Add google stt voice activity timeout#4361
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davidzhao merged 5 commits intolivekit:mainfrom Feb 13, 2026
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Fixes #4804 |
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Hey @theomonnom @longcw @keepingitneil - would appreciate a review on this when you get a chance! This adds See issue #4804 for details. Thanks! 🙏 |
Google API requires enable_voice_activity_events=True for voice_activity_timeout to be effective. This change automatically enables it when speech_start_timeout or speech_end_timeout is set.
davidzhao
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Feb 13, 2026
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Add VoiceActivityTimeout support to Google STT V2
Fixes #4804
Adds timeout controls for speech detection in Google STT.
What's new
Two new parameters to control turn detection timing:
speech_start_timeout- How long to wait for speech to beginspeech_end_timeout- How much silence before considering the turn completeBoth support fractional seconds and handle the protobuf Duration conversion automatically.
Why?
Without these, you can't tune how patient the STT is with pauses or how long it waits for users to start talking. This helps prevent awkward cutoffs or long dead air.
Real-world impact: Chirp 3 has ~2.4s latency on short utterances like "hi". With
speech_end_timeout=0.5, this can be reduced to ~500-800ms.Usage
Testing
13 tests covering defaults, updates, fractional seconds, and V1/V2 compatibility. All passing.