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Integrating openedai-speech into Open WebUI using Docker

What is openedai-speech?​

info

openedai-speech is an OpenAI audio/speech API compatible text-to-speech server.

It serves the /v1/audio/speech endpoint and provides a free, private text-to-speech experience with custom voice cloning capabilities. This service is in no way affiliated with OpenAI and does not require an OpenAI API key.

Requirements​

  • Docker installed on your system
  • Open WebUI running in a Docker container
  • Basic understanding of Docker and Docker Compose

Option 1: Using Docker Compose​

Step 1: Create a new folder for the openedai-speech service​

Create a new folder, for example, openedai-speech-service, to store the docker-compose.yml and speech.env files.

Step 2: Clone the openedai-speech repository from GitHub​

git clone https://github.com/matatonic/openedai-speech.git

This will download the openedai-speech repository to your local machine, which includes the Docker Compose files (docker-compose.yml, docker-compose.min.yml, and docker-compose.rocm.yml) and other necessary files.

Step 3: Rename the sample.env file to speech.env (Customize if needed)​

In the openedai-speech repository folder, create a new file named speech.env with the following contents:

TTS_HOME=voices
HF_HOME=voices
#PRELOAD_MODEL=xtts
#PRELOAD_MODEL=xtts_v2.0.2
#PRELOAD_MODEL=parler-tts/parler_tts_mini_v0.1
#EXTRA_ARGS=--log-level DEBUG --unload-timer 300
#USE_ROCM=1

Step 4: Choose a Docker Compose file​

You can use any of the following Docker Compose files:

Step 4: Build the Chosen Docker Image​

Before running the Docker Compose file, you need to build the Docker image:

  • Nvidia GPU (CUDA support):
docker build -t ghcr.io/matatonic/openedai-speech .
  • AMD GPU (ROCm support):
docker build -f Dockerfile --build-arg USE_ROCM=1 -t ghcr.io/matatonic/openedai-speech-rocm .
  • CPU only, No GPU (Piper only):
docker build -f Dockerfile.min -t ghcr.io/matatonic/openedai-speech-min .

Step 5: Run the correct docker compose up -d command​

  • Nvidia GPU (CUDA support): Run the following command to start the openedai-speech service in detached mode:
docker compose up -d
  • AMD GPU (ROCm support): Run the following command to start the openedai-speech service in detached mode:
docker compose -f docker-compose.rocm.yml up -d
  • ARM64 (Apple M-series, Raspberry Pi): XTTS only has CPU support here and will be very slow. You can use the Nvidia image for XTTS with CPU (slow), or use the Piper only image (recommended):
docker compose -f docker-compose.min.yml up -d
  • CPU only, No GPU (Piper only): For a minimal docker image with only Piper support (< 1GB vs. 8GB):
docker compose -f docker-compose.min.yml up -d

This will start the openedai-speech service in detached mode.

Option 2: Using Docker Run Commands​

You can also use the following Docker run commands to start the openedai-speech service in detached mode:

  • Nvidia GPU (CUDA): Run the following command to build and start the openedai-speech service:
docker build -t ghcr.io/matatonic/openedai-speech .
docker run -d --gpus=all -p 8000:8000 -v voices:/app/voices -v config:/app/config --name openedai-speech ghcr.io/matatonic/openedai-speech
  • ROCm (AMD GPU): Run the following command to build and start the openedai-speech service:

To enable ROCm support, uncomment the #USE_ROCM=1 line in the speech.env file.

docker build -f Dockerfile --build-arg USE_ROCM=1 -t ghcr.io/matatonic/openedai-speech-rocm .
docker run -d --privileged --init --name openedai-speech -p 8000:8000 -v voices:/app/voices -v config:/app/config ghcr.io/matatonic/openedai-speech-rocm
  • CPU only, No GPU (Piper only): Run the following command to build and start the openedai-speech service:
docker build -f Dockerfile.min -t ghcr.io/matatonic/openedai-speech-min .
docker run -d -p 8000:8000 -v voices:/app/voices -v config:/app/config --name openedai-speech ghcr.io/matatonic/openedai-speech-min

Step 6: Configuring Open WebUI to use openedai-speech for TTS​

openedai-tts

Open the Open WebUI settings and navigate to the TTS Settings under Admin Panel > Settings > Audio. Add the following configuration:

  • API Base URL: http://host.docker.internal:8000/v1
  • API Key: sk-111111111 (Note that this is a dummy API key, as openedai-speech doesn't require an API key. You can use whatever you'd like for this field, as long as it is filled.)

Step 7: Choose a voice​

Under TTS Voice within the same audio settings menu in the admin panel, you can set the TTS Model to use from the following choices below that openedai-speech supports. The voices of these models are optimized for the English language.

  • tts-1 or tts-1-hd: alloy, echo, echo-alt, fable, onyx, nova, and shimmer (tts-1-hd is configurable; uses OpenAI samples by default)

Step 8: Press Save to apply the changes and start enjoying naturally sounding voices​

Press the Save button to apply the changes to your Open WebUI settings. Refresh the page for the change to fully take effect and enjoy using openedai-speech integration within Open WebUI to read aloud text responses with text-to-speech in a natural sounding voice.

Model Details:​

openedai-speech supports multiple text-to-speech models, each with its own strengths and requirements. The following models are available:

  • Piper TTS (very fast, runs on CPU): Use your own Piper voices via the voice_to_speaker.yaml configuration file. This model is great for applications that require low latency and high performance. Piper TTS also supports multilingual voices.
  • Coqui AI/TTS XTTS v2 (fast, but requires around 4GB GPU VRAM & Nvidia GPU with CUDA): This model uses Coqui AI's XTTS v2 voice cloning technology to generate high-quality voices. While it requires a more powerful GPU, it provides excellent performance and high-quality audio. Coqui also supports multilingual voices.
  • Beta Parler-TTS Support (experimental, slower): This model uses the Parler-TTS framework to generate voices. While it's currently in beta, it allows you to describe very basic features of the speaker voice. The exact voice will be slightly different with each generation, but should be similar to the speaker description provided. For inspiration on how to describe voices, see Text Description to Speech.

Troubleshooting​

If you encounter any problems integrating openedai-speech with Open WebUI, follow these troubleshooting steps:

  • Verify openedai-speech service: Ensure that the openedai-speech service is running and the port you specified in the docker-compose.yml file is exposed.
  • Check access to host.docker.internal: Verify that the hostname host.docker.internal is resolvable from within the Open WebUI container. This is necessary because openedai-speech is exposed via localhost on your PC, but open-webui cannot normally access it from inside its container. You can add a volume to the docker-compose.yml file to mount a file from the host to the container, for example, to a directory that will be served by openedai-speech.
  • Review API key configuration: Make sure the API key is set to a dummy value or effectively left unchecked because openedai-speech doesn't require an API key.
  • Check voice configuration: Verify that the voice you are trying to use for TTS exists in your voice_to_speaker.yaml file and the corresponding files (e.g., voice XML files) are present in the correct directory.
  • Verify voice model paths: If you're experiencing issues with voice model loading, double-check that the paths in your voice_to_speaker.yaml file match the actual locations of your voice models.

Additional Troubleshooting Tips​

  • Check the openedai-speech logs for errors or warnings that might indicate where the issue lies.
  • Verify that the docker-compose.yml file is correctly configured for your environment.
  • If you're still experiencing issues, try restarting the openedai-speech service or the entire Docker environment.
  • If the problem persists, consult the openedai-speech GitHub repository or seek help on a relevant community forum.

FAQ​

How can I control the emotional range of the generated audio?

There is no direct mechanism to control the emotional output of the generated audio. Certain factors such as capitalization or grammar may affect the output audio, but internal testing has yielded mixed results.

Where are the voice files stored? What about the configuration file?.

The configuration files, which define the available voices and their properties, are stored in the config volume. Specifically, the default voices are defined in voice_to_speaker.default.yaml.

Additional Resources​

For more information on configuring Open WebUI to use openedai-speech, including setting environment variables, see the Open WebUI documentation.

For more information about openedai-speech, please visit the GitHub repository.

How to add more voices to openedai-speech: Custom-Voices-HowTo

note

You can change the port number in the docker-compose.yml file to any open and usable port, but be sure to update the API Base URL in Open WebUI Admin Audio settings accordingly.