OpenAI TTS GUI

• Easily use high quality, cheap TTS.
• Long text is supported.

Features

• Models: tts-1, tts-1-hd, gpt-4o-mini-tts
• Voices: All standard OpenAI TTS options (alloy, ash, ballad, cedar, coral, echo, fable, marin, onyx, nova, sage, shimmer, verse)
• Format/Speed: MP3, Opus, AAC, FLAC, WAV, PCM; 0.25x-4.0x
• Instructions: Custom voice instructions for gpt-4o-mini-tts
• Presets: you can save or load your custom instructions
• Long Text: handled automatically; no character limits
• Feedback: Live character/chunk count for manual cost calculation if desired
• Themes: Dark or Light (native Qt)
• API Key: manually set, or reads from your environment variables
• Retention: retain individual mp3 chunks if desired
• Sidecar: JSON metadata written next to outputs for reproducibility
• CLI: openai-tts --in text.txt --out out.mp3 --model tts-1
• Stream-aware: uses stream_format="audio" for low-memory downloads; request IDs are recorded in sidecars
• One-click debug: copy request IDs and open log folder from the GUI

Requirements

• Python
• ffmpeg
• An OpenAI API key
• Windows users: if your %TEMP% is locked down, tests and temp files will be written under .pytest_tmp

Installation

If installation seems too complicated, copy/paste this text into an AI chatbot to help you in the process.

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/sm18lr88/OpenAI_TTS_GUI.git
   cd OpenAI_TTS_GUI

2. Set up a virtual environment:

   • Using venv (recommended for most users):

     python -m venv venv
     # Windows
     .\venv\Scripts\activate
     # macOS/Linux
     source venv/bin/activate

   • Using uv (alternative):

     uv venv
     # Windows
     .\venv\Scripts\activate
     # macOS/Linux
     source venv/bin/activate

3. Install dependencies:

   • The dependencies are specified in pyproject.toml. Install them using:

     pip install -U openai PyQt6 keyring platformdirs

   • If using uv:

     uv sync

Running the Application

One-time quick build (optional)

Create a single-file executable with PyInstaller:

pip install .[dev]
pyinstaller --noconfirm openai_tts.spec

Artifacts will appear in dist/.

1. Set API Key:
   • Option 1: Set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable.
   • Option 2: Launch the app and use API Key -> Set/Update API Key... (stored in your OS keyring when available and obfuscated in api_key.enc).
   • (Optional) For self-hosted/OpenAI-compatible endpoints, set OPENAI_BASE_URL before launch.
2. Start the GUI:

   python -m openai_tts_gui

3. CLI (headless):

   openai-tts --in text.txt --out out.mp3 --model tts-1 --voice alloy --format mp3 --speed 1.0 --log-level INFO

Optional concurrency

Set TTS_PARALLELISM to enable parallel chunk generation (default = 1 / off):

# Example: use up to 4 concurrent requests
set TTS_PARALLELISM=4   # Windows PowerShell: $env:TTS_PARALLELISM=4

Development & QA

• Style/lint: uv run ruff check
• Types: uv run ty check
• Tests: uv run pytest (uses repo-local .pytest_tmp for temp files)
• Build (Windows): uv run pyinstaller --noconfirm openai_tts.spec

Troubleshooting

• FFmpeg: Ensure it's on PATH or configured in config.py. The app performs a preflight check on startup.
• Keys: OS keyring is used when available; api_key.enc is a fallback.
• Logs & Data: Logs at the path shown in About; presets and app data live under the per-user data directory.

Tips

• Speed: Adjustments far from 1.0x may impact quality; try Adobe Audition for speed tweaks, or select the gpt-4o-mini-tts model and instruct it to speak faster/slower.
• Instructions: check examples at openai.fm.
• Security: api_key.enc is obfuscated, not encrypted. Prefer environment variables or OS keyring storage.
• ffmpeg: If not found, ensure it’s in PATH or set its path in config.py.
• Logs: Check tts_app.log for errors or details.

Roadmap

• Handles long text
• PyQt6 GUI (formerly PySimpleGUI)
• Basic API rate limit handling
• Enhance chunking and concatenation
• Option to retain chunk files
• Light and Dark themes
• Custom API key settings
• Use environment variable if set
• Code refactoring
• Basic API key obfuscation
• Speed boost: Parallel chunk processing
• Granular progress reporting
• Bundle new release into .exe
• Price estimate

Versions / Notes

• OpenAI Python SDK ==2.9.0.
• PyQt6 ==6.10.0.
• Streams audio via stream_format="audio" (OpenAI Python v2 default).

Support

Check tts_app.log for issues. Report problems on GitHub. For code help, consult AI models with logs or snippets.