Herald Configuration

Herald provides configurable notifications for Claude Code with two styles: text-to-speech (TTS) summaries or alert sounds. This skill covers configuration, TTS provider setup, and troubleshooting.

Quick Start

Enable Herald and set notification style:

/herald:enable
/herald:style tts       # or "alerts" for sound-only

Check current configuration:

/herald:status

Configuration File

Herald stores settings in ~/.config/herald/config.json:

{
  "enabled": true,
  "style": "alerts",
  "tts": {
    "provider": "macos",
    "elevenlabs": {
      "api_key": "your-key",
      "voice_id": "voice-id"
    }
  },
  "preferences": {
    "max_words": 50,
    "summary_prompt": null,
    "activate_editor": true
  }
}

Notification Styles

TTS Mode (/herald:style tts)

Reads a summary of Claude's response aloud, then activates the editor/terminal window.

• Summarizes response to ~50 words (configurable)
• Uses platform TTS or ElevenLabs
• Activates window after speaking

Alerts Mode (/herald:style alerts)

Plays a notification sound and activates the window.

• Quick audio notification
• No speech synthesis
• Lower latency than TTS

TTS Providers

Built-in Providers

Provider	Platform	Command
macos	macOS	/herald:tts provider macos
windows	Windows	/herald:tts provider windows

Built-in providers require no setup. Herald auto-detects the platform.

ElevenLabs (Premium Voices)

For high-quality voices on any platform, use ElevenLabs:

/herald:tts provider elevenlabs
/herald:tts elevenlabs api_key YOUR_API_KEY
/herald:tts elevenlabs voice_id YOUR_VOICE_ID

Required API key permissions: text_to_speech and user_read scopes.

For detailed ElevenLabs setup including obtaining API keys, voice IDs, and configuring permissions, see references/elevenlabs-setup.md.

Preferences

Configure TTS behavior with /herald:preferences:

Max Words

Limit summary length (default: 50):

/herald:preferences max_words 30

Custom Summary Prompt

Override the default summarization prompt:

/herald:preferences summary "Summarize in one sentence, focusing on what was accomplished"

Reset to default:

/herald:preferences summary clear

Editor Activation

Control whether Herald activates the editor/terminal after notifications:

/herald:preferences activate_editor off
/herald:preferences activate_editor on

Herald auto-detects the running environment:

• VS Code (integrated terminal)
• Terminal apps: Ghostty, iTerm, Terminal.app, Alacritty, Kitty, WezTerm, Hyper
• Windows Terminal

Commands Reference

Command	Description
/herald:enable	Enable notifications
/herald:disable	Disable notifications
/herald:status	Show current configuration
/herald:style <tts|alerts>	Set notification style
/herald:preferences	Configure TTS settings
/herald:tts	Configure TTS provider

Hook Events

Herald listens to two Claude Code events:

Stop Event

Triggers when Claude finishes a response. Herald:

1. Reads the transcript
2. Summarizes the response (for TTS mode)
3. Speaks or plays alert sound
4. Activates the editor window

Notification Event

Triggers on permission prompts and idle prompts. Herald plays a brief notification to alert the user that input is needed.

Common Configuration Tasks

Switch from Alerts to TTS

/herald:style tts

Use ElevenLabs Instead of System TTS

/herald:tts provider elevenlabs
/herald:tts elevenlabs api_key sk-...
/herald:tts elevenlabs voice_id EXAVITQu4...

Disable Window Activation

/herald:preferences activate_editor off

Shorter Summaries

/herald:preferences max_words 25

Temporarily Disable

/herald:disable

Troubleshooting

For common issues and solutions, see references/troubleshooting.md.

Quick Fixes

No sound playing:

• Check /herald:status to verify enabled
• Ensure system volume is not muted
• Try /herald:style alerts to test basic audio

ElevenLabs not working:

• Verify API key with /herald:status
• Check voice ID is valid
• Ensure API key has text_to_speech and user_read permissions
• Ensure API key has available credits

Wrong window activating:

• Herald detects VS Code vs terminal automatically
• Check TERM_PROGRAM environment variable
• Try /herald:preferences activate_editor off if problematic

Additional Resources

Reference Files

• references/elevenlabs-setup.md - Complete ElevenLabs setup guide with API key and voice ID instructions
• references/troubleshooting.md - Detailed troubleshooting for common issues