🎙️ CloudVoice Chrome

Highlight. Right-click. Listen. A fast text-to-speech browser extension powered by ElevenLabs via a lightweight local Python proxy.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────┐         ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│  Chrome Extension   │  HTTP   │        FastAPI Proxy Server      │
│  (Manifest V3)      │ ──────► │        [http://127.0.0.1:8001](http://127.0.0.1:8001)     │
│                     │         │                                  │
│ ┌─────────────────┐ │  /tts   │  ┌────────────────────────────┐  │
│ │ background.js   │ │  POST   │  │  server.py                 │  │
│ │ service worker  │ │         │  │  ┌──────────┐ ┌─────────┐  │  │
│ └────────┬────────┘ │         │  │  │ httpx    │ │ .env    │  │  │
│          ▼          │         │  │  └──────────┘ └─────────┘  │  │
│ ┌─────────────────┐ │         │  │       ElevenLabs API       │  │
│ │ offscreen.js    │ │ ◄────── │  └────────────────────────────┘  │
│ │ Web Audio API   │ │ base64  │                                  │
│ └─────────────────┘ │  MP3    │                                  │
│                     │         │                                  │
│ ┌─────────────────┐ │         │                                  │
│ │ content.js      │ │         │                                  │
│ │ hotkeys +       │ │         │                                  │
│ │ highlight       │ │         │                                  │
│ └─────────────────┘ │         │                                  │
└─────────────────────┘         └──────────────────────────────────┘

Features

• 🖱️ Right-click any selected text to read aloud
• ⌨️ Hotkey Ctrl+Shift+S to read selection and Esc to stop
• 🎚️ Speed control (0.5x to 2.0x) and dynamic voice picker
• 🔊 Playback via Web Audio API in an offscreen document
• 🧠 Premium Cloud Voices powered by your ElevenLabs account
• 🛡️ Secure Proxy keeps your API key hidden from the browser

Requirements

Component	Minimum
OS	Windows 10/11, Linux, macOS
Python	3.10 to 3.12
Browser	Chrome / Edge / Brave

Installation

1. Backend Proxy

Create a .env file in the backend folder and add your API key. ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=your_actual_key_here

Windows:

cd backend
setup.bat

Linux / macOS:

cd backend
chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh

2. Chrome Extension

1. Open chrome://extensions
2. Enable Developer mode
3. Click Load unpacked and select the /extension folder

Usage

1. Ensure the proxy server is running on http://127.0.0.1:8001.
2. Click the CloudVoice icon to confirm it says Connected.
3. Pick a voice and set your speed.
4. Select any text on a webpage and right-click to read aloud.

Project Tree

CloudVoiceChrome/
├── README.md
├── .gitignore
├── backend/
│   ├── server.py
│   ├── requirements.txt
│   ├── setup.sh
│   ├── setup.bat
│   └── .env
└── extension/
    ├── manifest.json
    ├── background.js
    ├── content.js
    ├── offscreen.html
    ├── offscreen.js
    ├── popup.html
    ├── popup.css
    └── popup.js