Quick Start

Deploy Smallest Self-Host Text-to-Speech with Docker Compose in under 15 minutes

Overview

This guide walks you through deploying Smallest Self-Host Text-to-Speech (TTS) using Docker Compose. You’ll have a fully functional text-to-speech service running in under 15 minutes.

Ensure you’ve completed all prerequisites before starting this guide.

Step 1: Create Project Directory

Create a directory for your deployment:

mkdir -p ~/smallest-tts
cd ~/smallest-tts

Step 2: Login to Container Registry

Authenticate with the Smallest container registry using credentials provided by support:

docker login quay.io

Enter your username and password when prompted.

Save your credentials securely. You’ll need them if you restart or redeploy the containers.

Step 3: Create Environment File

Create a .env file with your license key:

cat > .env << 'EOF'
LICENSE_KEY=your-license-key-here
EOF

Replace your-license-key-here with the actual license key provided by Smallest.ai.

Never commit your .env file to version control. Add it to .gitignore if using git.

Step 4: Create Docker Compose File

Create a docker-compose.yml file for TTS deployment:

docker-compose.yml

version: "3.8"

services:
  lightning-tts:
    image: quay.io/smallestinc/lightning-tts:latest
    ports:
      - "8876:8876"
    environment:
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}
      - REDIS_HOST=redis
      - REDIS_PORT=6379
      - PORT=8876
    deploy:
      resources:
        reservations:
          devices:
            - driver: nvidia
              count: 1
              capabilities: [gpu]
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - smallest-network

  api-server:
    image: quay.io/smallestinc/self-hosted-api-server:latest
    container_name: api-server
    environment:
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}
      - LIGHTNING_TTS_BASE_URL=http://lightning-tts:8876
      - API_BASE_URL=http://license-proxy:3369
      - REDIS_HOST=redis
      - REDIS_PORT=6379
    ports:
      - "7100:7100"
    networks:
      - smallest-network
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      - lightning-tts
      - license-proxy

  license-proxy:
    image: quay.io/smallestinc/license-proxy:latest
    container_name: license-proxy
    environment:
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}
      - PORT=3369
    networks:
      - smallest-network
    restart: unless-stopped

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: redis-server
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
    networks:
      - smallest-network
    restart: unless-stopped
    command: redis-server --appendonly yes
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5

networks:
  smallest-network:
    driver: bridge
    name: smallest-network

Step 5: Start Services

Launch all services with Docker Compose:

docker compose up -d

First Time Startup

First startup will take 3-5 minutes as the system:

1. Pulls container images (~15-25 GB, includes TTS models)
2. Initializes GPU and loads models

Models are embedded in the container - no separate download needed.

Subsequent Startups

After the first run, startup takes 30-60 seconds as images are cached.

Step 6: Monitor Startup

Watch the logs to monitor startup progress:

docker compose logs -f

Look for these success indicators:

1. Redis Ready

   redis-server  | Ready to accept connections
   
2. License Proxy Ready

   license-proxy  | License validated successfully
   license-proxy  | Server listening on port 3369
   
3. Lightning TTS Ready

   lightning-tts  | Model loaded successfully
   lightning-tts  | Server ready on port 8876
   
4. API Server Ready

   api-server  | Connected to Lightning TTS
   api-server  | API server listening on port 7100
   

Press Ctrl+C to stop following logs.

Step 7: Verify Installation

Check that all containers are running:

docker compose ps

Expected output:

NAME                IMAGE                                         STATUS
api-server          quay.io/smallestinc/self-hosted-api-server    Up
license-proxy       quay.io/smallestinc/license-proxy             Up
lightning-tts        quay.io/smallestinc/lightning-tts             Up
redis-server        redis:7-alpine                                Up (healthy)

Step 8: Test API

Test the API with a sample request:

curl -X POST http://localhost:7100/v1/speak \
  -H "Authorization: Token ${LICENSE_KEY}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "Hello, this is a test of the text-to-speech service.",
    "voice": "default"
  }'

Or use the health check endpoint first:

curl http://localhost:7100/health

Expected response: {"status": "healthy"}

Common Startup Issues

GPU Not Found

Error: could not select device driver "nvidia"

Solution:

sudo systemctl restart docker
docker run --rm --gpus all nvidia/cuda:11.8.0-base-ubuntu22.04 nvidia-smi

If this fails, reinstall NVIDIA Container Toolkit.

License Validation Failed

Error: License validation failed

Solution:

• Verify LICENSE_KEY in .env is correct
• Check internet connectivity
• Ensure firewall allows HTTPS to api.smallest.ai

Port Already in Use

Error: port is already allocated

Solution: Check what’s using the port:

sudo lsof -i :7100

Either stop the conflicting service or change the port in docker-compose.yml

Managing Your Deployment

Stop Services

docker compose stop

Restart Services

docker compose restart

View Logs

docker compose logs -f [service-name]

Examples:

docker compose logs -f api-server
docker compose logs -f lightning-tts

Update Images

Pull latest images and restart:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Remove Deployment

Stop and remove all containers:

docker compose down

Remove containers and volumes:

docker compose down -v

Using -v flag will delete all data. Models will need to be re-downloaded on next startup.

What’s Next?

TTS Configuration

Customize your TTS deployment with advanced configuration options

TTS Services Overview

Learn about each TTS service component in detail

TTS Troubleshooting

Debug common issues and optimize performance

API Reference

Integrate with your applications using the API