openclaw / discord-voice

Skill Content

---
name: discord-voice
description: Real-time voice conversations in Discord voice channels with Claude AI
metadata:
  clawdbot:
    config:
      requiredConfig:
        - discord.token
      optionalEnv:
        - OPENAI_API_KEY
        - ELEVENLABS_API_KEY
        - DEEPGRAM_API_KEY
      systemDependencies:
        - ffmpeg
        - build-essential
      example: |
        {
          "plugins": {
            "entries": {
              "discord-voice": {
                "enabled": true,
                "config": {
                  "sttProvider": "local-whisper",
                  "ttsProvider": "openai",
                  "ttsVoice": "nova",
                  "vadSensitivity": "medium",
                  "streamingSTT": true,
                  "bargeIn": true,
                  "allowedUsers": []
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
---

# Discord Voice Plugin for Clawdbot

Real-time voice conversations in Discord voice channels. Join a voice channel, speak, and have your words transcribed, processed by Claude, and spoken back.

## Features

- **Join/Leave Voice Channels**: Via slash commands, CLI, or agent tool
- **Voice Activity Detection (VAD)**: Automatically detects when users are speaking
- **Speech-to-Text**: Whisper API (OpenAI), Deepgram, or Local Whisper (Offline)
- **Streaming STT**: Real-time transcription with Deepgram WebSocket (~1s latency reduction)
- **Agent Integration**: Transcribed speech is routed through the Clawdbot agent
- **Text-to-Speech**: OpenAI TTS, ElevenLabs, or Kokoro (Local/Offline)
- **Audio Playback**: Responses are spoken back in the voice channel
- **Barge-in Support**: Stops speaking immediately when user starts talking
- **Auto-reconnect**: Automatic heartbeat monitoring and reconnection on disconnect

## Requirements

- Discord bot with voice permissions (Connect, Speak, Use Voice Activity)
- API keys for STT and TTS providers
- System dependencies for voice:
  - `ffmpeg` (audio processing)
  - Native build tools for `@discordjs/opus` and `sodium-native`

## Installation

### 1. Install System Dependencies

```bash
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg build-essential python3

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install ffmpeg gcc-c++ make python3

# macOS
brew install ffmpeg
```

### 2. Install via ClawdHub

```bash
clawdhub install discord-voice
```

Or manually:

```bash
cd ~/.clawdbot/extensions
git clone <repository-url> discord-voice
cd discord-voice
npm install
```

### 3. Configure in clawdbot.json

```json5
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      "discord-voice": {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          sttProvider: "local-whisper",
          ttsProvider: "openai",
          ttsVoice: "nova",
          vadSensitivity: "medium",
          allowedUsers: [], // Empty = allow all users
          silenceThresholdMs: 1500,
          maxRecordingMs: 30000,
          openai: {
            apiKey: "sk-...", // Or use OPENAI_API_KEY env var
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
```

### 4. Discord Bot Setup

Ensure your Discord bot has these permissions:

- **Connect** - Join voice channels
- **Speak** - Play audio
- **Use Voice Activity** - Detect when users speak

Add these to your bot's OAuth2 URL or configure in Discord Developer Portal.

## Configuration

| Option                | Type     | Default           | Description                                     |
| --------------------- | -------- | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| `enabled`             | boolean  | `true`            | Enable/disable the plugin                       |
| `sttProvider`         | string   | `"local-whisper"` | `"whisper"`, `"deepgram"`, or `"local-whisper"` |
| `streamingSTT`        | boolean  | `true`            | Use streaming STT (Deepgram only, ~1s faster)   |
| `ttsProvider`         | string   | `"openai"`        | `"openai"` or `"elevenlabs"`                    |
| `ttsVoice`            | string   | `"nova"`          | Voice ID for TTS                                |
| `vadSensitivity`      | string   | `"medium"`        | `"low"`, `"medium"`, or `"high"`                |
| `bargeIn`             | boolean  | `true`            | Stop speaking when user talks                   |
| `allowedUsers`        | string[] | `[]`              | User IDs allowed (empty = all)                  |
| `silenceThresholdMs`  | number   | `1500`            | Silence before processing (ms)                  |
| `maxRecordingMs`      | number   | `30000`           | Max recording length (ms)                       |
| `heartbeatIntervalMs` | number   | `30000`           | Connection health check interval                |
| `autoJoinChannel`     | string   | `undefined`       | Channel ID to auto-join on startup              |

### Provider Configuration

#### OpenAI (Whisper + TTS)

```json5
{
  openai: {
    apiKey: "sk-...",
    whisperModel: "whisper-1",
    ttsModel: "tts-1",
  },
}
```

#### ElevenLabs (TTS only)

```json5
{
  elevenlabs: {
    apiKey: "...",
    voiceId: "21m00Tcm4TlvDq8ikWAM", // Rachel
    modelId: "eleven_multilingual_v2",
  },
}
```

#### Deepgram (STT only)

```json5
{
  deepgram: {
    apiKey: "...",
    model: "nova-2",
  },
}
```

## Usage

### Slash Commands (Discord)

Once registered with Discord, use these commands:

- `/discord_voice join <channel>` - Join a voice channel
- `/discord_voice leave` - Leave the current voice channel
- `/discord_voice status` - Show voice connection status

### CLI Commands

```bash
# Join a voice channel
clawdbot discord_voice join <channelId>

# Leave voice
clawdbot discord_voice leave --guild <guildId>

# Check status
clawdbot discord_voice status
```

### Agent Tool

The agent can use the `discord_voice` tool:

```
Join voice channel 1234567890
```

The tool supports actions:

- `join` - Join a voice channel (requires channelId)
- `leave` - Leave voice channel
- `speak` - Speak text in the voice channel
- `status` - Get current voice status

## How It Works

1. **Join**: Bot joins the specified voice channel
2. **Listen**: VAD detects when users start/stop speaking
3. **Record**: Audio is buffered while user speaks
4. **Transcribe**: On silence, audio is sent to STT provider
5. **Process**: Transcribed text is sent to Clawdbot agent
6. **Synthesize**: Agent response is converted to audio via TTS
7. **Play**: Audio is played back in the voice channel

## Streaming STT (Deepgram)

When using Deepgram as your STT provider, streaming mode is enabled by default. This provides:

- **~1 second faster** end-to-end latency
- **Real-time feedback** with interim transcription results
- **Automatic keep-alive** to prevent connection timeouts
- **Fallback** to batch transcription if streaming fails

To use streaming STT:

```json5
{
  sttProvider: "deepgram",
  streamingSTT: true, // default
  deepgram: {
    apiKey: "...",
    model: "nova-2",
  },
}
```

## Barge-in Support

When enabled (default), the bot will immediately stop speaking if a user starts talking. This creates a more natural conversational flow where you can interrupt the bot.

To disable (let the bot finish speaking):

```json5
{
  bargeIn: false,
}
```

## Auto-reconnect

The plugin includes automatic connection health monitoring:

- **Heartbeat checks** every 30 seconds (configurable)
- **Auto-reconnect** on disconnect with exponential backoff
- **Max 3 attempts** before giving up

If the connection drops, you'll see logs like:

```
[discord-voice] Disconnected from voice channel
[discord-voice] Reconnection attempt 1/3
[discord-voice] Reconnected successfully
```

## VAD Sensitivity

- **low**: Picks up quiet speech, may trigger on background noise
- **medium**: Balanced (recommended)
- **high**: Requires louder, clearer speech

## Troubleshooting

### "Discord client not available"

Ensure the Discord channel is configured and the bot is connected before using voice.

### Opus/Sodium build errors

Install build tools:

```bash
npm install -g node-gyp
npm rebuild @discordjs/opus sodium-native
```

### No audio heard

1. Check bot has Connect + Speak permissions
2. Check bot isn't server muted
3. Verify TTS API key is valid

### Transcription not working

1. Check STT API key is valid
2. Check audio is being recorded (see debug logs)
3. Try adjusting VAD sensitivity

### Enable debug logging

```bash
DEBUG=discord-voice clawdbot gateway start
```

## Environment Variables

| Variable             | Description                    |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| `DISCORD_TOKEN`      | Discord bot token (required)   |
| `OPENAI_API_KEY`     | OpenAI API key (Whisper + TTS) |
| `ELEVENLABS_API_KEY` | ElevenLabs API key             |
| `DEEPGRAM_API_KEY`   | Deepgram API key               |

## Limitations

- Only one voice channel per guild at a time
- Maximum recording length: 30 seconds (configurable)
- Requires stable network for real-time audio
- TTS output may have slight delay due to synthesis

## License

MIT