Quickstart

Get a Pipecat voice app running in minutes with the CLI.

The CLI generates React and vanilla JavaScript projects. For React Native, iOS, Android, or C++, see Building a Voice UI to get started without the CLI.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+ and uv
• Node.js 18+

Step 1: Scaffold your project

# Install the Pipecat CLI
uv tool install "pipecat-ai[cli]"

# Start your project
pipecat init

When init asks how you want to build, choose Scaffold a runnable bot now. The wizard will guide you through the setup. Choose the following options:

Step 2: Start the bot

cd my-voice-app/bot
cp .env.example .env       # add your API keys
uv sync
uv run bot.py

The bot starts at http://localhost:7860.

Step 3: Start the client

cd ../client
npm install
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173, click Connect, allow microphone access, and start talking.

First run note: The initial startup may take ~20 seconds as Pipecat downloads required models and imports. Subsequent runs will be much faster.

🎉 Success! Your bot is running locally. Now let’s deploy it to production so others can use it.

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Understanding the Quickstart Client

Next steps