Create a new Pipecat project with guided setup for bot type, transport, AI services, and deployment options. Supports both an interactive wizard and a fully non-interactive mode for automation.
Usage:
Options:
Output directory where files will be saved. Defaults to current directory.
Project name. Providing this flag triggers non-interactive mode.
Bot type: web or telephony.
Transport provider. Repeatable for multiple transports (e.g. -t daily -t smallwebrtc). Valid values: daily, smallwebrtc, twilio, telnyx, plivo, exotel, daily_pstn, twilio_daily_sip.
Pipeline mode: cascade or realtime.
Speech-to-Text service (cascade mode). e.g. deepgram_stt, openai_stt.
Language model service (cascade mode). e.g. openai_llm, anthropic_llm.
Text-to-Speech service (cascade mode). e.g. cartesia_tts, elevenlabs_tts.
Realtime service (realtime mode). e.g. openai_realtime, gemini_live_realtime.
Video avatar service (web bots only). e.g. heygen_video, tavus_video, simli_video.
Client framework (web bots only): react, vanilla, or none.
Client dev server (when using --client-framework react): vite or nextjs.
Daily PSTN mode (required when transport is daily_pstn): dial-in or dial-out.
Twilio + Daily SIP mode (required when transport is twilio_daily_sip): dial-in or dial-out.
--recording / --no-recording
Enable audio recording.
--transcription / --no-transcription
Enable transcription logging.
--smart-turn / --no-smart-turn
Enable smart turn-taking. Defaults to true for cascade mode, false for realtime.
--video-input / --no-video-input
Enable video input (web bots only).
--video-output / --no-video-output
Enable video output (web bots only).
--deploy-to-cloud / --no-deploy-to-cloud
Generate Pipecat Cloud deployment files (Dockerfile, pcc-deploy.toml).
--enable-krisp / --no-enable-krisp
Enable Krisp noise cancellation (requires cloud deployment).
--observability / --no-observability
Enable observability.
Path to a JSON config file. Triggers non-interactive mode. CLI flags override file values.
Print the resolved configuration as JSON without generating any files.
Print all available service options as JSON and exit. Useful for CI scripts and coding agents that need to discover valid values at runtime.
Interactive Setup
When run without --name or --config, the CLI guides you through selecting:
- Bot type and client framework - Phone, web (Next.js, Vite, Vanilla JS), or mobile
- Transport provider - Daily, Twilio, Telnyx, Plivo, Exotel
- Pipeline mode - Cascade or Realtime
- AI services - STT, LLM, and TTS providers
- Optional features - Additional capabilities for your bot
- Deployment target - Local development or Pipecat Cloud
Non-Interactive Mode
When --name or --config is provided, all configuration is taken from CLI flags or a JSON config file with no interactive prompts. This is useful for automation, scripting, and coding agents.
All required fields must be specified or the command exits with a list of all missing/invalid fields.
Examples
Interactive Wizard
Non-Interactive (Cascade)
pipecat init --name my-bot --bot-type web --transport daily \
--mode cascade --stt deepgram_stt --llm openai_llm --tts cartesia_tts
Non-Interactive (Realtime)
pipecat init --name rt-bot --bot-type web --transport smallwebrtc \
--mode realtime --realtime openai_realtime
Multiple Transports
pipecat init --name my-bot --bot-type web \
--transport daily --transport smallwebrtc \
--mode cascade --stt deepgram_stt --llm openai_llm --tts cartesia_tts
With React Client
pipecat init --name my-bot --bot-type web --transport daily \
--mode cascade --stt deepgram_stt --llm openai_llm --tts cartesia_tts \
--client-framework react --client-server vite
Telephony
pipecat init --name call-bot --bot-type telephony --transport twilio \
--mode cascade --stt deepgram_stt --llm openai_llm --tts cartesia_tts
Discover Available Options
# List all valid service values as JSON
pipecat init --list-options
{
"bot_type": ["web", "telephony"],
"transports": {
"web": ["daily", "smallwebrtc"],
"telephony": ["twilio", "twilio_daily_sip_dialin", "twilio_daily_sip_dialout", ...]
},
"stt": ["deepgram_stt", "openai_stt", ...],
"llm": ["openai_llm", "anthropic_llm", ...],
"tts": ["cartesia_tts", "elevenlabs_tts", ...],
"realtime": ["openai_realtime", "gemini_live_realtime", ...],
"video": ["heygen_video", "tavus_video", "simli_video"]
}
options=$(pipecat init --list-options)
tts=$(echo "$options" | jq -r '.tts[0]')
Dry Run
# Preview resolved config as JSON without generating files
pipecat init --name my-bot --bot-type web --transport daily \
--mode cascade --stt deepgram_stt --llm openai_llm --tts cartesia_tts \
--dry-run
From Config File
pipecat init --config project-config.json
project-config.json:
{
"project_name": "my-bot",
"bot_type": "web",
"transports": ["daily"],
"mode": "cascade",
"stt_service": "deepgram_stt",
"llm_service": "openai_llm",
"tts_service": "cartesia_tts",
"recording": false,
"transcription": false,
"smart_turn": true,
"deploy_to_cloud": true,
"enable_krisp": false,
"enable_observability": false
}
pipecat init --config base-config.json --name custom-name --no-deploy-to-cloud
Specify Output Directory
pipecat init --output my-bot
Generated Project Structure
mybot/
├── server/ # Python bot server
│ ├── bot.py # Main bot implementation
│ ├── pyproject.toml # Python dependencies
│ ├── .env.example # Environment variables template
│ ├── Dockerfile # Container image (if cloud enabled)
│ └── pcc-deploy.toml # Deployment config (if cloud enabled)
├── client/ # Web client (if generated)
│ ├── src/
│ ├── package.json
│ └── ...
├── .gitignore
└── README.md # Project setup instructions
