# Show HN: Orc-work-notify – Claude Code plugin with orc voice alerts

> Source: <https://github.com/vagkaratzas/orc-work-notify>
> Published: 2026-10-29 07:35:48+00:00

A [Claude Code](https://code.claude.com) plugin that plays a sound on three events, so you can go make tea and come back when it's time:

| Event | Hook | Sound file | 
|---|---|---|
| You send a prompt | `UserPromptSubmit` | `submit.wav` | 
| Claude needs you (a question, a permission prompt, idle waiting) | `PreToolUse` on`AskUserQuestion` ,`Notification` | `attention.wav` | 
| Claude finished the task | `Stop` | `stop.wav` | 

Sounds play in the background, so they never slow Claude down.

```
claude plugin marketplace add vagkaratzas/orc-work-notify
claude plugin install orc-work-notify@orc-work-notify
```

Then restart Claude Code or run `/reload-plugins`.

It ships with three orc clips from John Carroll's free [Orc Voice Pack](https://johncarroll.itch.io/orc-voice-pack) (CC0, public domain):

| Event | File | From the pack | 
|---|---|---|
| `submit` | `sounds/submit.wav` | `yes1.wav` | 
| `attention` | `sounds/attention.wav` | `yescommand.wav` | 
| `stop` | `sounds/stop.wav` | `satisfied1.wav` | 

Thanks, John ([@jhncrrll_](https://x.com/jhncrrll_))!

Prefer a different orc? Any orc. *That* orc. Drop your own `.wav` files in, named after the event; the most specific wins:

| Where | Applies to | 
|---|---|
| `~/.claude/sounds/{submit,attention,stop}.wav` | every project | 
| `<project>/.claude/sounds/{submit,attention,stop}.wav` | that project only | 

They live outside the plugin, so updates never overwrite them, and copyrighted clips you own a copy of stay on your machine instead of in this repo. Skip a file to keep the bundled one.

Each event can also be a folder of `.wav` files, and one is picked at random every time:

| Where | Applies to | 
|---|---|
| `~/.claude/sounds/{submit,attention,stop}/*.wav` | every project | 
| `<project>/.claude/sounds/{submit,attention,stop}/*.wav` | that project only | 

At each level a folder beats a single `.wav` of the same name, and the most specific level still wins. An empty folder is ignored, and only lowercase `.wav` files count (`clip.WAV` is skipped).

Any non-empty `~/.claude/orc-work-notify.muted` silences it:

```
echo 1 > ~/.claude/orc-work-notify.muted   # mute
: > ~/.claude/orc-work-notify.muted        # unmute
```

Tries `afplay` (macOS), `pw-play`, `paplay`, `ffplay`, `aplay`, then `powershell.exe` (Windows, via Git Bash) in that order, falling through when one is missing or fails.

Code: MIT. Bundled sounds: CC0 (see [Sounds](#sounds)).