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TTS Buddy for ChatGPT

TTS Buddy is preparing a ChatGPT app so you can create speech audio directly from a ChatGPT conversation. The app is currently in private developer-mode testing and is planned for public availability in ChatGPT Apps after review.

With the ChatGPT app, you can:

  • Browse available TTS Buddy voices without leaving ChatGPT
  • Open the TTS Studio widget inside ChatGPT with text prefilled
  • Check your current plan and monthly usage through Clerk OAuth
  • Generate speech from text with a selected voice
  • Convert public webpages into speech and save them to Listen Link
  • Translate public webpages before generating audio
  • Play or download completed audio from branded TTS Buddy links
info

Public ChatGPT App Store availability is coming soon. Until then, the app can be tested only in ChatGPT developer mode with the TTS Buddy MCP endpoint.

Requirements​

  • A TTS Buddy account at ttsbuddy.com
  • A ChatGPT account with access to Apps and developer mode
  • OAuth connection to TTS Buddy when ChatGPT asks you to connect

The MCP server URL for private testing is:

https://mcp.ttsbuddy.com/mcp

Set Up in ChatGPT​

These setup steps follow OpenAI's Apps SDK developer-mode flow.

  1. Open ChatGPT.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Open Apps or Apps & Connectors.
  4. Open Advanced settings and enable Developer mode if it is available for your account.
  5. Click Create app.
  6. Enter the app details:
FieldValue
NameTTS Buddy
DescriptionGenerate multilingual text-to-speech audio, choose voices, and play or download MP3s from ChatGPT.
MCP Server URLhttps://mcp.ttsbuddy.com/mcp
AuthenticationMixed

Use Mixed because TTS Buddy exposes both public actions (tts_list_voices, tts_studio) and account-protected OAuth actions (tts_get_plan_usage, tts_generate, tts_get_status, tts_convert_webpage_to_listen_link, tts_get_listen_link_status, and tts_refresh_download_url). Choosing a non-Mixed authentication mode can create a developer-mode draft that shows no actions.

  1. Open Advanced OAuth settings and confirm ChatGPT discovers or uses:
SettingExpected value
Registration methodUser-defined / preconfigured OAuth client
Resourcehttps://mcp.ttsbuddy.com
Authorization serverhttps://clerk.ttsbuddy.com
OAuth client IDQuTBgJtHV2lCqdrS
Token endpoint auth methodnone
Default scopesopenid
OIDC enabledOn
  1. Accept the developer-mode risk notice.
  2. Click Create.
  3. When ChatGPT asks how to connect, choose Continue to TTS Buddy for the full OAuth-linked app. Use without an account only enables public tools.
  4. When Clerk opens, sign in with your TTS Buddy account credentials.
  5. Accept the OAuth consent to verify your identity.
  6. Back in ChatGPT, open the TTS Buddy app settings and click Refresh to load actions.

When setup is healthy, ChatGPT shows these actions:

  • tts_studio
  • tts_list_voices
  • tts_get_plan_usage
  • tts_generate
  • tts_get_status
  • tts_convert_webpage_to_listen_link
  • tts_get_listen_link_status
  • tts_refresh_download_url

How to Use​

Start a new ChatGPT conversation and ask for TTS Buddy by name. These prompts are good smoke tests and everyday workflows.

Browse Voices​

Use TTS Buddy to list the first 5 available English voices. Do not generate audio.

Expected result: ChatGPT calls TTS Buddy and returns a small table of voices with codes, names, language, quality, and premium status.

Open TTS Studio​

Open TTS Buddy Studio with this exact quoted text: "Hello from TTS Buddy in ChatGPT." Do not generate audio.

Expected result: ChatGPT opens the embedded TTS Studio widget with the quoted text prefilled. Quoting the text helps ChatGPT keep instructions such as "do not generate audio" out of the text box.

Check Plan and Usage​

Use TTS Buddy to show my current plan and this month's TTS usage.

Expected result: ChatGPT shows your plan, usage, and limits. If your ChatGPT OAuth email is not linked to a TTS Buddy account, ChatGPT will ask you to finish account setup.

Generate a Short Audio Test​

Use TTS Buddy to generate speech for this exact quoted text: "Hello from TTS Buddy in ChatGPT." Use voice af_nicole, normal speed, and confirm generation.

Expected result: ChatGPT submits the TTS generation using your TTS Buddy quota. If the short clip finishes quickly, ChatGPT may return a branded Listen link such as https://www.ttsbuddy.com/listen/<id>. If it is still processing, ChatGPT should show the real task ID and then check status.

tip

af_nicole is a non-premium American English voice that works well for Free-plan smoke tests. Premium voices such as st_m1, st_f1, and af_heart require a paid plan.

Check Generation Status​

Use TTS Buddy to check the status of my most recent generation task.

Expected result: ChatGPT polls the real task and shows whether it is pending, processing, complete, or failed. When complete, it should show a branded TTS Buddy Listen link instead of a raw storage-provider URL.

Convert A Webpage To Audio​

Use TTS Buddy to convert this webpage into speech:
https://example.com/article
Use voice af_nicole and confirm generation.

Expected result: ChatGPT calls tts_convert_webpage_to_listen_link, queues the page conversion, and returns a real Listen Link job status. This uses your TTS Buddy quota.

Translate A Webpage To Speech​

Use TTS Buddy to translate this webpage into Spanish and generate a downloadable MP3:
https://example.com/article
Use voice af_nicole and confirm generation.

Expected result: ChatGPT passes the target language to TTS Buddy. TTS Buddy prepares and translates the page when needed, resolves a compatible voice, and the completed status includes a branded Listen or Download MP3 link.

Check Webpage Conversion Status​

Check the status of my latest TTS Buddy webpage conversion.

Expected result: ChatGPT calls tts_get_listen_link_status using the real job ID or the latest conversion fallback. If the job is complete, ChatGPT shows the source page and a branded Listen Link. ChatGPT should not invent placeholder job IDs.

Play or Download Audio​

Completed ChatGPT audio uses clean TTS Buddy URLs:

https://www.ttsbuddy.com/listen/<id>

The Listen Page plays audio through TTS Buddy-owned download and playback URLs, so you should not see raw s3.amazonaws.com links or AWS query parameters in ChatGPT.

If a previous download link expired, ask ChatGPT to refresh it:

Use TTS Buddy to refresh the download link for my completed TTS task.

Expected result: ChatGPT calls tts_refresh_download_url for the completed task and returns a fresh branded Listen link.

Tips​

  • Ask ChatGPT to list voices first if you are unsure which voice code to use.
  • Use af_nicole or another non-premium voice for Free-plan smoke tests.
  • Use exact voice codes such as st_m1, st_f1, or af_heart only when your plan supports premium voices.
  • Put speech text in quotes so ChatGPT does not copy setup instructions into the generated audio.
  • Keep first tests short. Audio generation and webpage conversion consume TTS Buddy usage quota.
  • Use confirm generation when you really want audio created. Without confirmation, TTS Buddy will ask before generating.
  • Do not put passwords, verification codes, API keys, seed phrases, or other secrets into text you ask TTS Buddy to speak.

Troubleshooting​

ChatGPT says the connection failed​

Open the TTS Buddy app in ChatGPT settings and click Refresh. If it still fails, disconnect and connect again through Clerk. Confirm the developer-mode app uses Mixed authentication; non-Mixed drafts can fail before ChatGPT loads actions.

No actions are listed​

Confirm the app was created with Mixed authentication, then click Refresh from the TTS Buddy app settings page. A healthy setup lists all eight TTS Buddy actions and the ui://ttsbuddy/widget/tts-widget.v1.html template.

OAuth succeeds but usage tools fail​

Your Clerk account may not have an active TTS Buddy subscription row yet. Sign in at ttsbuddy.com, complete account setup, then reconnect the ChatGPT app.

Premium voice is blocked​

Some high-quality and multilingual voices require a paid plan. Ask ChatGPT to list voices first, then choose a non-premium voice such as af_nicole for a Free-plan test.

Ask ChatGPT to check the real task status. If ChatGPT is temporarily using a limited or degraded model, app routing can be less reliable; try again after the model limit resets or open the TTS Buddy dashboard to view completed audio.

Generation does not start​

Make sure your prompt includes:

  • A specific voice code
  • Quoted text to convert
  • confirm generation

Open TTS Buddy Studio again from ChatGPT, ask TTS Buddy to refresh the completed task link, or use the TTS Buddy dashboard. TTS Buddy download URLs are time-limited for security, and refreshed links stay behind branded TTS Buddy URLs.

Official ChatGPT App References​