Pipecat: Open-Source Voice Agent Framework by Daily

Pipecat: Open-Source Voice Agent Framework

Pipecat is an open-source Python framework for building real-time voice and multimodal conversational AI agents — created by Daily, the company that's been providing real-time video and audio communication infrastructure since 2016. Pipecat has become the most-used framework for production voice agents, with Pipecat Flows extending it into structured flow-control patterns for complex agent behavior.

Used widely across the AI ecosystem (NVIDIA, Modal, AssemblyAI all ship Pipecat integrations), and the de-facto OSS choice for teams that want to own their voice agent stack rather than buy into a managed platform.

Key Features

Open-source Python framework with composable pipeline pattern
Pipecat Flows — structured flow control for complex voice agent behavior
Native integrations with all major STT, LLM, TTS providers
Daily WebRTC infrastructure underneath (battle-tested at scale)
Active community + extensive documentation

Ideal Use Case

Developers building voice agents who want OSS code-level control rather than a managed platform — particularly teams with custom requirements or stringent privacy/compliance needs.

Why Use Pipecat

LiveKit Agents and Pipecat are the two leading voice agent frameworks. Pipecat's edge: deeper Python ergonomics, broader provider integrations, and the simplicity of the pipeline pattern. Strong fit for teams already using Daily's WebRTC.

FAQ

Q: Is Pipecat fully open source? A: Yes — MIT-licensed Python framework. You can self-host completely.

Q: How does Pipecat compare to LiveKit Agents? A: Both are voice agent frameworks. Pipecat is Python-first with the pipeline pattern; LiveKit has Python + Node.js with broader infrastructure positioning.

Q: Who maintains Pipecat? A: The Daily team plus an active community. Daily is the WebRTC infrastructure company that's been in real-time A/V since 2016.