VoiceFlow Reader — VS Code Extension

Read text documents with full Unicode / Cyrillic support.

Free, local, no API keys — uses your operating system's built-in TTS.

Features

• 🔊 Read entire documents, from cursor, or selected text
• ⏯️ Pause, resume, and stop controls
• 🎯 Highlights the currently spoken sentence
• 🌍 Full Unicode support — English, Chinese, Arabic, etc.
• 🎛️ Editor title bar buttons (Play / Pause / Stop)
• 🎨 Configurable highlight color
• 📂 Filter buttons by file type
• 🗣️ Voice picker from installed system voices
• 💻 Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Setup

Windows

Voices are provided by SAPI (System.Speech).

1. Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) → VoiceFlow Reader: Select Voice
2. Pick Microsoft George Desktop

macOS

Uses the built-in say command. Install additional voices in System Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → System Voice → Manage Voices.

Linux

Install espeak-ng:

sudo apt install espeak-ng

For Chinese: set voice-flow-reader.voice to zh.

Commands

Command	Description
VoiceFlow Reader: Speak Document	Read the entire document from the beginning
VoiceFlow Reader: Speak From Cursor	Read from the cursor position to the end
VoiceFlow Reader: Speak Selection	Read the selected text only
VoiceFlow Reader: Pause	Pause playback
VoiceFlow Reader: Resume	Resume paused playback
VoiceFlow Reader: Stop	Stop playback and reset position
VoiceFlow Reader: Select Voice	Pick from installed system voices

Editor Buttons

Play, Pause, and Stop buttons appear in the top-right corner of the editor:

State	Buttons
Stopped	▶ Play
Playing	⏸ Pause · ⏹ Stop
Paused	▶ Resume · ⏹ Stop

Buttons can be hidden entirely or shown only for specific file types (see Settings below).

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
voice-flow-reader.voice	""	Voice name. Leave empty for system default. Use Select Voice command to browse.
voice-flow-reader.speed	1.0	Speech speed multiplier (0.1 – 5.0)
voice-flow-reader.highlightColor	rgba(255,255,0,0.3)	Background color for the currently spoken sentence
voice-flow-reader.showEditorButtons	true	Show Play / Pause / Stop buttons in the editor title bar
voice-flow-reader.fileExtensions	["*"]	File extensions to show buttons for. Use ["*"] for all files.

Example Configurations

// Show buttons only for Markdown and plain text
{
  "voice-flow-reader.showEditorButtons": true,
  "voice-flow-reader.fileExtensions": ["md", "txt"]
}

// Hide buttons entirely (commands still available via Command Palette)
{
  "voice-flow-reader.showEditorButtons": false
}

// English voice at 1.2x speed with custom highlight
{
  "voice-flow-reader.voice": "Microsoft George Desktop",
  "voice-flow-reader.speed": 1.2,
  "voice-flow-reader.highlightColor": "rgba(100, 200, 255, 0.3)"
}

Supported File Types

Format	Extensions
Markdown	.md, .markdown, .mdx, .mdown, .mkd
Plain text	.txt, .text, and any other extension

Build

git clone https://github.com/Grim-es/voice-flow-reader.git
cd voice-flow-reader
npm install
npm run build

Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host.

Package as VSIX

npm run package

Install the generated .vsix via Extensions → ⋯ → Install from VSIX.

Support

• 🐛 Report a bug
• 💡 Request a feature
• 💬 Discussions

Funding

If you find this extension useful:

• Patreon
• Buy Me a Coffee

License

MIT