Narrator

The Narrator (in Java Edition) or text to speech (in Bedrock Edition) is a text-to-speech engine that automatically reads chat messages and other text elements in the user interface, such as titles and selected buttons.

The different narrator settings.

Usage

It can be toggled on in the accessibility settings or by pressing Ctrl + B (or ⌘ Cmd + B on Mac). The narrator can be toggled between the following settings:

• Off: The narrator is inactive.
• All: The narrator reads chat and system messages.
• Chat: The narrator reads only messages produced by players.
• System: The narrator reads only messages produced by the system (UI text, command outputs, notifications, etc.).

The keyboard shortcut for toggling the narrator can be disabled in the accessibility settings.

The language of the narrator is defined in host system and cannot be changed from within the game (although it can be forced in Windows by editing the Windows Registry).

History

[hide]Java Edition
1.12			17w13a				Added the narrator. It can be toggled on and off with Ctrl + B or ⌘ Cmd + B on Mac.
			17w15a				Added the option to toggle narrator between: "off", "chat & system", "chat only", and "system messages only".
							Added a toast notification for toggling the narrator.
			17w18b				Made the narrator work on nearly all systems (Linux requires Flite for it to work).
1.14			19w07a				The narrator now reads hovered over buttons out loud.
1.15			19w46b				The narrator now reads command suggestions when on "All" or "System".
1.17			20w46a				Added strings, "Mode", "Type", "Triggering", and "Track output" in the command block UI, for the narrator to read.
1.20.2			23w33a				Added "Narrator Hotkey" option to accessibility settings. It allows the narrator to be toggled with Ctrl + B.
1.21.5			25w02a				The volume of the narrator is now affected by the game's configured volume in the 'Voice' category.

Issues

Issues relating to "Narrator" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.