/converse-cowork

Voice conversation optimized for Claude Desktop / Cowork which has a hardcoded 60-second MCP timeout.

CRITICAL: Claude Desktop kills MCP tool calls after 60 seconds regardless of the timeout parameter you pass. You MUST split speak and listen into two separate tool calls.

The Pattern

Step 1: SPEAK (no listening)

converse(message="Your message here", wait_for_response=false, speed=1.2)

This speaks the message and returns immediately. Takes 5-30 seconds depending on message length.

Step 2: LISTEN (no speaking)

converse(message="", skip_tts=true, wait_for_response=true, speed=1.2, listen_duration_min=5, listen_duration_max=50, timeout=55)

This skips TTS and only listens for the user's response. Keep listen_duration_max under 50 seconds to stay within the 60s timeout with buffer.

Why Two Calls?

Claude Desktop enforces a 60-second hard timeout on ALL MCP tool calls. A single converse call that speaks (10-30s) + listens (up to 60s) will always exceed 60s and get killed. Splitting into two calls keeps each under the limit.

Full Example

// Step 1: Speak
converse(message="What would you like to work on today?", wait_for_response=false, speed=1.2)

// Step 2: Listen
converse(message="", skip_tts=true, wait_for_response=true, listen_duration_min=5, listen_duration_max=50, timeout=55)

When User Needs to Say Something Long

For dictation or detailed instructions, call listen multiple times:

// Speak first
converse(message="Go ahead, I'm listening.", wait_for_response=false, speed=1.2)

// Listen round 1
result1 = converse(message="", skip_tts=true, wait_for_response=true, listen_duration_max=50, timeout=55)

// If user is still talking (result ends mid-sentence), listen again
result2 = converse(message="", skip_tts=true, wait_for_response=true, listen_duration_max=50, timeout=55)

Important Notes

• This command is ONLY for Claude Desktop / Cowork. Claude Code and Factory Droid do NOT have this 60s limit.
• The timeout parameter is ignored by Claude Desktop — it always uses 60s. Set it anyway for documentation.
• Keep TTS messages SHORT. Long messages take longer to generate and play, eating into your 60s budget.
• The skip_tts=true parameter tells converse to skip text-to-speech and go straight to listening.

MCP Setup for Claude Desktop

In claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "voicemode": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp"
    }
  }
}