Version 4.25.6

Fix ChatterBox optional perth import crashing model load on Python 3.13

Technical details:
- Move perth import behind lazy watermark initialization
- Prevent module load from touching fragile librosa resample path by default
- Keep watermarking available only when explicitly enabled

Author: diodiogod

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,13 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [4.25.6] - 2026-04-10
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Fix ChatterBox model loading failure on some Python 3.13 setups
+- Fix ChatterBox crashing before generation when optional watermark dependency imports a fragile librosa path
+- Improve compatibility by loading watermark support only when it is actually used
 ## [4.25.5] - 2026-04-08
 
 ### Added

README.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 [![Dynamic TOML Badge][version-shield]][version-url]
 [![Ko-Fi](https://img.shields.io/badge/Ko--fi-F16061?style=for-the-badge&logo=ko-fi&logoColor=white)](https://ko-fi.com/diogogo)
 
-# TTS Audio Suite v4.25.5
+# TTS Audio Suite v4.25.6
 
 [![ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/img/githubbutton_sm.svg)](https://ko-fi.com/diogogo)
 

engines/chatterbox/perth_loader.py

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+import warnings
+
+
+def create_perth_watermarker():
+    """
+    Lazily import perth only when watermarking is actually requested.
+
+    Watermarking is disabled by default, so Chatterbox should not fail model load
+    just because perth drags in a fragile librosa import path on some envs.
+    """
+    with warnings.catch_warnings():
+        warnings.simplefilter("ignore")
+        import perth
+
+    watermarker_cls = getattr(perth, "PerthImplicitWatermarker", None)
+    if watermarker_cls is None:
+        raise AttributeError("PerthImplicitWatermarker not available in perth module")
+
+    watermarker = watermarker_cls()
+    if watermarker is None:
+        raise ValueError("PerthImplicitWatermarker returned None")
+
+    return watermarker

engines/chatterbox/tts.py

@@ -4,33 +4,24 @@
 
 import torch
 import torch.nn.functional as F
-from huggingface_hub import hf_hub_download
-import warnings
-
-# Use librosa fallback for Python 3.13 compatibility
-from utils.audio.librosa_fallback import safe_load, safe_resample
-# Import safetensors for multilanguage model support
-from safetensors.torch import load_file
+from huggingface_hub import hf_hub_download
+import warnings
+
+# Use librosa fallback for Python 3.13 compatibility
+from utils.audio.librosa_fallback import safe_load, safe_resample
+from .perth_loader import create_perth_watermarker
+# Import safetensors for multilanguage model support
+from safetensors.torch import load_file
 
 # Import folder_paths for model directory detection
 try:
     import folder_paths
 except ImportError:
     folder_paths = None
 
-# Import perth with warnings disabled and graceful fallback
-try:
-    with warnings.catch_warnings():
-        warnings.simplefilter("ignore")
-        import perth
-    PERTH_AVAILABLE = True
-except ImportError:
-    perth = None
-    PERTH_AVAILABLE = False
-
-from .models.t3 import T3
-from .models.s3tokenizer import S3_SR, drop_invalid_tokens
-from .models.s3gen import S3GEN_SR, S3Gen
+from .models.t3 import T3
+from .models.s3tokenizer import S3_SR, drop_invalid_tokens
+from .models.s3gen import S3GEN_SR, S3Gen
 from .models.tokenizers import EnTokenizer
 from .models.voice_encoder import VoiceEncoder
 from .models.t3.modules.cond_enc import T3Cond
@@ -197,20 +188,16 @@ def to(self, device):
 
         return self
 
-    def _init_watermarker_if_needed(self):
-        """Initialize watermarker on first use if enabled"""
-        if self.enable_watermarking and not self._watermarker_init_attempted:
-            self._watermarker_init_attempted = True
-            try:
-                with warnings.catch_warnings():
-                    warnings.simplefilter("ignore")
-                    self.watermarker = perth.PerthImplicitWatermarker()
-                    if self.watermarker is None:
-                        raise ValueError("PerthImplicitWatermarker returned None")
-            except Exception as e:
-                print(f"❌ Failed to initialize watermarker: {e}")
-                self.watermarker = None
-                self.enable_watermarking = False
+    def _init_watermarker_if_needed(self):
+        """Initialize watermarker on first use if enabled"""
+        if self.enable_watermarking and not self._watermarker_init_attempted:
+            self._watermarker_init_attempted = True
+            try:
+                self.watermarker = create_perth_watermarker()
+            except Exception as e:
+                print(f"❌ Failed to initialize watermarker: {e}")
+                self.watermarker = None
+                self.enable_watermarking = False
 
     @classmethod
     def from_local(cls, ckpt_dir, device, language=None) -> 'ChatterboxTTS':

engines/chatterbox/vc.py

@@ -2,30 +2,21 @@
 import os
 
 import torch
-import warnings
-from huggingface_hub import hf_hub_download
-
-# Use librosa fallback for Python 3.13 compatibility
-from utils.audio.librosa_fallback import safe_load
+import warnings
+from huggingface_hub import hf_hub_download
+
+# Use librosa fallback for Python 3.13 compatibility
+from utils.audio.librosa_fallback import safe_load
+from .perth_loader import create_perth_watermarker
 
 # Import folder_paths for model directory detection
 try:
     import folder_paths
 except ImportError:
     folder_paths = None
 
-# Import perth with warnings disabled and graceful fallback
-try:
-    with warnings.catch_warnings():
-        warnings.simplefilter("ignore")
-        import perth
-    PERTH_AVAILABLE = True
-except ImportError:
-    perth = None
-    PERTH_AVAILABLE = False
-
-# Import safetensors for multilanguage model support
-from safetensors.torch import load_file
+# Import safetensors for multilanguage model support
+from safetensors.torch import load_file
 
 from .models.s3tokenizer import S3_SR
 from .models.s3gen import S3GEN_SR, S3Gen
@@ -82,23 +73,16 @@ def to(self, device):
 
         return self
 
-    def _init_watermarker_if_needed(self):
-        """Initialize watermarker on first use if enabled"""
-        if self.enable_watermarking and not self._watermarker_init_attempted:
-            self._watermarker_init_attempted = True
-            try:
-                if PERTH_AVAILABLE and hasattr(perth, 'PerthImplicitWatermarker'):
-                    with warnings.catch_warnings():
-                        warnings.simplefilter("ignore")
-                        self.watermarker = perth.PerthImplicitWatermarker()
-                        if self.watermarker is None:
-                            raise ValueError("PerthImplicitWatermarker returned None")
-                else:
-                    raise AttributeError("PerthImplicitWatermarker not available in perth module")
-            except Exception as e:
-                print(f"❌ Failed to initialize watermarker: {e}")
-                self.watermarker = None
-                self.enable_watermarking = False
+    def _init_watermarker_if_needed(self):
+        """Initialize watermarker on first use if enabled"""
+        if self.enable_watermarking and not self._watermarker_init_attempted:
+            self._watermarker_init_attempted = True
+            try:
+                self.watermarker = create_perth_watermarker()
+            except Exception as e:
+                print(f"❌ Failed to initialize watermarker: {e}")
+                self.watermarker = None
+                self.enable_watermarking = False
 
     @classmethod
     def from_local(cls, ckpt_dir, device) -> 'ChatterboxVC':

nodes.py

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     pass
 
 # Version and constants
-VERSION = "4.25.5"
+VERSION = "4.25.6"
 IS_DEV = False  # Set to False for release builds
 VERSION_DISPLAY = f"v{VERSION}" + (" (dev)" if IS_DEV else "")
 SEPARATOR = "=" * 70

pyproject.toml

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 [project]
 name = "tts_audio_suite"
 description = "TTS Audio Suite - Universal multi-engine TTS extension for ComfyUI with unified architecture supporting IndexTTS-2, ChatterBox, Chatterbox Multilingual TTS (Official 23-Lang), F5-TTS, Higgs Audio 2, VibeVoice, and RVC engines. It has character voice management, SRT subtitle TTS support, and audio processing capabilities."
-version = "4.25.5"
+version = "4.25.6"
 license = {file = "LICENSE"}
 
 [project.urls]