Motivation
Voicemode is great when you need it, but leaving it permanently installed has real overhead:
- Kokoro TTS and Whisper STT run as persistent launchd services, consuming CPU and memory even when you're not using voice at all
- The MCP server auto-starts with every Claude Code session, adding startup latency
- For sessions that are purely text-based coding (the majority), this is wasted resources
I wanted a way to spin up voice mode on demand and tear it down completely when I'm done — no lingering processes, no launchd agents respawning behind my back.
The solution: 3 slash commands
I created a set of Claude Code slash commands (~/.claude/commands/) that handle the full lifecycle:
/voice-on
Registers the voicemode MCP server with claude mcp add. Includes the setuptools<71 pin that's required for webrtcvad to actually work (since pkg_resources was removed in setuptools 71+, VAD silently falls back to fixed-duration recording without it).
/voice-standby
Persistent listen loop with two VAD modes — permissive (vad_aggressiveness: 0) when idle so it catches faint speech, switching to responsive (vad_aggressiveness: 2) during active conversation. Silently cycles the mic on blank audio instead of ending the session. Stays open indefinitely until the user says "exit voice mode."
/voice-off
Full teardown — not just claude mcp remove, but also:
launchctl unload on both com.voicemode.kokoro and com.voicemode.whisper agentspkill -9 -f voicemode to catch anything still running- Verification step to confirm clean shutdown
Without the launchd unload + kill steps, claude mcp remove alone leaves Kokoro and Whisper running as zombie services that respawn on their own.
Gist
https://gist.github.com/jlmalone/5bc93bbb57fa34b1b3767994913568b4
Drop all 3 files into ~/.claude/commands/ and they appear as /voice-on, /voice-off, /voice-standby slash commands in Claude Code.
Suggestion
It might be worth considering an official on-demand mode or at least documenting the teardown steps (launchd unload + process kill) — the claude mcp remove alone isn't sufficient for a clean shutdown.
Motivation
Voicemode is great when you need it, but leaving it permanently installed has real overhead:
I wanted a way to spin up voice mode on demand and tear it down completely when I'm done — no lingering processes, no launchd agents respawning behind my back.
The solution: 3 slash commands
I created a set of Claude Code slash commands (
~/.claude/commands/) that handle the full lifecycle:/voice-onRegisters the voicemode MCP server with
claude mcp add. Includes thesetuptools<71pin that's required forwebrtcvadto actually work (sincepkg_resourceswas removed in setuptools 71+, VAD silently falls back to fixed-duration recording without it)./voice-standbyPersistent listen loop with two VAD modes — permissive (
vad_aggressiveness: 0) when idle so it catches faint speech, switching to responsive (vad_aggressiveness: 2) during active conversation. Silently cycles the mic on blank audio instead of ending the session. Stays open indefinitely until the user says "exit voice mode."/voice-offFull teardown — not just
claude mcp remove, but also:launchctl unloadon bothcom.voicemode.kokoroandcom.voicemode.whisperagentspkill -9 -f voicemodeto catch anything still runningWithout the launchd unload + kill steps,
claude mcp removealone leaves Kokoro and Whisper running as zombie services that respawn on their own.Gist
https://gist.github.com/jlmalone/5bc93bbb57fa34b1b3767994913568b4
Drop all 3 files into
~/.claude/commands/and they appear as/voice-on,/voice-off,/voice-standbyslash commands in Claude Code.Suggestion
It might be worth considering an official on-demand mode or at least documenting the teardown steps (launchd unload + process kill) — the
claude mcp removealone isn't sufficient for a clean shutdown.