How to Install Kokoro-TTS Locally: A Step-by-Step Guide

locally install kokoro tts text to speech ai model

Welcome to Loop Into AI! In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to locally install Kokoro-TTS, one of the best open-source AI text-to-speech models available today. This tutorial works for any operating system Windows, macOS, or Linux .

Let’s get started.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following installed on your system:

  1. Python
    To check if Python is already installed, run:
python --version
  1. If a version number appears, you’re good to go. Otherwise, download and install the latest version of Python.
  2. Git (Optional, but recommended)
    Git allows you to easily clone repositories from GitHub. If you prefer, you can also download the repository as a ZIP file and extract it manually.

Step 1: Clone the Kokoro-TTS Repository

First, clone the project repository from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/EssadikElmangoug/Kokoro-TTS
cd Kokoro-TTS

If you opted to download the ZIP file, simply extract it and navigate to the folder using your terminal or command prompt.

Step 2: Create a Virtual Environment

Creating a virtual environment ensures that your project dependencies are isolated:

python -m venv venv

Step 3: Activate the Virtual Environment

Activate the environment depending on your OS:

For macOS/Linux:

source venv/bin/activate

For Windows:

venv\Scripts\activate

If you encounter an UnauthorizedAccess error on Windows, run:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy Bypass

Then activate the virtual environment again.

Step 4: Install Dependencies

With the virtual environment activated, install the required dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Wait for the installation to complete.

Step 5: Run Kokoro-TTS

Finally, start the application:

python app.py

The model will be downloaded and installed automatically. Once ready, open your browser and navigate to:
http://localhost:7860/

You can now test and synthesize text into speech.

Why Kokoro-TTS?

Despite having only 82 million parameters, Kokoro-TTS delivers remarkably natural and high-quality speech synthesis. Its efficiency makes it suitable for local machines without compromising performance.

Troubleshooting & Support

If you run into any issues during installation or usage, don’t hesitate to reach out. Support is available to help you troubleshoot errors and ensure the model runs smoothly.

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