voice.connect()

The connect() method establishes a WebSocket or WebRTC connection for real-time speech-to-speech communication. This method must be called before using other real-time features like send() or answer().

Usage example

import { OpenAIRealtimeVoice } from '@mastra/voice-openai-realtime'
import Speaker from '@mastra/node-speaker'

const speaker = new Speaker({
  sampleRate: 24100, // Audio sample rate in Hz - standard for high-quality audio on MacBook Pro
  channels: 1, // Mono audio output (as opposed to stereo which would be 2)
  bitDepth: 16, // Bit depth for audio quality - CD quality standard (16-bit resolution)
})

// Initialize a real-time voice provider
const voice = new OpenAIRealtimeVoice({
  realtimeConfig: {
    model: 'gpt-5.1-realtime',
    apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
    options: {
      sessionConfig: {
        turn_detection: {
          type: 'server_vad',
          threshold: 0.6,
          silence_duration_ms: 1200,
        },
      },
    },
  },
  speaker: 'alloy', // Default voice
})
// Connect to the real-time service
await voice.connect()
// Now you can use real-time features
voice.on('speaker', stream => {
  stream.pipe(speaker)
})
// With connection options
await voice.connect({
  timeout: 10000, // 10 seconds timeout
  reconnect: true,
})

Parameters

<PropertiesTable content={[ { name: 'options', type: 'Record<string, unknown>', description: 'Provider-specific connection options', isOptional: true, }, ]} />

Return value

Returns a Promise<void> that resolves when the connection is successfully established.

Provider-specific options

Each real-time voice provider may support different options for the connect() method:

OpenAI Realtime

<PropertiesTable content={[ { name: 'options', type: 'Options', description: 'Configuration options.', isOptional: true, properties: [ { type: 'Options', parameters: [ { name: 'timeout', type: 'number', description: 'Connection timeout in milliseconds', isOptional: true, defaultValue: '30000', }, { name: 'reconnect', type: 'boolean', description: 'Whether to automatically reconnect on connection loss', isOptional: true, defaultValue: 'false', }, ], }, ], }, ]} />

Using with CompositeVoice

When using CompositeVoice, the connect() method delegates to the configured real-time provider:

import { CompositeVoice } from '@mastra/core/voice'
import { OpenAIRealtimeVoice } from '@mastra/voice-openai-realtime'
const realtimeVoice = new OpenAIRealtimeVoice()
const voice = new CompositeVoice({
  realtime: realtimeVoice,
})
// This will use the OpenAIRealtimeVoice provider
await voice.connect()

Notes

• This method is only implemented by real-time voice providers that support speech-to-speech capabilities
• If called on a voice provider that doesn't support this functionality, it will log a warning and resolve immediately
• The connection must be established before using other real-time methods like send() or answer()
• When you're done with the voice instance, call close() to properly clean up resources
• Some providers may automatically reconnect on connection loss, depending on their implementation
• Connection errors will typically be thrown as exceptions that should be caught and handled

Related methods

• voice.send() - Sends audio data to the voice provider
• voice.answer() - Triggers the voice provider to respond
• voice.close() - Disconnects from the real-time service
• voice.on() - Registers an event listener for voice events