Atten FAQ.

Atten is a free, open-source text-to-speech app for Mac, Windows, and the command line. It uses a bundled local speech model so you can turn text into MP3 or WAV audio without a cloud service.

Yes. The published desktop app includes the engine and model. Once installed, synthesis and export can work without an internet connection.

Yes. Atten is free and open source under the GNU GPL v3 or later. It does not require an account, subscription, API key, or per-character payment.

ElevenLabs is a hosted voice platform with cloud-based generation. Atten is for the different use case where you want local processing, predictable cost, offline access, and control over your text and audio. Choose based on whether you prefer a managed cloud service or local software.

Speechify is a cloud-oriented reading and productivity product. Atten is a local desktop studio and CLI for generating speech files on your own computer. Atten is especially suited to private documents, offline workflows, and developers who want a scriptable tool.

Atten ships with Kokoro 82M and provides 37 voices across American and British English, plus eight more languages. See the repository's model attribution and voice catalog for current details.

The current desktop releases support Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 14 or newer and 64-bit Windows 10 version 1809 or newer, including Windows 11. The CLI is documented separately.

Atten is not yet notarized by Apple, so macOS blocks the first launch with a warning that it could not verify the app. To open it, double-click Atten and dismiss the warning, then open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security, scroll to Security, and choose Open Anyway. You only do this once. On macOS 15 and newer this is the only route; the older Control-click and Open shortcut no longer works for apps that are not notarized.

Your text, projects, and generated audio are processed locally. Project metadata is stored in your platform's Atten application-support directory and exports are kept in the app's local export location. See the privacy policy for more.

Yes. The CLI accepts inline text or files and can select voices, speed, format, output filename, playback, device, and JSON output. See the CLI guide for examples.

Choose Atten if you want free local TTS, work with sensitive text, need offline generation, dislike subscriptions or usage meters, or want an open-source desktop app and CLI. A hosted provider may be a better fit if you need a large managed voice marketplace or server-side API.