Peter Steinberger

Sag

Peter Steinberger·Jan 4, 2026

Summary

TL;DR: ElevenLabs text-to-speech with mac-style say UX.

Sag turns text into speech using ElevenLabs' voice synthesis API. It works like the macOS say command but with high-quality AI voices instead of the built-in system voices.

Just pass text to your agent and it speaks it out loud. The interface is simple on purpose: type text in, hear audio out. No complicated settings to configure for basic use.

This is handy when you want your agent to read something aloud. For speech-to-text, check the ElevenLabs STT skill, whether that is a summary, a notification, or just a long block of text you would rather listen to than read.

Use cases

  • Having your AI agent read long text summaries aloud while you multitask
  • Generating spoken audio from written content for accessibility
  • Creating quick voice memos or audio snippets from text
  • Adding text-to-speech output to AI agent workflows

Installation

Run this command to install the skill on your OpenClaw agent:

Install with OpenClaw
npx clawhub@latest install sag
Downloads
18.4k
Active installs
964
Stars
19
Updated
Jan 4, 2026

Security scan

Security scan
VirusTotalBenign
View report
OpenClawSuspiciousmedium confidence

The skill's runtime instructions match an ElevenLabs TTS CLI, but the registry metadata (no envs/install) conflicts with SKILL.md (which requires ELEVENLABS_API_KEY and suggests installing a third‑party brew formula), so the package metadata is inconsistent and needs verification before installation.

Purpose & Capability
Instruction Scope
Install Mechanism
Credentials
Persistence & Privilege

SKILL.md

SKILL.md
---
name: sag
description: ElevenLabs text-to-speech with mac-style say UX.
homepage: https://sag.sh
metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🗣️","requires":{"bins":["sag"],"env":["ELEVENLABS_API_KEY"]},"primaryEnv":"ELEVENLABS_API_KEY","install":[{"id":"brew","kind":"brew","formula":"steipete/tap/sag","bins":["sag"],"label":"Install sag (brew)"}]}}
---

# sag

Use `sag` for ElevenLabs TTS with local playback.

API key (required)
- `ELEVENLABS_API_KEY` (preferred)
- `SAG_API_KEY` also supported by the CLI

Quick start
- `sag "Hello there"`
- `sag speak -v "Roger" "Hello"`
- `sag voices`
- `sag prompting` (model-specific tips)

Model notes
- Default: `eleven_v3` (expressive)
- Stable: `eleven_multilingual_v2`
- Fast: `eleven_flash_v2_5`

Pronunciation + delivery rules
- First fix: respell (e.g. "key-note"), add hyphens, adjust casing.
- Numbers/units/URLs: `--normalize auto` (or `off` if it harms names).
- Language bias: `--lang en|de|fr|...` to guide normalization.
- v3: SSML `<break>` not supported; use `[pause]`, `[short pause]`, `[long pause]`.
- v2/v2.5: SSML `<break time="1.5s" />` supported; `<phoneme>` not exposed in `sag`.

v3 audio tags (put at the entrance of a line)
- `[whispers]`, `[shouts]`, `[sings]`
- `[laughs]`, `[starts laughing]`, `[sighs]`, `[exhales]`
- `[sarcastic]`, `[curious]`, `[excited]`, `[crying]`, `[mischievously]`
- Example: `sag "[whispers] keep this quiet. [short pause] ok?"`

Voice defaults
- `ELEVENLABS_VOICE_ID` or `SAG_VOICE_ID`

Confirm voice + speaker before long output.

## Chat voice responses

When Peter asks for a "voice" reply (e.g., "crazy scientist voice", "explain in voice"), generate audio and send it:

```bash
# Generate audio file
sag -v Clawd -o /tmp/voice-reply.mp3 "Your message here"

# Then include in reply:
# MEDIA:/tmp/voice-reply.mp3
```

Voice character tips:
- Crazy scientist: Use `[excited]` tags, dramatic pauses `[short pause]`, vary intensity
- Calm: Use `[whispers]` or slower pacing
- Dramatic: Use `[sings]` or `[shouts]` sparingly

Default voice for Clawd: `lj2rcrvANS3gaWWnczSX` (or just `-v Clawd`)

Version history

v1.0.0Latest
Jan 4, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Yes. You need an ElevenLabs account and API key. ElevenLabs offers a free tier with limited characters per month, which is enough for casual use.

Installation method

Send this prompt to your agent to install the skill

npx clawhub@latest install sag
Download ZIP

Skill info

Versionv1.0.0
AuthorPeter Steinberger
UpdatedJan 4, 2026

Files

SKILL.md2.0 KB

Run OpenClaw in the cloud

Deploy in seconds. Skills pre-installed.

See plans

Skill data sourced from ClawHub