Mimic 3
Fast, local, open-source neural text-to-speech engine.
About
Mimic 3 is an open-source neural text-to-speech system developed by Mycroft AI for the Mark II voice assistant. It runs entirely locally, with no cloud dependency, and ships with a wide library of voices across multiple languages and variants. It can be used as a command-line tool, a web server with an HTTP API, or a plugin for the Mycroft assistant.
The engine supports a subset of SSML for speech control, adjustable speaking rate, and audio volatility settings to mask synthesis artifacts. It is distributed under the AGPL v3 license. Note that Piper TTS is widely described as the spiritual successor project, and Mycroft AI itself wound down operations, so users should treat Mimic 3 as community-maintained open-source software.
What it can do
- Fully offline neural text-to-speech
- Multi-language voice library
- SSML subset support
- HTTP web server API and CLI
- AGPL v3 open-source license
Setup
Install via pip (mycroft-mimic3-tts) or run the official Docker image, then use the mimic3 CLI or the web server API on port 59125.
Prerequisites
Python 3 or Docker; a Linux, macOS, or Windows machine for local inference.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 7/10
Scored 7/10 (metrics tier, metrics-v1). Evidence: Verified via vendor site/docs/GitHub and reputable coverage, wave 124; Trending score 68/100 from researcher assessment.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.