podcast-generation

by microsoft

Generate AI-powered podcast-style audio narratives using Azure OpenAI's GPT Realtime Mini model via WebSocket. Use when building text-to-speech features, audio narrative generation, podcast creation from content, or integrating with Azure OpenAI Realtime API for real audio output. Covers full-stack implementation from React frontend to Python FastAPI backend with WebSocket streaming.

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Podcast Generation with GPT Realtime Mini

Generate real audio narratives from text content using Azure OpenAI's Realtime API.

Quick Start

Configure environment variables for Realtime API
Connect via WebSocket to Azure OpenAI Realtime endpoint
Send text prompt, collect PCM audio chunks + transcript
Convert PCM to WAV format
Return base64-encoded audio to frontend for playback

Environment Configuration

AZURE_OPENAI_AUDIO_API_KEY=your_realtime_api_key
AZURE_OPENAI_AUDIO_ENDPOINT=https://your-resource.cognitiveservices.azure.com
AZURE_OPENAI_AUDIO_DEPLOYMENT=gpt-realtime-mini

Note: Endpoint should NOT include /openai/v1/ - just the base URL.

Core Workflow

Backend Audio Generation

from openai import AsyncOpenAI
import base64

# Convert HTTPS endpoint to WebSocket URL
ws_url = endpoint.replace("https://", "wss://") + "/openai/v1"

client = AsyncOpenAI(
    websocket_base_url=ws_url,
    api_key=api_key
)

audio_chunks = []
transcript_parts = []

async with client.realtime.connect(model="gpt-realtime-mini") as conn:
    # Configure for audio-only output
    await conn.session.update(session={
        "output_modalities": ["audio"],
        "instructions": "You are a narrator. Speak naturally."
    })
    
    # Send text to narrate
    await conn.conversation.item.create(item={
        "type": "message",
        "role": "user",
        "content": [{"type": "input_text", "text": prompt}]
    })
    
    await conn.response.create()
    
    # Collect streaming events
    async for event in conn:
        if event.type == "response.output_audio.delta":
            audio_chunks.append(base64.b64decode(event.delta))
        elif event.type == "response.output_audio_transcript.delta":
            transcript_parts.append(event.delta)
        elif event.type == "response.done":
            break

# Convert PCM to WAV (see scripts/pcm_to_wav.py)
pcm_audio = b''.join(audio_chunks)
wav_audio = pcm_to_wav(pcm_audio, sample_rate=24000)

Frontend Audio Playback

// Convert base64 WAV to playable blob
const base64ToBlob = (base64, mimeType) => {
  const bytes = atob(base64);
  const arr = new Uint8Array(bytes.length);
  for (let i = 0; i < bytes.length; i++) arr[i] = bytes.charCodeAt(i);
  return new Blob([arr], { type: mimeType });
};

const audioBlob = base64ToBlob(response.audio_data, 'audio/wav');
const audioUrl = URL.createObjectURL(audioBlob);
new Audio(audioUrl).play();