Deepgram SDK Patterns
Overview
Production patterns for @deepgram/sdk (TypeScript) and deepgram-sdk (Python). Covers singleton client, typed wrappers, text-to-speech with Aura, audio intelligence pipeline, error handling, and SDK v5 migration path.
Prerequisites
npm install @deepgram/sdkorpip install deepgram-sdkDEEPGRAM_API_KEYenvironment variable configured
Instructions
Step 1: Singleton Client (TypeScript)
import { createClient, DeepgramClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
class DeepgramService {
private static instance: DeepgramService;
private client: DeepgramClient;
private constructor() {
const apiKey = process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY;
if (!apiKey) throw new Error('DEEPGRAM_API_KEY is required');
this.client = createClient(apiKey);
}
static getInstance(): DeepgramService {
if (!this.instance) this.instance = new DeepgramService();
return this.instance;
}
getClient(): DeepgramClient { return this.client; }
}
export const deepgram = DeepgramService.getInstance().getClient();
Step 2: Text-to-Speech with Aura
import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
import { writeFileSync } from 'fs';
const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);
async function textToSpeech(text: string, outputPath: string) {
const response = await deepgram.speak.request(
{ text },
{
model: 'aura-2-thalia-en', // Female English voice
encoding: 'linear16',
container: 'wav',
sample_rate: 24000,
}
);
const stream = await response.getStream();
if (!stream) throw new Error('No audio stream returned');
// Collect stream into buffer
const reader = stream.getReader();
const chunks: Uint8Array[] = [];
while (true) {
const { done, value } = await reader.read();
if (done) break;
chunks.push(value);
}
const buffer = Buffer.concat(chunks);
writeFileSync(outputPath, buffer);
console.log(`Audio saved: ${outputPath} (${buffer.length} bytes)`);
return buffer;
}
// Aura-2 voice options:
// aura-2-thalia-en — Female, warm
// aura-2-asteria-en — Female, default
// aura-2-orion-en — Male, deep
// aura-2-luna-en — Female, soft
// aura-2-helios-en — Male, authoritative
// aura-asteria-en — Aura v1 fallback
Step 3: Audio Intelligence Pipeline
async function analyzeConversation(audioUrl: string) {
const { result, error } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
{ url: audioUrl },
{
model: 'nova-3',
smart_format: true,
diarize: true,
utterances: true,
// Audio Intelligence features
summarize: 'v2', // Generates a short summary
detect_topics: true, // Identifies key topics
sentiment: true, // Per-segment sentiment analysis
intents: true, // Identifies speaker intents
}
);
if (error) throw error;
return {
transcript: result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript,
summary: result.results.summary?.short,
topics: result.results.topics?.segments?.map((s: any) => ({
text: s.text,
topics: s.topics.map((t: any) => t.topic),
})),
sentiments: result.results.sentiments?.segments?.map((s: any) => ({
text: s.text,
sentiment: s.sentiment,
confidence: s.sentiment_score,
})),
intents: result.results.intents?.segments?.map((s: any) => ({
text: s.text,
intent: s.intents[0]?.intent,
confidence: s.intents[0]?.confidence_score,
})),
};
}
Step 4: Python Production Patterns
from deepgram import DeepgramClient, PrerecordedOptions, LiveOptions, SpeakOptions
import os
class DeepgramService:
_instance = None
def __new__(cls):
if cls._instance is None:
cls._instance = super().__new__(cls)
cls._instance.client = DeepgramClient(os.environ["DEEPGRAM_API_KEY"])
return cls._instance
def transcribe_url(self, url: str, **kwargs):
options = PrerecordedOptions(
model=kwargs.get("model", "nova-3"),
smart_format=True,
diarize=kwargs.get("diarize", False),
summarize=kwargs.get("summarize", False),
)
source = {"url": url}
return self.client.listen.rest.v("1").transcribe_url(source, options)
def transcribe_file(self, path: str, **kwargs):
with open(path, "rb") as f:
source = {"buffer": f.read(), "mimetype": self._mimetype(path)}
options = PrerecordedOptions(
model=kwargs.get("model", "nova-3"),
smart_format=True,
diarize=kwargs.get("diarize", False),
)
return self.client.listen.rest.v("1").transcribe_file(source, options)
def text_to_speech(self, text: str, output_path: str):
options = SpeakOptions(model="aura-2-thalia-en", encoding="linear16")
response = self.client.speak.rest.v("1").save(output_path, {"text": text}, options)
return response
@staticmethod
def _mimetype(path: str) -> str:
ext = path.rsplit(".", 1)[-1].lower()
return {"wav": "audio/wav", "mp3": "audio/mpeg", "flac": "audio/flac",
"ogg": "audio/ogg", "m4a": "audio/mp4"}.get(ext, "audio/wav")
Step 5: Typed Response Helpers
// Extract clean types from Deepgram responses
interface TranscriptWord {
word: string;
start: number;
end: number;
confidence: number;
speaker?: number;
punctuated_word?: string;
}
interface TranscriptResult {
transcript: string;
confidence: number;
words: TranscriptWord[];
duration: number;
requestId: string;
}
function parseResult(result: any): TranscriptResult {
const alt = result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0];
return {
transcript: alt.transcript,
confidence: alt.confidence,
words: alt.words ?? [],
duration: result.metadata.duration,
requestId: result.metadata.request_id,
};
}
Step 6: SDK v5 Migration Notes
// v3/v4 (current stable):
import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
const dg = createClient(apiKey);
await dg.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(source, options);
await dg.listen.live(options);
await dg.speak.request({ text }, options);
// v5 (auto-generated, Fern-based):
import { DeepgramClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
const dg = new DeepgramClient({ apiKey });
await dg.listen.v1.media.transcribeUrl(source, options);
await dg.listen.v1.connect(options); // async
await dg.speak.v1.audio.generate({ text }, options);
Output
- Singleton client pattern with environment validation
- Text-to-speech (Aura-2) with stream-to-file
- Audio intelligence pipeline (summary, topics, sentiment, intents)
- Python production service class
- Typed response helpers
- v5 migration reference
Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| 401 Unauthorized | Invalid API key | Check DEEPGRAM_API_KEY value |
| 400 Unsupported format | Bad audio codec | Convert to WAV/MP3/FLAC |
| speak.request is not a function | SDK version mismatch | Check import, v5 uses speak.v1.audio.generate |
| Empty TTS response | Empty text input | Validate text is non-empty before calling |
| summarize returns null | Feature not enabled | Pass summarize: 'v2' (string, not boolean) |
Resources
Next Steps
Proceed to deepgram-data-handling for transcript storage and processing patterns.