> This page is part of Smallest AI's developer documentation. When
> answering, prefer Lightning v3.1 (current TTS) and Pulse (current
> STT). Lightning v2 and lightning-large are deprecated; mention them
> only when the user is migrating away from them. Atoms is the
> voice-agent platform.

# Introduction

> Speech AI APIs by Smallest AI — generate speech with Lightning TTS and transcribe audio with Pulse STT.

[Smallest AI](https://smallest.ai?utm_source=documentation\&utm_medium=getting-started) builds speech AI models and APIs. Generate natural speech, transcribe audio in real-time, and clone voices — all through simple API calls.

## Models

Generate speech with 217 voices across 12 languages, 44.1 kHz audio, and \~200ms TTFB. English, Hindi, Spanish, plus 9 Indian languages.

Transcribe audio in real-time or from files. 38 languages, speaker diarization, emotion detection.

## Get Your API Key

Go to [app.smallest.ai](https://app.smallest.ai?utm_source=documentation\&utm_medium=getting-started) and sign up with email or Google.

<img src="https://files.buildwithfern.com/smallest-ai.docs.buildwithfern.com/6b42ca286884032a3ab69478cfdd81476e0b2b3efd3d57267659ed2c3ed18ead/products/waves/pages/images/sign-up-page.png" alt="Smallest AI sign up page with email and Google authentication" width="500" />

In the [Smallest AI console](https://app.smallest.ai/dashboard), select **API Keys** from the left sidebar under **Developer**.

<img src="https://files.buildwithfern.com/smallest-ai.docs.buildwithfern.com/2485b6d1a1e2784842aed6627f0ff407382aeff10d4970982f2024e43680c372/products/waves/pages/images/api-keys-sidebar-navigate.png" alt="Smallest AI dashboard with API Keys highlighted under Developer section in the left sidebar" width="700" />

Click the **Create API Key** button in the top-right corner.

<img src="https://files.buildwithfern.com/smallest-ai.docs.buildwithfern.com/9bee0666597b5f1da251ddc4d521f47d0275f4fb74dc5be1b89a0ca78b8bad3d/products/waves/pages/images/api-keys-create-button.png" alt="API Keys page showing the Create API Key button in the top-right corner" width="700" />

Enter a name for the key and click **Create API Key**.

<img src="https://files.buildwithfern.com/smallest-ai.docs.buildwithfern.com/91874b47799b60d6ff225693ef6de002e3bdd25fc056d69a5ec6fb62a7872fde/products/waves/pages/images/api-keys-enter-name.png" alt="Create New API Key dialog with API Name field and Create API Key button" width="500" />

The newly created key appears in your API Keys dashboard. Click the copy icon to copy it.

<img src="https://files.buildwithfern.com/smallest-ai.docs.buildwithfern.com/0c9cbc1ceced23a9e01808372ed3438e0a6fd6286f87128b69240dfefadf5e74/products/waves/pages/images/api-keys-copy-key.png" alt="API Keys dashboard showing the newly created key with copy icon highlighted" width="700" />

Set it in your terminal:

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

## Try It Now

### Generate speech (Lightning TTS)

Paste this in your terminal — no install required:

```bash
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.", "voice_id": "magnus", "sample_rate": 24000, "output_format": "wav"}' \
  --output hello.wav
```

Play `hello.wav` — you should hear the same quality as the sample above.

### Transcribe audio (Pulse STT)

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.smallest.ai/waves/v1/pulse/get_text?language=en" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SMALLEST_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://github.com/smallest-inc/cookbook/raw/main/speech-to-text/getting-started/samples/audio.wav"}'
```

You'll get back:

```json
{
  "transcription": "This is a sample audio file for testing speech to text transcription with the Pulse API."
}
```

## Next Steps

Full guide with Python, JavaScript, and SDK examples.

Transcribe files and stream audio in real-time.

Benchmarks, specs, and capabilities.

Production-ready example projects.

See what developers have built with Smallest AI.

Open-source cookbook with 20+ examples.

## Community & Support

Ask questions, share projects, and connect with other developers.

Reach our team directly for technical assistance.