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# voice.connect()

The `connect()` method establishes a WebSocket or WebRTC connection for real-time speech-to-speech communication. This method must be called before using other real-time features like `send()` or `answer()`.

## Usage example

```typescript
import { OpenAIRealtimeVoice } from '@mastra/voice-openai-realtime'
import Speaker from '@mastra/node-speaker'

const speaker = new Speaker({
  sampleRate: 24000,
  channels: 1,
  bitDepth: 16,
})

const voice = new OpenAIRealtimeVoice({
  apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
  speaker: 'alloy',
})
// Connect to the real-time service
await voice.connect()
// Now you can use real-time features
voice.on('speaker', stream => {
  stream.pipe(speaker)
})
```

## Parameters

**options** (`Record<string, unknown>`): Provider-specific connection options

## Return value

Returns a `Promise<void>` that resolves when the connection is successfully established.

## Provider-specific options

Connection configuration depends on the real-time voice provider.

### OpenAI Realtime

`connect()` accepts an optional `requestContext` for tool execution:

**options.requestContext** (`RequestContext`): Runtime context passed to tools called during the session.

See [Request context](https://mastra.ai/docs/server/request-context) for how to populate runtime values.

Set `connectTimeoutMs` in the `OpenAIRealtimeVoice` constructor, not in the `connect()` call:

**connectTimeoutMs** (`number`): Connection handshake deadline in milliseconds. Must be a positive, finite number no greater than 2,147,483,647. Applies only to connection setup, not to an established session. (Default: `15000`)

## Connection failures

For OpenAI Realtime, `connect()` waits for both the WebSocket to open and the server to create a session. It rejects if the connection fails, the server reports an error during the handshake, or the socket closes before the session is ready. A silent handshake times out after 15,000 milliseconds by default.

Catch connection failures directly. An `error` event listener doesn't replace handling the rejected promise:

```typescript
import { OpenAIRealtimeVoice } from '@mastra/voice-openai-realtime'

const voice = new OpenAIRealtimeVoice({
  apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
  connectTimeoutMs: 30_000,
})

try {
  await voice.connect()
} catch (error) {
  console.error('Could not connect to the realtime service:', error)
}
```

A failed handshake closes its socket and clears its pending waits. You can retry with `connect()` on the same instance.

## Using with `CompositeVoice`

When using `CompositeVoice`, the `connect()` method forwards its options to the configured real-time provider. It throws if no real-time provider is configured:

```typescript
import { CompositeVoice } from '@mastra/core/voice'
import { OpenAIRealtimeVoice } from '@mastra/voice-openai-realtime'
const realtimeVoice = new OpenAIRealtimeVoice()
const voice = new CompositeVoice({
  realtime: realtimeVoice,
})
// This will use the OpenAIRealtimeVoice provider
await voice.connect()
```

## Notes

- This method is only implemented by real-time voice providers that support speech-to-speech capabilities
- Providers that inherit the base `connect()` implementation log a debug message and resolve without establishing a connection
- The connection must be established before using other real-time methods like `send()` or `answer()`
- When you're done with the voice instance, call `close()` to properly clean up resources
- Some providers may automatically reconnect on connection loss, depending on their implementation
- Connection errors will typically be thrown as exceptions that should be caught and handled

## Related methods

- [voice.send()](https://mastra.ai/reference/voice/voice.send): Sends audio data to the voice provider
- [voice.answer()](https://mastra.ai/reference/voice/voice.answer): Triggers the voice provider to respond
- [voice.close()](https://mastra.ai/reference/voice/voice.close): Disconnects from the real-time service
- [voice.on()](https://mastra.ai/reference/voice/voice.on): Registers an event listener for voice events