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Diff — Eyes-Free Linux

Comparing rev 7 → rev 8

	{{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.
+	The chain this handbook's wiki already documents: the [[Kurzweil Reading Machine]] (1976 — the machine that read paper), the [[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 distro landscape — the eyes-free distros

	\| Distro \| The shape \|
	\| --- \| --- \|
	\| Slint \| Slackware + full a11y from the installer — the featured path \|
	\| Vinux \| Ubuntu + Orca/speakup preconfigured — discontinued (last releases ~2017) \|
	\| Sonar \| Arch-based — inactive \|
	\| TalkingArch \| Arch + speakup on the ISO \|
	\| Accessible-Coconut \| Ubuntu MATE + orca \|
	\| Adriane \| Knoppix's console-only a11y mode \|
	\| Ubuntu/Fedora stock \| Orca + speakup present — just not preconfigured \|

	Slint's installer's installer speaks — boot the ISO to a talking menu — a blind user installs blind, from scratch.

	## 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 reading workflows — how a screen gets read

	```text
	Speakup's vocabulary:
	Insert+Keypad combos — the review layer:
	PadEnter = say all Pad+ = say to-end Pad. = say screen
	Pad0 = shut up Pad8 = say line Pad5 = say word
	Pad2 = say phonetic-word Pad7/9 = prev/next line
	Pad4/6 = prev/next word Pad1/3 = prev/next char
	Pad* = say current line Pad/ = find
	CapsLock is the speakup modifier on many layouts.
	echo 'key' > /sys/accessibility/speakup/i18n/… — the runtime controls
	```

	`/sys/accessibility/speakup/` is the live control plane — `echo` values to change voice, rate, punctuation, synth: `echo 9 > .../rate` speeds up; `echo soft > .../synth` switches to the softsynth.

	## The espeakup/espeak-ng chain — the voice's plumbing

	```text
	speakup_soft (kernel) → creates /dev/softsynth → espeakup daemon reads it
	→ feeds the text to espeak-ng → espeak-ng synthesizes → ALSA → speakers

	speechd-up does the same via speech-dispatcher — the middle layer that
	lets brltty + orca + speakup share one synthesizer.
	```

	`/dev/softsynth` is the file-as-voice — write "hello" to it and the daemon speaks it. `modprobe speakup_soft start=1` brings it up; the daemon does the translating.

	## The braille surface — brltty's full surface

	```sh
	brltty # autodetect the display
	brltty -b fs -d ttyUSB0 # driver + device (fs=FreedomScientific, al=Alva, ht=HandyTech)
	brltty -q # quiet
	brltty -e # the current screen as a table
	brltty -l debug # debug log
	ls /etc/brltty/ # the config — brltty.conf key tables
	```

	`-b` picks the driver (fs FreedomScientific, al Alva, ht HandyTech, pm Papenmeier, vo Voyager — every major braille-display maker); `-d` the device; `brltty.conf` maps keys. BRLTTY's been the display layer since 1995 — its driver list is the braille-hardware catalog.

	## 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 \|
	\| 2010 \| Speakup reaches mainline — kernel 2.6.36 (staging) \|

	## See also

	- [[Speakup]] — the kernel screen reader's own article
-	- [[Braille n Speak]] · [[Kurzweil Reading Machine]] — the lineage
+	- [[Braille 'n Speak]] · [[Kurzweil Reading Machine]] — the lineage
+	- [[Braille]] · [[Louis Braille]] · [[Abraham Nemeth]] · [[Nemeth Braille Code]] — the codes
+	- [[Adriane Knoppix]] · [[Slint Linux\|Slint]] · [[Vinux]] · [[Sonar Linux\|Sonar]] · [[Accessible-Coconut]] · [[Stormux]] · [[Vojtux]] — the distros
	- [[Linux]] · [[LFS Kernel and Boot]]
+	- [The Library](/library/) — braille codes and translation on the main site

	[[Category:Linux]]
	[[Category:Handbook]]
	[[Category:Accessibility]]
	[[Category:Linux Handbook]]