Quickstart

Generate your first speech audio in under 60 seconds with Lightning TTS.

Step 1: Get Your API Key

In the Smallest AI console, select API Keys from the left sidebar under Developer.

Select API Keys under the Developer section in the sidebar

Click Create API Key in the top-right corner, enter a name, and click Create API Key to confirm.

Click Create API Key and enter a name

Enter a name for identification and confirm

The new key appears in your dashboard. Click the copy icon to copy it.

Copy the API key from the dashboard

Export the key in your terminal:

export SMALLEST_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

New to Smallest AI? Sign up here first.

Step 2: Hear Audio in 30 Seconds

Paste this in your terminal — no install required:

curl -X POST "https://api.smallest.ai/waves/v1/lightning-v3.1/get_speech" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SMALLEST_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"text": "Hello from Smallest AI! This is Lightning v3.1.", "voice_id": "magnus", "sample_rate": 24000, "output_format": "wav"}' \
  --output hello.wav

Play hello.wav — it should sound like this:

That’s broadcast-quality TTS with ~100ms latency.

Step 3: Build It Into Your App

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.smallest.ai/waves/v1/lightning-v3.1/get_speech" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SMALLEST_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "Modern problems require modern solutions.",
    "voice_id": "magnus",
    "sample_rate": 24000,
    "speed": 1.0,
    "language": "en",
    "output_format": "wav"
  }' --output output.wav

Step 4: Explore More

Voices & Languages

Browse 80+ voices across English, Hindi, Spanish, and Tamil.

Streaming TTS

Real-time audio streaming via WebSocket for voice assistants.

Voice Cloning

Clone any voice from just 5-15 seconds of audio.

Pronunciation Dicts

Custom pronunciations for brand names and technical terms.

Key Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
text	string	required	Text to synthesize (max ~250 chars recommended)
voice_id	string	required	Voice to use (e.g., magnus, olivia)
sample_rate	int	44100	8000, 16000, 24000, or 44100 Hz
speed	float	1.0	Speech rate: 0.5 to 2.0
language	string	auto	en, hi, es, ta, or auto
output_format	string	pcm	pcm, wav, mp3, or mulaw

Need Help?

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If you need direct assistance, reach out at [e-mail].