sound-effects Checked

Generate sound effects from text descriptions using ElevenLabs. Use when creating sound effects, generating audio textures, producing ambient sounds, cinematic impacts, UI sounds, or any audio that isn't speech. Supports looping, duration control, and prompt influence tuning.

ElevenLabs Sound Effects

Generate sound effects from text descriptions — supports looping, custom duration, and prompt adherence control.

> **Setup:** See Installation Guide (references/installation.md). For JavaScript, use @elevenlabs/* packages only.

Generate sound effects from text descriptions using ElevenLabs. Use when creating sound effects, generating audio textures, producing ambient sounds, cinematic impacts, UI sounds, or any audio that isn't speech. Supports looping, duration control, and prompt influence tuning.

ElevenLabs Sound Effects

Generate sound effects from text descriptions — supports looping, custom duration, and prompt adherence control.

> **Setup:** See Installation Guide (references/installation.md). For JavaScript, use @elevenlabs/* packages only.

Quick Start

### Python

from elevenlabs import ElevenLabs

client = ElevenLabs()

audio = client.text_to_sound_effects.convert(
    text="Thunder rumbling in the distance with light rain",
)

with open("thunder.mp3", "wb") as f:
    for chunk in audio:
        f.write(chunk)

### JavaScript

import { ElevenLabsClient } from "@elevenlabs/elevenlabs-js";
import { createWriteStream } from "fs";

const client = new ElevenLabsClient();
const audio = await client.textToSoundEffects.convert({
  text: "Thunder rumbling in the distance with light rain",
});
audio.pipe(createWriteStream("thunder.mp3"));

### cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/sound-generation" \
  -H "xi-api-key: $ELEVENLABS_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"text": "Thunder rumbling in the distance with light rain"}' \
  --output thunder.mp3

Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |

|-----------|------|---------|-------------|

| text | string (required) | — | Description of the desired sound effect |

| model_id | string | eleven_text_to_sound_v2 | Model to use |

| duration_seconds | number \| null | null (auto) | Duration 0.5–30s; auto-calculated if null |

| prompt_influence | number \| null | 0.3 | How closely to follow the prompt (0–1) |

| loop | boolean | false | Generate a seamlessly looping sound (v2 model only) |

Examples with Parameters

# Looping ambient sound, 10 seconds
audio = client.text_to_sound_effects.convert(
    text="Gentle forest ambiance with birds chirping",
    duration_seconds=10.0,
    prompt_influence=0.5,
    loop=True,
)

# Short UI sound, high prompt adherence
audio = client.text_to_sound_effects.convert(
    text="Soft notification chime",
    duration_seconds=1.0,
    prompt_influence=0.8,
)

Output Formats

Pass output_format as a query parameter (cURL) or SDK parameter:

| Format | Description |

|--------|-------------|

| mp3_44100_128 | MP3 44.1kHz 128kbps (default) |

| pcm_44100 | Raw uncompressed CD quality |

| opus_48000_128 | Opus 48kHz 128kbps — efficient compressed |

| ulaw_8000 | μ-law 8kHz — telephony |