VoxBar for Obsidian

Read any note, selection, or source URL aloud with VoxBar, a local macOS text-to-speech app.

What It Does

• Adds a ribbon button to read with VoxBar.
• Adds commands for:
  • selection or note
  • selection only
  • current note
  • source URL from frontmatter
  • opening VoxBar
• Prefers a selected URL when one is highlighted.
• Optionally prefers source, url, canonical_url, source_url, or link in frontmatter.
• Cleans Obsidian-specific markup before handing text to VoxBar:
  • YAML frontmatter
  • block comments
  • callout markers
  • wikilinks and embeds
  • block references

VoxBar performs the final cleanup and synthesis, so the plugin stays thin.

How It Works

The plugin writes a request JSON file into VoxBar's local inbox:

~/Library/Application Support/VoxBar/Inbox/

Then it opens VoxBar.app. VoxBar consumes the request, runs generation inside the app, and the result lands in the normal VoxBar player/history flow.

Install For Local Use

1. Build the plugin:

cd /path/to/voxbar-ob
npm install
npm run build

2. Install it into a vault with the helper:

./install-local.sh /absolute/path/to/your-vault

3. Or copy these files into your vault plugin folder manually:

• manifest.json
• main.js
• versions.json

The target folder should be:

<your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/voxbar-ob/

4. In Obsidian:

• enable Community plugins
• enable VoxBar for Obsidian
• open the plugin settings and confirm the VoxBar path

Recommended Obsidian Flow

• Select a URL in a note and run Read selection or note with VoxBar.
• If there is no selection, keep article notes with source: or url: in frontmatter and let the plugin fetch the original article.
• If the note itself is the source of truth, run Read current note with VoxBar.

Notes

• This plugin is desktop-only because it relies on launching a local macOS app.
• It assumes VoxBar is already set up and working locally.
• It uses VoxBar's app inbox, so generated runs appear inside the VoxBar app itself.
• If you want to try VoxBar first, install the macOS app from the VoxBar repo and point this plugin at that app bundle in settings.