OpenLive

OpenLive is an open, model-neutral runtime for continuous voice agents. It separates deadline-sensitive interaction continuity from slower model cognition and preserves native duplex provider capabilities instead of forcing every model through a text-chat abstraction.

Important

Disclaimer: This is an independent open-source project. It is not an official OpenAI project and has no affiliation with OpenAI or xAI.

Current status

Version 26.7.16 targets a GPT-Live-comparable experience: a call-first live surface, open neural speech (Piper), client-side audio intelligence, WebRTC session path, semantic endpointing, real tools + multi-agent sandbox, and durable profile/memory — with original visuals and model neutrality intact.

Full parity matrix: docs/gpt-live-parity.md · Architecture roadmap: docs/architecture-roadmap.md · Open stack guide: docs/open-source-stack.md · Credits: THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md · Release notes: docs/release-26.7.16.md

What 26.7.16 ships

Call-first voice surface

• First paint is a live call: Bloub face on a black stage + Mute / End / Settings (Morphicons).
• Session auto-joins. If the browser needs a gesture for the mic, the surface says Tap to talk.
• Lab chrome (camera, screen share, sandbox, multi-agent, diagnostics) lives in Settings → Advanced.
• Optional setup wizard remains available from Settings; it is not forced on launch.
• Full-screen mode, live transcript, conversation modes, and speaking-style axes stay available behind Settings / shortcuts.
• Demo TTS policy: neural or silence. Auto never pads with formant/mock. Formant only when you explicitly pick it.
• Package version: 26.7.16.

Open AI voice

• Production path: cascade → OpenAI-compatible Piper TTS (via LocalAI, openedai-speech, or gateway-local Piper).
• Gateway: GET /v1/tts/status, POST /v1/tts/speak.
• Auto engine = Piper or silence until ready; browser / formant only when selected in Settings.
• Licenses and attribution in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Client audio intelligence

• RNNoise-style noise suppression worklet (10 ms frames).
• Silero-style VAD worklet + energy blend.
• NLMS adaptive echo cancellation + windowed-sinc resampler.
• Local-first barge-in: local duck → soft_duck → hard_yield → cancel.

Agent, tools & sandbox

• Internal agent (no OpenCode): search, deep research pool, calculator, time, identity, profile.
• Path-safe sandbox file I/O + optional Chrome/Edge headless browse / screenshot / PDF.
• Multi-agent pool (≤50) with SSE progress, agent classes, and destructive-action confirms.
• Durable user profile (facts editor) + session memory export.
• See sandbox/README.md and docs/architecture-roadmap.md.

Transport, providers & tasks

• Binary WebSocket PCM + gateway-native WebRTC (DTLS data channels for events/PCM).
• Provider-edge WebRTC (OpenAI Realtime SDP) when secrets are available.
• Coordinated WebRTC → WebSocket fallback with clean audio/TTS state reset.
• POST /v1/webrtc/offer answers browser offers; POST /v1/realtime/session for edge secrets.
• Moshi native duplex: --provider moshi --moshi-url ws://127.0.0.1:8998/api/chat.
• Built-in LLM provider catalog (NVIDIA NIM, Groq, OpenRouter, Ollama, …) in Settings.
• Semantic endpointing (transcript-aware early end ~200 ms).
• Task lifecycle, evidence links, resume with dedup.
• Developer API: GET /health, /v1/meta, /v1/sessions, /v1/agent/*, /v1/sandbox/*, /v1/profile, MCP tools.

Desktop

• Tauri shells for Windows (MSI) and macOS (DMG/App) in apps/openlive-desktop/.
• Local listening-orb splash first; gateway spawn must not block first paint.

Still missing (vs full GPT-Live)

• Full RTP Opus media plane with packet FEC (data-channel PCM works today).
• Official RNNoise WASM / Silero ONNX vendor weights (interfaces ready).
• Transcript editing; production live-translation LLM hop.

Requirements

• Rust 1.83 or newer (CI / lockfile may require newer for builds; prefer a recent stable).
• A modern Chromium, Firefox, or Safari browser.
• Microphone permission.

Run the offline mock

cargo run -p openlive-gateway --release

Open http://127.0.0.1:8787. You should land on the listening call surface immediately. Talk (or tap the orb / Mute if the browser gated the mic). Prefer installing Piper for real voice; without it the demo path stays silent rather than faking a formant pad.

Run open-source neural voice (recommended)

Use any OpenAI-compatible stack that exposes:

• POST /v1/audio/transcriptions
• POST /v1/chat/completions
• POST /v1/audio/speech with response_format: "pcm" (24 kHz mono PCM16 preferred)

# API keys: set in the environment only — never commit keys into this repo.
export OPENLIVE_MODEL_API_KEY

cargo run -p openlive-gateway --release -- \
  --provider openai-compatible \
  --model-base-url http://127.0.0.1:8000/v1 \
  --asr-model whisper-1 \
  --llm-model your-chat-model \
  --tts-model tts-1 \
  --voice en_US-lessac-medium

See docs/open-source-stack.md for LocalAI / openedai-speech / Piper wiring.

Run a native realtime speech endpoint

export OPENLIVE_MODEL_API_KEY

cargo run -p openlive-gateway --release -- \
  --provider openai-realtime \
  --realtime-url wss://api.openai.com/v1/realtime \
  --realtime-model your-realtime-model \
  --voice alloy

Desktop app (Windows / macOS)

cargo build -p openlive-gateway --release
cd apps/openlive-desktop
cargo tauri build

See apps/openlive-desktop/README.md.

Deterministic replay

cargo run -p openlive-runtime --bin openlive-replay -- \
  --input fixtures/turn-completion.jsonl

Persistence, safety & MCP

cargo run -p openlive-gateway --release

cargo run -p openlive-gateway --release -- --no-persist --safety false

cargo run -p openlive-gateway --release -- --mcp-url http://127.0.0.1:3100/mcp

cargo run -p openlive-gateway --release -- \
  --provider openai-compatible \
  --model-base-url http://127.0.0.1:8000/v1 \
  --llm-model llama3.2 \
  --deep-llm-model qwen2.5-32b \
  --knowledge-dir ./knowledge

cargo run -p openlive-gateway --release -- \
  --provider hybrid \
  --model-base-url http://127.0.0.1:8000/v1

cargo run -p openlive-runtime --release --bin openlive-full-duplex-bench -- --turns 50

Tests

cargo test --workspace --release
cargo build -p openlive-gateway && cargo test -p openlive-gateway --test task_lifecycle
node --test apps/openlive-gateway/web/tests/*.test.js

License

Apache-2.0 for OpenLive source. Third-party speech stacks (Piper, etc.) have their own licenses — see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md. Prefer running GPL TTS servers out-of-process over HTTP.