click the tray icon for:
- Open Settings — Configure all options
- Open Phrase Manager — Manage saved phrases
- Reset Theme to Default — Revert to the Default Dark theme
- Exit — Close the app
Offline TTS
Kokoro runs entirely on-device. No internet connection or API subscriptions are required for the default voice.
Advanced Features
ElevenLabs Integration (Optional)
Connect your ElevenLabs account for premium AI voices. The API key is encrypted with DPAPI and stored securely.
Quick Phrases
Save frequently-used messages as phrases. Trigger them instantly from the Phrase Manager or assign hotkeys to individual phrases.
Phrase Categories & Favorites
Organize phrases into categories, mark favorites, and pin important phrases to the top of the list.
Phrase Editor
A dedicated window for creating and editing phrases with per-phrase voice overrides (engine, voice, pitch) and TTS preview.
Text Replacements
Define automatic text substitution rules that run before TTS synthesis. Supports case-sensitive matching, whole-word matching, and priority ordering.
Theme System
Customize the entire visual appearance with built-in themes (Default Dark, Default Light, Midnight Purple, Nord) or create your own. Full colour editor with WCAG 2.1 AA contrast checking.
Per-Output Volume
Set independent volume levels for the monitor output and secondary output (0–100%).
Global Pitch Control
Adjust the pitch of all TTS output (0.5x–2.0x). Changes apply live without saving.
Trailing Silence Trimming
Automatically remove trailing silence from generated audio to reduce delays between messages.
Transcript Logging
Optionally log all spoken text to a timestamped transcript file at %AppData%\TtsCommunicationTool\transcript.txt.
Diagnostic Logging
Structured JSONL session logs for debugging. Configurable verbosity levels (INFO, DEBUG, TRACE) with optional request ID correlation.
Recent Messages
The last 20 sent messages are tracked in memory (not persisted). Duplicate consecutive entries are collapsed.
Repeat Last / Resend
Resend the last spoken message via a configurable hotkey or the overlay's resend button.
Overlay Position Persistence
The overlay remembers its last position on screen across sessions.
Playback Timer
Shows a live countdown of remaining playback time in the overlay while speech is playing.
Draft Preservation
Optionally preserve unsent overlay text when the overlay closes without sending.
Character Limit
Optionally enforce a maximum character limit (default: 500) on overlay input.
Hotkey Conflict Detection
The settings UI warns you if you try to assign the same hotkey to multiple actions.
Phrase Import/Export
Import and export phrases as JSON files for backup or sharing.
Theme Import/Export
Import and export themes as .ttstheme JSON files.
Splash Screen
An optional splash screen shown on startup (can be disabled in settings).
First-Run Setup Wizard
The Settings window opens automatically on first launch, guiding you through device selection and testing.