Diff — Eyes-Free Linux

{{infobox

| title = Eyes-Free Linux

| chapter = Linux Handbook, chapter 23 — console screen readers, braille, and the accessible path

| core | Linux is the most accessible OS at the console — the kernel itself can speak

| tools | Speakup (in-kernel) · BRLTTY · Orca · espeakup · Fenrir

| lineage | Kurzweil → Braille 'n Speak → Speakup's bns driver

| featured = Slint — Slackware accessible from the installer

| next | BLFS — building beyond the base system

}}

**Linux is the only OS whose console can speak from the kernel itself** — no desktop needed, no GUI required, speech from the moment init starts. This chapter covers the eyes-free path: **Speakup** (the kernel-level screen reader), **BRLTTY** (the braille daemon), **Orca** (the graphical one), **espeakup** (the bridge to software speech), and **Slint** — the distro that ships it all working. The lineage runs through this wiki's existing cluster — the machine that reads text onscreen descends from the one that read it off paper.

## The lineage — the hardware that taught software

The chain this handbook's wiki already documents: the **[[Kurzweil Reading Machine]]** (1976 — the machine that read *paper*), the **[[Braille n Speak|Braille 'n Speak]]** (1987 — the notetaker that became a speech synthesizer), and **[[Speakup]]** (1998 — the screen reader that lives in the kernel). The kernel still ships `speakup_bns.c` — the driver that lets Speakup talk *through* a forty-year-old Braille 'n Speak. The three articles link by tech, not just theme.

## Speakup — the kernel speaks

```sh

modprobe speakup_soft        # load it, software synth

speakup_soft.start=1         # or kernel cmdline

espeakup                     # the daemon bridging speakup→espeak

```

Speakup lives in `drivers/accessibility/speakup/` — the kernel synthesizes speech as you navigate the console — **from boot**, before any userspace exists, all the way to a panic. It drives hardware synths (the DoubleTalk, the DECtalk line, the Braille 'n Speak via `bns`) or `espeakup`'s software bridge to eSpeak. The `speakup` keymap: review keys read the screen, the numpad navigates; `speakup.synth=soft` or `=bns` selects the voice.

## BRLTTY — the braille side

```sh

brltty -b auto -x auto       # auto-detect the display

systemctl enable brltty

```

BRLTTY drives **refreshable braille displays** — the hardware that turns the console into tactile dots — handling every major display's protocol since 1995. It reads the screen, maps cursor position, handles keyboard input on display keys. Speakup speaks; BRLTTY braills; both make the console fully usable without sight.

## The rest of the ecosystem

- **Orca** — the graphical screen reader — GNOME's eyes-free layer

- **espeak-ng / speech-dispatcher** — the software synths + the speech service

- **Fenrir** — the modern modular console reader

- **Emacspeak** — the speaking Emacs environment — Raman, 1995 — still maintained

- **Accessible-Coconut, Vinux, Sonar, TalkingArch** — the eyes-free distros — each a distro pre-configured for speech/braille from boot

## Slint — the featured accessible distro

**Slint** is Slackware rebuilt for accessibility — the same system this handbook features, but the *installer itself speaks*. Slint boots a talking installer, ships Speakup+BRLTTY+Orca working out of the box, and is both the handbook's recommended host *and* its accessibility answer. Installing Linux blind is a solved problem — Slint solved it.

## The eyes-free LFS build

Chapter 2's whole setup is console-only — `gdisk`, `mkfs`, `tar`, `configure` — nothing needs a GUI. Speakup reads every command's output; `configure`'s checks scroll and are read; `make`'s errors speak. The entire LFS build is achievable eyes-free on a Slint host — the toolchain's text-native design is the accessibility. The only friction: `make menuconfig`'s ncurses UI — navigable via review mode, or replaced by `make config`/`make olddefconfig`'s line-based alternatives.

## The kernel config for accessibility

```sh

# make menuconfig — Device Drivers → Accessibility → Speakup

CONFIG_ACCESSIBILITY=y

CONFIG_SPEAKUP=y

CONFIG_SPEAKUP_SYNTH_SOFT=y    # software synth

CONFIG_SPEAKUP_SYNTH_BNS=y     # the Braille 'n Speak driver

CONFIG_SPEAKUP_SYNTH_DTLK=y    # DoubleTalk

```

Inside an LFS system you configure it yourself — the kernel chapter's menuconfig includes `Accessibility → Speakup` — a feature most distros bury but LFS lets you build in.

## The Speakup keymap — reading by hand

```text

Speakup review keys (the numpad):

  8/2 — prev/next line     4/6 — prev/next word    7/9 — prev/next char

  5 — say current char     . — say line    , — say word

  CapsLock+arrows — review movement   PrintScreen — shut up

  Insert+1-9 — read line by number    Speakup key (CapsLock) + F-keys — controls

  speakup.spkup keybindings — the full map in the kernel docs

  CapsLock+NumLock — cursor tracking toggle

```

The kernel doc `Documentation/accessibility/speakup/spkguide.txt` is the full manual — the review mode turns any console output navigable.

## The espeakup + speech-dispatcher plumbing

```sh

modprobe speakup_soft                 # load the soft synth driver

espeakup                              # bridge daemon — speakup → espeak-ng

# or through speech-dispatcher:

speechd-up                            # speakup → speech-dispatcher → any TTS

spd-say "hello"                       # test speech-dispatcher

```

The chain: kernel-speakup → `/dev/softsynth` → espeakup/speechd-up daemon → espeak-ng/speech-dispatcher → audio. `echo "text" > /dev/softsynth` writes speech directly.

## The braille side's full surface

```sh

brltty -b xw -d /dev/ttyUSB0 -t text    # driver, device, table

brltty -l debug                         # debug verbosity

brltty.conf — driver/model/device/table/kernel prefs

systemctl enable brltty                 # every boot

```

BRLTTY knows ~50 display protocols — `brltty -l` lists drivers; autodetect (`-b auto`) probes USB/Bluetooth/serial.

## The Orca/desktop layer

```sh

orca                                  # GNOME's screen reader

orca -s                               # preferences

orca --replace                        # restart it

orca's modifier — Insert — the review key

```

Orca speaks the *graphical* desktop — AT-SPI2 carries accessibility info from apps. `orca` + GTK/Qt apps + Firefox/Chromium covered; a fully speaking desktop is standard GNOME.

## The console-reading disciplines

- `less` pages predictably — screen readers read line-by-line; pagers are friends

- `--no-pager`, `| cat` defeat auto-paging (git's pager speaks awkwardly)

- `TERM` matters — dumb vs linux vs xterm changes how readers track output

- Line-oriented tools (`grep -n`, `awk`, `sed`) are naturally readable; full-screen TUIs (ncurses) need review-mode fluency

- `stty cols 80` keeps output within a braille display's width

## Timeline

| | |

| --- | --- |

| 1976 | Kurzweil Reading Machine — reads paper |

| 1987 | Braille 'n Speak — the notetaker |

| 1995 | BRLTTY + Emacspeak |

| 1998 | Speakup v0.01 — the kernel speaks |

| 2000s | Orca, speech-dispatcher, eyes-free distros |

| 2020 | Speakup reaches mainline — kernel 5.9 |

## See also

- [[Speakup]] — the kernel screen reader's own article

- [[Braille n Speak]] · [[Kurzweil Reading Machine]] — the lineage

- [[Linux]] · [[LFS Kernel and Boot]]

[[Category:Linux]]

[[Category:Handbook]]

[[Category:Accessibility]]