Pintail and the alternatives
You can make coding-agent replies audible with a DIY Stop hook, macOS Spoken Content, open-source tools like Aloud, VoiceMode, SpeakIt and flowcode, or Pintail. The right one depends on whether you want it free and local, or short summaries and knowing which tab is talking.
I make Pintail, so read this with that in mind. I’ve tried to be fair: several of these are free, and for some people they’re the better choice. I say so below.
The comparison
| Option | Voice | Short summaries | Shows which session | Languages | Price | Open source | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY Stop hook | Local, the system voice (say, espeak) | No, reads the raw text | No | Your system voices | Free | Your own script | macOS, Linux, Windows |
| macOS Spoken Content | Local, the system voice | No, reads what you select | No | Many system voices | Free, built in | No | macOS |
| Aloud | Local (Kokoro) | A short gist, the full reply on request | Yes, per session | Kokoro’s voices | Free | Yes (MIT) | macOS; Claude Code and Codex |
| VoiceMode | Local (Kokoro) or cloud | Two-way conversation instead | No | Depends on the voice service | Free | Yes (MIT) | macOS, Linux, Windows |
| SpeakIt | See its README | See its README | See its README | See its README | Free | On GitHub | macOS menu bar app, Claude Code plugin |
| flowcode | Local (Kokoro) | No, reads the prose | No | English, Czech | Free | Yes (MIT), public beta | macOS; also takes dictation |
| Pintail | Cloud, on your OpenRouter account | Yes, four levels | Yes: pill, pet and menu bar | English, German | €15 once (planned) + ½–2 ¢ a reply | No | macOS, Apple silicon |
Checked against each project’s own page on September 30, 2026. Tell me if something changed: I’ll fix it.
A DIY Stop hook
Claude Code runs a hook when a reply finishes. Pipe the text into the system voice and you have speech in about 20 lines. This walkthrough shows how. It reads markdown literally, stars and backticks included, tabs talk over each other, and it fires on /clear and /compact too.
Pick it if you like tinkering and want something free today.
macOS Spoken Content
Built into every Mac: select text, press a shortcut, the system voice reads it. No setup beyond a checkbox, but it reads whatever you select, all of it, and you have to select it.
Pick it if you only want the odd reply read and don’t mind the system voice.
Aloud
Open source (MIT) and fully local: Kokoro speaks on your Mac. It works with Claude Code and Codex, gives a short gist of each reply with the full reply on request, keeps sessions apart, and speaks up when an agent asks a question or needs approval. You install it with Homebrew, Python and pipx.
Pick it if you want it free and fully local. That’s Aloud’s strength and not Pintail’s: Pintail’s voice runs in the cloud.
VoiceMode
An open-source (MIT) MCP server for two-way voice conversations with Claude Code: you speak, it answers out loud. Local Whisper and Kokoro, or cloud services. It runs on macOS, Linux and Windows. I tried it before building Pintail and removed it, because I already had dictation I liked; I wanted the replies read, not a conversation.
Pick it if you want to talk to your agent hands-free, or you’re on Linux or Windows.
SpeakIt
A menu bar app with a Claude Code plugin, installed with Homebrew. See its README for the details.
flowcode
A native macOS menu bar app, open source (MIT) and in public beta. It reads Claude Code replies aloud with a local voice and does hold-to-talk dictation too, both on your Mac, in English and Czech.
Pick it if you want reading and dictation in one local app, or you speak Czech.
Pintail
A Mac menu bar app that turns each reply into a short spoken summary at the length you pick (one sentence up to the whole reply), in a natural cloud voice on your own OpenRouter account. It’s built for many tabs: one voice at a time, and a pill with the project name and live captions, plus a desktop duck, so you know which session is talking. English and German. €15 once, planned, and the voice costs usually ½–2 ¢ a reply on OpenRouter.
Pick it if you run several agent sessions at once, want short summaries in a voice that sounds human, and don’t mind a small cloud bill. How it works and pricing have the details.
What about Claude Code’s /voice?
That’s dictation: you speak your prompt, Claude Code types it. It doesn’t read replies back. Claude Code has no built-in read-aloud, which is why all of the above exist.