New to Pipecat? We recommend completing the
Quickstart first to understand Pipecat
basics before scaffolding your own project.
Install the Pipecat CLI
Install the CLI globally with uv:Start with pipecat init
pipecat init is the starting point. It writes the Pipecat coding-agent guide (AGENTS.md + CLAUDE.md) so your coding agent works well with Pipecat, then asks how you want to build:
- Build with a coding agent (recommended). Let an AI coding assistant (Claude Code, Codex, …) do the building. Continue with Build with a coding agent below.
- Scaffold a runnable bot now. Prefer to drive the CLI yourself? Skip to Scaffold it yourself.
Build with a coding agent
AI coding tools like Claude Code and Codex write your agent code. The agent follows theAGENTS.md guide that init wrote, so it uses Pipecat conventions, scaffolds the app for you, and verifies its own work. This path also writes GETTING_STARTED.md, a short guide to driving the agent well.
Add the Pipecat Context Hub
The Context Hub indexes Pipecat docs, examples, and API source into a local database, so your agent queries live context instead of stale training data. Build the index, then add it as an MCP server:- Claude Code
- Codex
Pipecat Context Hub reference
Full setup, the tool list, CLI lookups, and MCP config for Cursor and VS Code
Start a coding session
Open Claude Code or Codex in your project and prompt it to build. The agent followsAGENTS.md, queries the Context Hub for accurate APIs, and scaffolds and iterates on your bot.
Prefer to feed context by hand? Pipecat docs support the llms.txt
standard:
llms.txt
is a structured index of all pages, and
llms-full.txt is the full
documentation in a single file, useful for tools that ingest docs in bulk.Scaffold it yourself
Prefer to drive the CLI directly? When you pick Scaffold a runnable bot now,init runs an interactive setup wizard that walks you through your platform (phone or web/mobile), transport provider, AI services (STT, LLM, TTS), and deployment target, then scaffolds the project in place alongside AGENTS.md + CLAUDE.md. The generated README includes Pipecat Context Hub setup, so the project is ready for a coding agent too.
Once scaffolding completes, the CLI provides specific next steps for your generated project:
- How to configure your API keys
- Installing dependencies
- Running your bot locally
- Customizing the bot logic and behavior
Deploy to Production
Ready to deploy your bot? Choose between managed cloud hosting or self-hosted infrastructure.Pipecat Cloud
Deploy and manage your agents with the CLI - purpose-built for Pipecat
Self-Hosted Options
Deploy to Fly.io, Modal, AWS, or your own infrastructure
Learn More
Core Concepts
Understand pipelines, processors, and transports
Browse Examples
30+ production-ready examples for inspiration