Text-to-Speech (HeyGen Starfish)

Generate speech audio files from text using HeyGen's in-house Starfish TTS model via the v3 API. This skill is for standalone audio generation — separate from video creation.

Authentication

All requests require the X-Api-Key header. Set the HEYGEN_API_KEY environment variable.

curl -X GET "https://api.heygen.com/v3/voices?engine=starfish" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY"

Tool Selection

If HeyGen MCP tools are available (mcp__heygen__*), prefer them over direct HTTP API calls.

Default Workflow

1. List voices with mcp__heygen__list_audio_voices (or GET /v3/voices?engine=starfish)
2. Pick a voice matching desired language, gender, and features
3. Call mcp__heygen__text_to_speech (or POST /v3/voices/speech) with text and voice_id
4. Use the returned audio_url to download or play the audio

List TTS Voices

Retrieve voices compatible with the Starfish TTS model.

Note: This uses the unified GET /v3/voices endpoint with the engine=starfish filter to return only TTS-compatible voices. Not all video voices support Starfish TTS. The response is paginated — use next_token to fetch additional pages.

Query Parameters

curl

curl -X GET "https://api.heygen.com/v3/voices?engine=starfish" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY"

TypeScript

interface AudioVoiceItem {
  voice_id: string;
  name: string;
  language: string;
  gender: "female" | "male" | "unknown";
  preview_audio_url: string | null;
  support_pause: boolean;
  support_locale: boolean;
  type: string;
}

interface TTSVoicesResponse {
  error: null | string;
  data: AudioVoiceItem[];
  has_more: boolean;
  next_token: string | null;
}

async function listTTSVoices(): Promise<AudioVoiceItem[]> {
  const allVoices: AudioVoiceItem[] = [];
  let token: string | null = null;

  do {
    const url = new URL("https://api.heygen.com/v3/voices");
    url.searchParams.set("engine", "starfish");
    if (token) url.searchParams.set("token", token);

    const response = await fetch(url.toString(), {
      headers: { "X-Api-Key": process.env.HEYGEN_API_KEY! },
    });

    const json: TTSVoicesResponse = await response.json();

    if (json.error) {
      throw new Error(json.error);
    }

    allVoices.push(...json.data);
    token = json.next_token;
  } while (token);

  return allVoices;
}

Python

import requests
import os

def list_tts_voices() -> list:
    all_voices = []
    token = None

    while True:
        params = {"engine": "starfish"}
        if token:
            params["token"] = token

        response = requests.get(
            "https://api.heygen.com/v3/voices",
            headers={"X-Api-Key": os.environ["HEYGEN_API_KEY"]},
            params=params,
        )

        data = response.json()
        if data.get("error"):
            raise Exception(data["error"])

        all_voices.extend(data["data"])

        if not data.get("has_more"):
            break
        token = data.get("next_token")

    return all_voices

Response Format

{
  "error": null,
  "data": [
    {
      "voice_id": "f38a635bee7a4d1f9b0a654a31d050d2",
      "name": "Chill Brian",
      "language": "English",
      "gender": "male",
      "preview_audio_url": "https://resource.heygen.ai/text_to_speech/WpSDQvmLGXEqXZVZQiVeg6.mp3",
      "support_pause": true,
      "support_locale": false,
      "type": "public"
    }
  ],
  "has_more": false,
  "next_token": null
}

Generate Speech Audio

Convert text to speech audio using a specified voice.

Endpoint

POST https://api.heygen.com/v3/voices/speech

Request Fields

curl

curl -X POST "https://api.heygen.com/v3/voices/speech" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "Hello! Welcome to our product demo.",
    "voice_id": "YOUR_VOICE_ID",
    "speed": 1.0
  }'

TypeScript

interface TTSRequest {
  text: string;
  voice_id: string;
  input_type?: "text" | "ssml";
  speed?: number;
  language
how to use text-to-speech
CursorClaude CodeClineCodexWindsurfGooseGitHub CopilotVS CodeGemini CLIKiloOpencodeKimi CLIRoo ClineAiderContinueZedBolt.newLovablev0Replit AgentSweepSmol DeveloperDevinCavemanAmpAntigravity
How to use text-to-speech on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
1
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add text-to-speech
2
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
$npx skills add https://github.com/heygen-com/skills --skill text-to-speechcopy
The skills CLI fetches text-to-speech from GitHub repository heygen-com/skills and configures it for Cursor.
3
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│   • Amp
│   • Antigravity
│   • Cline
│   • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│   • Cursor
│   • Windsurf
4
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
.cursor/skills/text-to-speech
Reload or restart Cursor to activate text-to-speech. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /text-to-speech) or your agent's skill management interface.
⚠
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
Additional Resources
›View source code on GitHub›Skills CLI documentation›Learn more about Cursor›What are agent skills?