Podcast Generation with GPT Realtime Mini
Generate real audio narratives from text content using Azure OpenAI's Realtime API.
Quick Start
- Configure environment variables for Realtime API
- Connect via WebSocket to Azure OpenAI Realtime endpoint
- Send text prompt, collect PCM audio chunks + transcript
- Convert PCM to WAV format
- Return base64-encoded audio to frontend for playback
Environment Configuration
AZURE_OPENAI_AUDIO_API_KEY=your_realtime_api_key
AZURE_OPENAI_AUDIO_ENDPOINT=https://your-resource.cognitiveservices.azure.com
AZURE_OPENAI_AUDIO_DEPLOYMENT=gpt-realtime-mini
Note: Endpoint should NOT include /openai/v1/ - just the base URL.
Core Workflow
Backend Audio Generation
from openai import AsyncOpenAI
import base64
# Convert HTTPS endpoint to WebSocket URL
ws_url = endpoint.replace("https://", "wss://") + "/openai/v1"
client = AsyncOpenAI(
websocket_base_url=ws_url,
api_key=api_key
)
audio_chunks = []
transcript_parts = []
async with client.realtime.connect(model="gpt-realtime-mini") as conn:
# Configure for audio-only output
await conn.session.update(session={
"output_modalities": ["audio"],
"instructions": "You are a narrator. Speak naturally."
})
# Send text to narrate
await conn.conversation.item.create(item={
"type": "message",
"role": "user",
"content": [{"type": "input_text", "text": prompt}]
})
await conn.response.create()
# Collect streaming events
async for event in conn:
if event.type == "response.output_audio.delta":
audio_chunks.append(base64.b64decode(event.delta))
elif event.type == "response.output_audio_transcript.delta":
transcript_parts.append(event.delta)
elif event.type == "response.done":
break
# Convert PCM to WAV (see scripts/pcm_to_wav.py)
pcm_audio = b''.join(audio_chunks)
wav_audio = pcm_to_wav(pcm_audio, sample_rate=24000)
