MiniMax Speech 2.8 helper

1. Install dependencies. Run pip install requests in the environment that will execute the script. The CLI talks to MiniMax's REST API, so you only need the requests library on top of Python 3.11+.
2. Set your MiniMax credential. Export MINIMAX_API_KEY with the API key the user promised to supply. The script will refuse to run without it.
3. Use the bundled CLI. scripts/minimax_tts.py exposes two subcommands:
   • tts: calls POST https://api.minimax.io/v1/t2a_v2 (Speech 2.8 T2A HTTP) with the desired voice_id, voice settings, audio configuration, and optional voice effects. Example:

     python scripts/minimax_tts.py tts \
       --text "Tonight in Shenzhen the skies are clear." \
       --voice-id "Sweet_Girl_2" \
       --model speech-2.8-hd \
       --audio-format mp3 \
       --output minimax-weather.mp3
     

     The script decodes the hex/base64 payload, saves the file, and prints metadata. Override the endpoint with --endpoint if you must hit https://api-uw.minimax.io/v1/t2a_v2 or another region.
   • voices: calls POST https://api.minimax.io/v1/get_voice to enumerate system, voice_cloning, voice_generation, or all categories. Example:

     python scripts/minimax_tts.py voices --voice-type all --print-response
     

4. Customize TTS payloads via CLI switches. Use --speed, --vol, --pitch, and --language-boost to shape the voice. Control audio fidelity with --sample-rate, --bitrate, --audio-format, and --channel. Add pronunciation overrides (--pronunciation "emoji=ee-moh-jee") or mix timbres (--timbre-weight "Sweet_Girl_2=0.8"). --voice-modify-* flags let you nudge pitch/intensity/timbre or append a sound effect such as "spacious_echo". --output-format tells the script how the API returns audio (hex, base64, or a download url).
5. Handle the JSON. By default the script prints the extra_info field so you can read bitrate/sample rate/length. Use --print-response on either subcommand to dump the entire API payload for debugging. Save catalog JSON to disk with --output <path> when you need to reference voices later.

Keep this skill loaded any time you are asked for MiniMax-specific voices or when precise speech settings are required. The CLI gives you deterministic control over voice_id, model, and audio quality so you always get the Sweet_Girl_2 (or any other) tone you expect. If you need to script these requests from another tool, copy the relevant requests.post logic from scripts/minimax_tts.py.