Voice Memo

Send native iMessage voice bubbles (not file attachments) using ElevenLabs TTS and BlueBubbles.

Quick Start

Run the script with text and recipient:

scripts/send-voice-memo.sh "Your message here" +14169060839

This will:

1. Generate TTS audio via ElevenLabs (Rachel voice by default)
2. Convert to Opus CAF @ 24kHz (iMessage native format)
3. Send as native voice bubble via BlueBubbles

Requirements

• BlueBubbles running locally with Private API enabled
• ElevenLabs API key (for TTS)
• macOS (for afconvert audio conversion)
• Environment variables in ~/.openclaw/.env:

  ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=your-key-here
  BLUEBUBBLES_PASSWORD=your-password-here
  # Optional overrides:
  ELEVENLABS_VOICE_ID=21m00Tcm4TlvDq8ikWAM  # Rachel (default)
  ELEVENLABS_MODEL_ID=eleven_turbo_v2_5      # Turbo v2.5 (default)
  

The Working Formula

Critical parameters discovered 2026-02-19:

Voice Options

Default voice: Rachel (ElevenLabs)

• Voice ID: 21m00Tcm4TlvDq8ikWAM
• Model: eleven_turbo_v2_5 (fast, natural)
• Cost: ~$0.04 per 30s message

Expressive tags:

• [laughs] — natural laughter
• [sighs] — expressive sigh
• [excited] — energetic delivery

Example: "[excited] Oh my god, it worked!"

For full voice list and IDs, see VOICES.md.

Bidirectional Voice Memos

Sending (Amz → Amy): Use this skill. Native voice bubbles appear with waveform UI.

Receiving (Amy → Amz): BlueBubbles auto-converts incoming voice memos to MP3. OpenClaw transcribes via Whisper. Transcribed text flows into conversation context automatically.

Memory note: Incoming voice memo transcriptions flow into conversation context like any text message. They are NOT automatically persisted to memory or files — the agent must explicitly choose to store them, same as any conversation content. If you want to prevent transcriptions from being retained, instruct the agent not to record voice memo content in memory.

Troubleshooting

Voice bubble arrives as file attachment:

• Check method=private-api is set
• Verify chatGuid uses any;-; prefix (not iMessage;-;)
• Check response has "isAudioMessage": true

API times out:

• Use any;-;+PHONE format for chatGuid
• Verify BlueBubbles Private API is enabled
• Restart BlueBubbles if consistently slow

Audio is 0 seconds / unplayable:

• Ensure pre-conversion to Opus @ 24kHz
• Don't let BlueBubbles convert (uses wrong codec)
• Verify with: afinfo output.caf (should show opus @ 24000 Hz)