feat(speak): default to Flux TTS (flux-alexis-en) instead of Aura 2

README.md

@@ -75,8 +75,8 @@ dg login
 # Transcribe an audio file
 dg listen recording.wav
 
-# Text-to-speech
-dg speak "Hello from Deepgram" -o hello.mp3
+# Text-to-speech (Flux TTS by default)
+dg speak "Hello from Deepgram" -o hello.wav
 
 # Live microphone transcription
 dg listen --mic
@@ -132,8 +132,9 @@ dg read earnings.txt --sentiment --summarize --topics
 ### Text-to-speech
 
 ```bash
-# Stream directly to a player
-dg speak "Hello from Deepgram" | ffplay -nodisp -autoexit -
+# Stream directly to a player (Flux TTS streams a WAV; -loglevel error hides
+# ffmpeg's cosmetic end-of-stream notice)
+dg speak "Hello from Deepgram" | ffplay -loglevel error -nodisp -autoexit -
 ```
 
 ### Account & project management
@@ -173,22 +174,22 @@ cat audio.raw | dg listen --encoding linear16 --sample-rate 16000
 
 Convert text to natural speech. Supports file output and piping.
 
-`aura-*` models use the Speak v1 batch REST API. `flux-*` (Flux TTS) models use
-the Speak v2 WebSocket API and stream by default; their raw `linear16` output is
-wrapped in a WAV container so it is directly playable.
+By default `dg speak` uses Flux TTS (`flux-alexis-en`) — the Speak v2 WebSocket
+API, which streams and emits raw audio; its `linear16` output is wrapped in a WAV
+container so it is directly playable. Pass an `aura-*` model to use the Speak v1
+batch REST API instead, which supports containerized formats like MP3.
 
 ```bash
-# Aura (v1, batch REST)
-dg speak "Welcome to Deepgram" -o welcome.mp3
-dg speak --file script.txt -o output.mp3 -m aura-2-luna-en
-echo "Hello" | dg speak -o greeting.mp3
-dg speak "Stream me" | ffplay -nodisp -            # pipe to audio player
-
-# Flux TTS (v2, WebSocket streaming)
-dg speak "Hello from Flux" -m flux-alexis-en -o hello.wav
+# Flux TTS (v2, WebSocket streaming) — the default
+dg speak "Hello from Flux" -o hello.wav
 # Piped audio is a streaming WAV; -loglevel error hides ffmpeg's cosmetic
 # end-of-stream notice (the audio is complete).
-dg speak "Hello from Flux" -m flux-alexis-en | ffplay -loglevel error -nodisp -autoexit -
+dg speak "Hello from Flux" | ffplay -loglevel error -nodisp -autoexit -
+
+# Aura (v1, batch REST) — opt in with -m aura-*; needed for MP3 output
+dg speak "Welcome to Deepgram" -o welcome.mp3 -m aura-2-asteria-en
+dg speak --file script.txt -o output.mp3 -m aura-2-luna-en
+echo "Hello" | dg speak -o greeting.mp3 -m aura-2-asteria-en
 ```
 
 ### Text Intelligence
@@ -292,7 +293,7 @@ export DEEPGRAM_PROJECT_ID="your-project-id"
 
 # Non-interactive usage
 dg listen recording.wav
-dg speak "Deploy complete" -o notification.mp3
+dg speak "Deploy complete" -o notification.mp3 -m aura-2-asteria-en
 dg keys --create --comment "ci-key" --scopes member
 dg keys --delete KEY_ID --yes
 dg read --file report.txt --summarize

packages/deepctl-cmd-speak/src/deepctl_cmd_speak/command.py

@@ -162,26 +162,29 @@ class SpeakCommand(BaseCommand):
     ci_friendly = True
 
     examples = [
+        # Flux TTS is the default (flux-alexis-en) — WebSocket streaming,
+        # raw audio wrapped in WAV. Piped audio is a streaming WAV (unknown
+        # length up front), so pass `-loglevel error` to silence ffmpeg's
+        # cosmetic end-of-stream notice.
         'dg speak "Hello world"',
-        'dg speak "Hello world" -o hello.mp3',
-        "dg speak --file message.txt -o output.mp3",
-        'echo "Hello" | dg speak -o hello.mp3',
-        'dg speak "Hello" | ffplay -nodisp -',
+        'dg speak "Hello world" -o hello.wav',
+        "dg speak --file message.txt -o output.wav",
+        'dg speak "Hello" | ffplay -loglevel error -nodisp -autoexit -',
+        # Aura (Speak v1, batch REST) — opt in with -m aura-*; needed for
+        # containerized formats like mp3.
+        'dg speak "Hello" -m aura-2-asteria-en -o hello.mp3',
         'dg speak "Hello" -m aura-2-luna-en -o hello.wav --encoding linear16 --container wav',
-        # Flux TTS — WebSocket streaming (flux-* models), streaming by default.
-        # Piped audio is a streaming WAV (unknown length up front), so pass
-        # `-loglevel error` to silence ffmpeg's cosmetic end-of-stream notice.
-        'dg speak "Hello from Flux" -m flux-alexis-en -o hello.wav',
-        'dg speak "Hello from Flux" -m flux-alexis-en | ffplay -loglevel error -nodisp -autoexit -',
+        'echo "Hello" | dg speak -o hello.mp3 -m aura-2-asteria-en',
     ]
     agent_help = (
         "Convert text to speech using Deepgram's TTS API. "
         "Text can be provided as an argument, from a file, or piped via stdin. "
         "Audio is written to a file (--output) or stdout for piping. "
-        "aura-* models use Speak v1 (batch REST). flux-* (Flux TTS) models use "
-        "Speak v2, streaming over WebSocket by default and emitting raw audio; "
-        "linear16 output is wrapped in a WAV container so it is directly playable. "
-        "Supports model selection and audio format options."
+        "By default (flux-* models, e.g. flux-alexis-en) uses Flux TTS / Speak "
+        "v2, streaming over WebSocket and emitting raw audio; linear16 output is "
+        "wrapped in a WAV container so it is directly playable. Pass an aura-* "
+        "model to use Speak v1 (batch REST), which supports containerized "
+        "formats like mp3. Supports model selection and audio format options."
     )
 
     def get_arguments(self) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
@@ -201,13 +204,13 @@ def get_arguments(self) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
             {
                 "names": ["--model", "-m"],
                 "help": (
-                    "TTS model. aura-* = Speak v1 (REST batch; default "
-                    "aura-2-asteria-en); flux-* = Flux TTS / Speak v2 (WebSocket "
-                    "streaming, e.g. flux-alexis-en)."
+                    "TTS model. flux-* = Flux TTS / Speak v2 (WebSocket "
+                    "streaming; default flux-alexis-en); aura-* = Speak v1 "
+                    "(REST batch, e.g. aura-2-asteria-en)."
                 ),
                 "type": str,
                 "is_option": True,
-                "default": "aura-2-asteria-en",
+                "default": "flux-alexis-en",
             },
             {
                 "names": ["--encoding"],
@@ -251,7 +254,7 @@ def handle(
     ) -> BaseResult | None:
         text = kwargs.get("text")
         output_path = kwargs.get("output")
-        model = kwargs.get("model") or "aura-2-asteria-en"
+        model = kwargs.get("model") or "flux-alexis-en"
         encoding = kwargs.get("encoding")
         container = kwargs.get("container")
         sample_rate = kwargs.get("sample_rate")

packages/deepctl-cmd-speak/tests/unit/test_speak_command.py

@@ -264,6 +264,38 @@ def test_handle_write_to_file(
 
         assert output_file.read_bytes() == b"chunk1chunk2"
 
+    @patch("deepctl_cmd_speak.command.sys")
+    def test_handle_default_model_routes_to_flux(
+        self, mock_sys, command, mock_config, mock_auth_manager, mock_client, tmp_path
+    ):
+        """With no -m, the default is Flux (v2 streaming), not Aura (v1 REST)."""
+        mock_sys.stdin.isatty.return_value = True
+        mock_sys.stdout.isatty.return_value = True
+
+        pcm = b"\x01\x00\x02\x00"  # raw 16-bit PCM
+        mock_client.speak_text_stream.return_value = iter([pcm])
+
+        output_file = tmp_path / "hello.wav"
+        result = command.handle(
+            config=mock_config,
+            auth_manager=mock_auth_manager,
+            client=mock_client,
+            text="Hello world",
+            output=str(output_file),
+            model=None,
+            encoding=None,
+            container=None,
+            sample_rate=None,
+            file=None,
+        )
+
+        assert isinstance(result, SpeakResult)
+        assert result.model == "flux-alexis-en"
+        # Routed to streaming (v2), not batch REST (v1).
+        mock_client.speak_text_stream.assert_called_once()
+        mock_client.speak_text.assert_not_called()
+        assert output_file.read_bytes()[:4] == b"RIFF"
+
     @patch("deepctl_cmd_speak.command.sys")
     def test_handle_flux_streams_and_wraps_wav(
         self,