Read Aider Aloud — Hear Your AI Pair Programmer
Select any text in your Terminal.app where Aider is running — a commit plan, a multi-file diff summary, a reasoning trace, a response to your prompt. A floating ▶ appears next to your selection. One click — natural voice with word-level highlight on the real terminal.
macOS native · Free · No login · 40+ languages · Native terminal AX, no OCR
~/project $ aider
I'll add the retry logic to the HTTP client and update the three call sites to pass the new max_attempts argument. Before committing, I'll run the test suite — the existing tests should still pass because the default matches the old behavior. If the CI hook succeeds, I'll commit with a conventional message prefix of feat.
Highlight follows each spoken word inside Terminal.app.
One App Covers Every AI Coding Tool on Mac
Same gesture, same word-level highlight — across every IDE and CLI developers actually use.
VS Code
Microsoft's editor
Cursor
AI-native IDE
Xcode
Apple's IDE
Windsurf
Codeium AI IDE
Claude Code
Anthropic CLI
Gemini CLI
Google AI CLI
Codex
OpenAI coding CLI
Copilot CLI
GitHub gh copilot
Aider
AI pair programmer
Three Steps — Terminal AX Path
Aider runs in Terminal.app. CastReader reads its output through macOS AX — no Screen Recording, no OCR.
Install
Download CastReader for Mac (.dmg). Grant Accessibility permission. Terminal.app needs nothing else.
Select
Drag-select any text in Terminal.app — an Aider commit plan, a diff summary, a prompt reply.
Click ▶
A play button appears. One click — audio starts and highlight glides across the real terminal.
When Aider Users Add Read-Aloud
Aider shows multi-file diffs, commit plans, and reasoning in the terminal. That's long prose. Listening offloads it to your ears so your eyes stay on the diff.
Hear Aider's commit plan before confirming
Aider asks to confirm each commit. Listening at 1.5× catches 'wrong file scope' or 'wrong message prefix' faster than reading.
Listen to multi-file diff summaries
Aider summarizes what it changed across files. Audio cross-checks against `git diff` in another pane — easier to spot drift.
Audio-scan reasoning traces
When Aider explains why it chose one approach over another, audio lets the logic land while your eyes follow the code.
Review test-failure analyses
When tests break after an Aider edit, its failure analysis is prose. Listen while your eyes scan the stack trace.
Study Aider's conventional-commits discipline
Aider often discusses commit hygiene. Listening on replay embeds the convention better than reading once.
Accessibility for long pair-programming sessions
A full day of Aider produces thousands of words. Eyes on diff + ears on prose is sustainable; all-eyes is not.
Why CastReader Fits Aider Better Than `say`
You could pipe Aider output to `say`, but you lose selection-aware reading, on-surface highlight, and speed control. CastReader reads your actual terminal selection with a highlight that tracks each word.
Word-level highlight on Terminal.app
A transparent overlay tracks each spoken word on the real terminal — not a clone pane or side window.
40+ modern voices
English Aider replies, Chinese prompts, Japanese docs — auto-picked per selection. Kokoro quality, not `say` voices.
Adjustable rate + click-to-jump
1.5× for verbose plans, 0.8× for tricky reasoning. Click any paragraph to jump playback — `say` can't.
Zero cost, zero signup
No account. No daily limit. Your Aider model API bill stays the same — CastReader is the free voice layer.
Common Questions
How do I read Aider output aloud on a Mac?▾
Install CastReader for Mac, grant Accessibility permission, run Aider in Terminal.app, then select any text — a commit plan, a diff summary, an analysis — and click the floating ▶. Word-level highlight appears on your terminal.
Does Terminal.app need Screen Recording?▾
No. Terminal.app exposes text through macOS Accessibility APIs. CastReader reads it directly through AX — Accessibility permission alone is enough.
Does this work in iTerm2 / Warp?▾
Terminal.app has the cleanest AX path. iTerm2 works via AX with some quirks. Warp uses a custom renderer — partial support via OCR path.
Will it read Aider's inline diff output?▾
CastReader reads the literal characters you select. Diff markers (+/-) get read aloud. Most users select Aider's prose (plans, reasoning, summaries), not raw diffs — but it's your call.
Can I read Chinese Aider prompts aloud?▾
Yes. CastReader auto-detects CJK and switches to native Mandarin, Japanese, or Korean voices. Mixed-language Aider replies switch voice at sentence boundaries.
Does it interfere with Aider's keyboard input?▾
No. CastReader only triggers on selection + click ▶. Aider's prompt handling, /yes, /no, Ctrl-C, and all shell shortcuts stay untouched.
What about running Aider in VS Code's terminal?▾
VS Code's integrated terminal uses a different AX path — CastReader uses the Electron OCR path there. Works but needs Screen Recording. For cleanest experience, run Aider in Terminal.app.
Is it really free?▾
Yes. 100% free — no account, no credit card, no premium voice gate, no daily word limit. Download the .dmg and use it forever.
Ready to Hear Aider Speak?
Install once. Run Aider in Terminal. Select any output. Click ▶. Listen.