How to export text to audio on a Mac

Method 1: Shortcuts (built in)

1. Create a shortcut. Open the Shortcuts app and create a new shortcut.
2. Accept text. In the shortcut's details, turn on Use as Quick Action and Services Menu, and set it to receive Text.
3. Add Make Spoken Audio from Text. Add the Make Spoken Audio from Text action and pick a voice, rate and pitch.
4. Save the file. Add Save File so it asks where to save the audio.
5. Use it. Select text in any app, right-click, and choose your shortcut from Services.

Method 2: Terminal and the say command

Save your text as a plain-text file, then run:

say -f ~/Desktop/chapter.txt -o ~/Desktop/chapter.aiff
afconvert -f m4af -d aac ~/Desktop/chapter.aiff ~/Desktop/chapter.m4a

The first line speaks the file into an AIFF audio file; the second converts it to a smaller .m4a. Add -v and a voice name to choose a voice; say -v '?' lists the voices you have.

What the built-in methods don't do

• They read every character, including URLs, citation markers, and a PDF's headers and page numbers.
• There's no preview of the text before you export it.
• PDFs and scans need converting to text first.

Method 3: Export from Aloud

1. Open what you want to hear in Aloud: a PDF, a selection, a browser article or a screenshot.
2. Choose File → Export Audio… (Shift-Command-E).
3. Aloud saves an .m4a file in the voice you're using, including Kokoro, with the same skips (headers, page numbers, URLs, citations) and your pronunciations.
4. Play it in Music, Files, a podcast player, or AirDrop it to your phone.