Who Openspline is for#
Voice AI developers integrating an avatar into an existing agent
Openspline's Python SDK connects to an existing async agent with an avatar context manager and a viewer URL in five lines. Connector adapters for OpenAI Realtime, LiveKit Agents, Gemini Live, ElevenLabs Agents, and Pipecat wrap the existing connection without changing prompts, tools, or transcripts.
Skip if:
Skip if your production workload requires multiple simultaneous avatar sessions on budget hardware. Each GPU worker handles one session at a time; concurrent users need multiple GPUs or Openspline Cloud.
Product teams building customer support, tutoring, or sales voice AI
The Openspline website demonstrates working avatars for customer support, AI tutors, interview practice, and product sales guides. The built-in viewer URL and React component handle display. Openspline Cloud provides managed infrastructure for teams without NVIDIA GPU hardware.
Skip if:
Skip if your voice agent use case does not benefit from a visual face. For audio-only interactions, adding avatar infrastructure costs GPU resources or Cloud credits without improving the experience.
Startups and indie developers prototyping avatar products
The Openspline Cloud dashboard lets you create and embed an avatar in a browser with no GPU setup and no code. The same Python or Node SDK switches to self-hosting or a Cloud API key in production without application code changes, so a prototype can become a production deployment.
Skip if:
Skip if you require long-duration production validation or enterprise SLAs. The project was created in late September 2026; extended multi-GPU and cloud provider testing is documented as incomplete in the README.
The problem it solves#
Voice AI agents, whether customer support bots, AI tutors, or sales tools, communicate entirely through audio. Without a visible face, conversations feel mechanical and users engage less deeply with the agent. Adding a video avatar to a deployed agent has historically required integrating with a commercial API that charges per minute of generated video.
The commercial platforms that offer talking avatars keep their inference models behind closed APIs with no self-hosting option. Teams building high-volume or real-time applications pay unpredictable per-minute costs, hand their portrait and audio data to a third party, and cannot modify or inspect the generation pipeline. For developers building consumer-facing products, that combination of cost exposure and data dependency makes proprietary services a poor long-term foundation.
How it solves it#
Five-Line Python Integration
The Python SDK provides an async context manager that accepts a portrait image, returns a viewer URL, and streams PCM audio from your agent. Five lines from import to the first avatar frame. Connector adapters for OpenAI Realtime, LiveKit Agents, Gemini Live, ElevenLabs Agents, and Pipecat plug into an existing agent without changing prompts, tools, or transcripts.
Node.js SDK with TypeScript Types
Install with `npm install @openspline/node`. The package mirrors the Python API with full TypeScript types and Node 20+ support. Create a client, open a session with a portrait path or saved avatar ID, get the viewer URL, and stream audio from your agent.
NVIDIA GPU Self-Hosting with Installer
An installer script sets up the Python environment and downloads the Low and High quality model weights on Linux or WSL2 with an NVIDIA GPU. CUDA 12.8 supports Blackwell cards including RTX 50-series; CUDA 12.6 supports older NVIDIA hardware. GPU workers are configurable via a workers.yaml file, and each worker loads weights once and serves one session at a time.
Voice Framework Connector Library
Pre-built adapters ship for OpenAI Realtime, LiveKit Agents, Gemini Live, ElevenLabs Agents, and Pipecat. Example connectors also cover OpenAI Agents, Google ADK, Vocode, and TEN. Each adapter intercepts only the audio output; tools, prompts, transcripts, and event handlers in the existing agent remain unchanged. A custom connector path works with any async PCM16 audio iterator.
Built-In Viewer and Frontend Components
Each avatar session exposes a viewer URL for live video playback in a browser. A React component and a web component ship with the SDK for embedding the avatar in any frontend stack. Cloud dashboard avatars can also be embedded via a URL without writing any backend code.
Low and High Quality Inference Modes
The SDK and GPU service support `low` and `high` quality inference modes. Low runs faster and uses less VRAM; high produces better visual results at higher compute cost. Benchmark tests on an A100 measured approximately 64 FPS at low quality and 8 FPS at high quality. For multi-GPU deployments, a workers.yaml file assigns devices and quality tiers; busy workers return typed errors rather than silent failures.
Strengths and trade-offs#
Strengths
- MIT License, Free to Self-HostOpenspline is MIT licensed. Run it on your own NVIDIA GPU hardware with no per-minute fees and no per-seat charges. Unlike HeyGen LiveAvatar, Tavus, and Simli, which are managed APIs with proprietary pricing, Openspline lets you pay once for the hardware and own the full pipeline. Commercial use is permitted with no restrictions under MIT.
- Drop-In Connectors for Major Voice AI FrameworksPre-built adapters cover OpenAI Realtime, LiveKit Agents, Gemini Live, ElevenLabs Agents, and Pipecat. Each adapter wraps the existing agent connection without changing prompts, tools, or transcripts. Example code is also provided for OpenAI Agents, Google ADK, Vocode, and TEN, covering most voice AI frameworks in active production use.
- Same SDK for Cloud and Self-HostedThe Python and Node SDKs connect to either the self-hosted GPU service or Openspline Cloud by switching between a local URL and an API key. Develop against the Cloud with no GPU, then migrate to self-hosting for production without changing application code. The API surface is identical across both deployment targets.
- Embeddable Frontend Components IncludedEach avatar session produces a viewer URL that streams live video to a browser. A React component and a web component ship alongside the SDK, so the display layer works in any frontend stack without custom media handling. Cloud avatars can also be embedded directly from the dashboard without any backend code.
Trade-offs
- -NVIDIA GPU Required for Self-HostingThe self-hosted inference service runs only on NVIDIA GPUs via Linux or WSL2. AMD and Apple Silicon are explicitly not supported. Pre-Ampere NVIDIA cards use FP32 inference, which requires more VRAM and runs slower. Benchmark tests on an A100 measured approximately 64 FPS at low quality and 8 FPS at high quality; other NVIDIA hardware will vary, and pre-Ampere inference still needs hardware validation per the README.
- -One Session per GPU WorkerEach GPU worker serves one avatar session at a time. Running concurrent sessions requires multiple workers, each consuming one GPU or a GPU pair for high-quality mode. Production deployments serving multiple simultaneous users need either a multi-GPU server or Openspline Cloud, which handles concurrent sessions automatically.
- -Early Development StageThe repository was created in late September 2026. The README lists long-duration testing, multi-GPU validation, cloud provider integration, and TEN runtime validation as incomplete. For production workloads that require deep validation history, this is a real constraint to assess before adoption.
Openspline vs alternatives#
Openspline vs HeyGen LiveAvatar
HeyGen LiveAvatar and Openspline both generate real-time talking-avatar video synchronized with a voice AI agent. The core difference is the deployment model: HeyGen LiveAvatar is a managed commercial API with no self-hosting path; Openspline is MIT-licensed open source that runs on your own NVIDIA GPU or on Openspline Cloud.
| Feature | Openspline | HeyGen LiveAvatar |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT | Proprietary |
| Self-hosting | Yes (NVIDIA GPU, Linux) | No |
| Python SDK | Yes | Yes (API-based) |
| Node.js SDK | Yes | Yes (API-based) |
| Voice framework connectors | OpenAI Realtime, LiveKit, Gemini, ElevenLabs, Pipecat | Limited |
Openspline is the stronger choice when data privacy requires on-premises processing, or when per-minute API costs at high volume make managed services impractical. HeyGen LiveAvatar is the better option when you need no GPU hardware, prefer fully managed infrastructure, and require enterprise support with an SLA.
Openspline vs Tavus
Tavus focuses on asynchronous personalized video generation from a person's digital replica; Openspline is built for real-time, interactive voice agent conversations. Both serve the talking-avatar category, but they address different timing models.
| Feature | Openspline | Tavus |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT | Proprietary |
| Self-hosting | Yes (NVIDIA GPU, Linux) | No |
| Real-time interaction | Yes | No |
| Primary use case | Live voice AI agents | Async personalized video |
| Pricing model | Free self-hosted / Cloud | Subscription |
For applications where a voice AI agent must respond live and display a synchronized face in real time, Openspline fits and Tavus does not. Tavus is the better choice for personalized outbound video campaigns, sales outreach, or onboarding videos where content is pre-generated from a scripted template rather than driven by live conversation.
Quick start#
Self-hosting installs the GPU service on Linux or WSL2 with an NVIDIA GPU, then the Python SDK separately.
```bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openspline/openspline/main/install.sh | sh
pip install openspline
```What it's built on#
- Languages
- JavaScriptPythonTypeScript
- Tooling
- esbuild
FAQ#
Does Openspline require a GPU to run?
Self-hosting requires an NVIDIA GPU on Linux or WSL2. AMD and Apple Silicon are not supported. If you do not have a compatible GPU, Openspline Cloud provides managed avatar generation with no GPU setup required; connect to it with an API key instead of a local service URL.
What voice AI frameworks does Openspline work with?
Openspline ships connector adapters for OpenAI Realtime, LiveKit Agents, Gemini Live, ElevenLabs Agents, and Pipecat. Example code is also provided for OpenAI Agents, Google ADK, Vocode, and TEN. A custom connector path works with any TTS provider or agent that exposes an async PCM16 audio iterator.
Is Openspline free to use?
The self-hosted service is MIT licensed and free to run on your own hardware. You need an NVIDIA GPU and a Linux machine or WSL2. Openspline Cloud is a separate managed offering; pricing details are on the Cloud dashboard. For development and testing, the Cloud provides a no-GPU path before committing to self-hosting hardware.
How does Openspline compare to HeyGen LiveAvatar or Tavus?
HeyGen LiveAvatar, Tavus, Simli, and Beyond Presence are managed commercial services with per-minute or subscription pricing and no self-hosting option. Openspline is MIT-licensed open source that runs on your own NVIDIA GPU. The tradeoff is that self-hosting requires hardware you manage, while the commercial options handle infrastructure but charge per minute and keep models closed.
What quality modes are available for self-hosted avatar generation?
The self-hosted service supports low and high quality modes. Benchmark tests on an A100 measured approximately 64 FPS at low quality and 8 FPS at high quality. Low quality uses less VRAM and runs faster; high quality produces better visual results at higher compute cost. Both are configurable via the quality parameter in the Python and Node SDKs.
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