Create audio from text by using the command line

Synthesize audio from text

You can convert text to audio by making an HTTP POST request to the https://texttospeech.googleapis.com/v1/text:synthesize endpoint. In the body of your POST command, specify the type of voice to synthesize in the voice configuration section, specify the text to synthesize in the text field of the input section, and specify the type of audio to create in the audioConfig section.

1. Execute the REST request below at the command line to synthesize audio from text using Text-to-Speech. The command uses the gcloud auth application-default print-access-token command to retrieve an authorization token for the request.

   Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

   • PROJECT_ID: the alphanumeric ID of your Google Cloud project.

   HTTP method and URL:

   POST https://texttospeech.googleapis.com/v1/text:synthesize

   Request JSON body:

   {
     "input": {
       "text": "Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google, based on the Linux kernel and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets."
     },
     "voice": {
       "languageCode": "en-gb",
       "name": "en-GB-Standard-A",
       "ssmlGender": "FEMALE"
     },
     "audioConfig": {
       "audioEncoding": "MP3"
     }
   }
   

   To send your request, expand one of these options:

   curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

   Save the request body in a file named request.json, and execute the following command:

   curl -X POST \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
        -H "x-goog-user-project: PROJECT_ID" \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
        -d @request.json \
        "https://texttospeech.googleapis.com/v1/text:synthesize"

   PowerShell (Windows)

   Save the request body in a file named request.json, and execute the following command:

   $cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
   $headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred"; "x-goog-user-project" = "PROJECT_ID" }
   
   Invoke-WebRequest `
       -Method POST `
       -Headers $headers `
       -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
       -InFile request.json `
       -Uri "https://texttospeech.googleapis.com/v1/text:synthesize" | Select-Object -Expand Content

   You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

   {
     "audioContent": "//NExAASCCIIAAhEAGAAEMW4kAYPnwwIKw/BBTpwTvB+IAxIfghUfW.."
   }
   

2. The JSON output for the REST command contains the synthesized audio in base64-encoded format. Copy the contents of the audioContent field into a new file named synthesize-output-base64.txt. Your new file will look something like the following:

   //NExAARqoIIAAhEuWAAAGNmBGMY4EBcxvABAXBPmPIAF//yAuh9Tn5CEap3/o
   ...
   VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
   

3. Decode the contents of the synthesize-output-base64.txt file into a new file named synthesized-audio.mp3. For information on decoding base64, see Decoding Base64-Encoded Audio Content.

   Linux

   1. Copy only the base-64 encoded content into a text file.

   2. Decode the source text file using the base64 command line tool by using the -d flag:

       $ base64 SOURCE_BASE64_TEXT_FILE -d > DESTINATION_AUDIO_FILE

   Mac OSX

   1. Copy only the base-64 encoded content into a text file.

   2. Decode the source text file using the base64 command line tool:

       $ base64 --decode SOURCE_BASE64_TEXT_FILE > DESTINATION_AUDIO_FILE

   Windows

   1. Copy only the base-64 encoded content into a text file.

   2. Decode the source text file using the certutil command.

      certutil -decode SOURCE_BASE64_TEXT_FILE DESTINATION_AUDIO_FILE

4. Play the contents of synthesized-audio.mp3 in an audio application or on an audio device. You can also open the synthesized-audio.mp3 in the Chrome browser to play the audio by navigating to the folder that contains the file, for example file://my_file_path/synthesized-audio.mp3