v1.1.0

### Added

- Added `MistralSTTService` for real-time speech-to-text using Mistral's Voxtral Realtime API (`voxtral-mini-transcribe-realtime-2602`). Supports streaming transcription with interim results, automatic language detection, and VAD-driven utterance lifecycle. 
  (PR [#4253](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4253))

- Added `buttons` field to `OutputDTMFFrame` and `OutputDTMFUrgentFrame` for sending multi-key DTMF sequences as a `list[KeypadEntry]`. Use `OutputDTMFFrame.from_string("123#")` (or the equivalent on `OutputDTMFUrgentFrame`) to build one from a dial string, and `to_string()` to convert back. 
  (PR [#4313](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4313))

- Added `DailyTransport.send_dtmf()` to expose the Daily call client's DTMF sending capability, enabling applications to send tones during a call (e.g.  IVR navigation). 
  (PR [#4313](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4313))

- Added `DailyOutputDTMFFrame` and `DailyOutputDTMFUrgentFrame` frames. In addition to the inherited `buttons`, they accept `session_id`, `digit_duration_ms` and `method`, which are forwarded to Daily's `send_dtmf` as `sessionId`, `digitDurationMs` and `method`. 
  (PR [#4313](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4313))

- Added incremental `pyright` type checking. A `pyrightconfig.json` at the repo root uses `typeCheckingMode: "basic"` with an explicit `include` list of modules that pass cleanly (`clocks`, `metrics`, `transcriptions`, `frames`, `observers`, `extensions`, `turns`, `pipeline`, `runner`). Remaining modules will be added in subsequent PRs. CI enforces the checked set via `uv run pyright` in the format workflow. 
  (PR [#4324](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4324))

- Added multilingual support to `DeepgramFluxSTTService` via a new `language_hints: list[Language]` setting. Works with Deepgram's new `flux-general-multi` model to bias transcription across English, Spanish, French, German, Hindi, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Italian, and Dutch.  Omit the hints to use auto-detection, or pass a subset to bias toward expected languages. Hints can be updated mid-stream via `STTUpdateSettingsFrame` (sent as a Deepgram `Configure` control message, no reconnect) to support detect-then-lock flows. 
  (PR [#4326](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4326))

- Added fine-grained server-side VAD tuning options to `SarvamSTTService.Settings` for the `saaras:v3` model, including speech thresholds, frame-count controls, pre-speech padding, interruption sensitivity, and initial-frame skipping. 
  (PR [#4334](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4334))

- Added `XAISTTService` for real-time speech-to-text using xAI's voice STT WebSocket API (`wss://api.x.ai/v1/stt`). Streams raw audio (PCM, µ-law, or A-law) and emits interim and final transcription frames driven by the server's `is_final` / `speech_final` flags. Settings expose `interim_results`, `endpointing`, `language`, `multichannel`, `channels`, and `diarize`. Requires the `xai` optional extra (`pip install "pipecat-ai[xai]"`). 
  (PR [#4340](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4340))

- Added `XAITTSService` for streaming text-to-speech using xAI's WebSocket TTS endpoint (`wss://api.x.ai/v1/tts`). Streams `text.delta` chunks up and base64 `audio.delta` chunks down on the same connection so audio begins flowing before the full utterance finishes synthesizing; complements the batch-HTTP `XAIHttpTTSService`. Defaults to raw PCM output so `TTSAudioRawFrame` needs no decoding. The `xai` optional extra now pulls in `pipecat-ai[websockets-base]`. 
  (PR [#4341](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4341))

- Added `SonioxTTSService`, a real-time WebSocket TTS service that streams text in and audio out over a persistent connection. Install with `pip install "pipecat-ai[soniox]"`. 
  (PR [#4360](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4360))

- Added support for Daily's built-in `screenVideo` destination in `DailyTransport`. When `"screenVideo"` is included in `video_out_destinations` transport parameter, a dedicated screen video track is created at join time and frames with `transport_destination="screenVideo"` are routed to it.

    ```python
    params = DailyParams(
          video_out_enabled=True,
          video_out_is_live=True,
          video_out_width=1280,
          video_out_height=720,
          video_out_destinations=["screenVideo"]
    )

    ...

    frame = OutputImageRawFrame(...)
    frame.transport_destination = "screenVideo"
    ```
 
  (PR [#4370](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4370))

- Added `camera_out_send_settings` to `DailyParams`. This dict is passed verbatim to the Daily client's camera publishing settings, allowing applications to fully control encoding, codec, bitrate, and framerate.

    ```python
    params = DailyParams(
        camera_out_send_settings={
            "maxQuality": "high",
            "encodings": {
                "high": {"maxBitrate": 2_000_000, "maxFramerate": 30}
            },
        },
    )
    ```
 
  (PR [#4370](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4370))

- Added `tool_resources` to `PipelineTask` and `FunctionCallParams`. Pass an application-defined object (DB handles, clients, state, etc.) to `PipelineTask(..., tool_resources=...)` and access it from any tool handler via `params.tool_resources`. Passed by reference; the caller retains their handle and can read mutations after the task finishes. Resolves #4256. 
  (PR [#4371](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4371))

### Changed

- Updated NVIDIA STT services to align with Nemotron Speech defaults and
  configuration: `api_key` is now optional for local deployments, additional
  recognition settings are available (including alternatives, word offsets, and
  diarization), and streaming/segmented docs now reflect Nemotron Speech APIs.
  - NVIDIA streaming STT now sets `TranscriptionFrame.finalized=True` when the provider marks a result as final, and preserves `language` on both `TranscriptionFrame` and `InterimTranscriptionFrame`. 
  (PR [#4269](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4269))

- Updated `NvidiaLLMService` to emit model reasoning as `LLMThought*Frame`s (from both `reasoning_content` and `<think>...</think>` output), avoid mixing reasoning text into normal assistant content, and allow keyless local NIM endpoints while warning when the cloud endpoint is used without an API key. 
  (PR [#4270](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4270))

- STT services now reconnect safely when settings change: reconnection is deferred until the current user turn ends (i.e., until `UserStoppedSpeakingFrame` is received) rather than interrupting an active speech session. Audio frames received while the reconnect is in progress are buffered and replayed once the new connection is ready. `CartesiaSTTService` and `DeepgramSTTService` both use this new behavior. 
  (PR [#4311](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4311))

- Reduced debug log noise for LLM services. The system instruction is now logged once when composed (e.g. when turn completion is enabled) instead of on every LLM call. Per-call logs now show only the conversation messages, consistent across Google, Anthropic, AWS, and OpenAI services. 
  (PR [#4314](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4314))

- `LiveKitRunnerArguments.token` is now a required `str` (previously `str | None` with a default of `None`). LiveKit requires a token to join a room, so the type now reflects reality. This only affects custom runners that construct `LiveKitRunnerArguments` directly; code consuming the argument from the standard runner is unaffected. 
  (PR [#4324](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4324))

- `TranscriptionFrame.language` and `InterimTranscriptionFrame.language` emitted by `DeepgramFluxSTTService` now reflect the language Deepgram detected for each turn (read from the `languages` field on Flux's `TurnInfo` event). On `flux-general-multi` this gives per-turn accuracy for downstream consumers (e.g. TTS voice selection). `flux-general-en` continues to emit `Language.EN`. 
  (PR [#4326](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4326))

- Added `includes_inter_frame_spaces` parameter to
  `TTSService.add_word_timestamps` and `_add_word_timestamps` (default `None`).
  When `True`, downstream consumers will not inject additional spaces between
  tokens; `None` leaves each frame's own default unchanged.
  - `InworldTTSService` now passes `includes_inter_frame_spaces=True` when reporting word timestamps, since Inworld tokens already include inter-word spacing. 
  (PR [#4330](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4330))

- `SarvamSTTService` now uses `saaras:v3` as its default model instead of `saarika:v2.5`. Applications that relied on the previous default should set `settings=SarvamSTTService.Settings(model="saarika:v2.5")` explicitly. 
  (PR [#4334](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4334))

- `SpeechTimeoutUserTurnStopStrategy` now waits only `user_speech_timeout` when a transcript arrives without a VAD stop event, rather than `max(ttfs_p99_latency, user_speech_timeout)`. If you had `ttfs_p99_latency > user_speech_timeout`, turn detection in that path is slightly faster than before. 
  (PR [#4337](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4337))

- If you use an STT service that emits finalized transcripts (Speechmatics, Soniox, Deepgram Flux, AssemblyAI) with `SpeechTimeoutUserTurnStopStrategy`, user turns now end as soon as `user_speech_timeout` elapses after VAD stop.  Previously the strategy also waited for the STT P99 latency (`ttfs_p99_latency`) even when the transcript was already marked final.  `user_speech_timeout` is still honored as a floor — STT finalization never shortens it. 
  (PR [#4337](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4337))

- ⚠️ `PlivoFrameSerializer` and `TelnyxFrameSerializer` now raise `ValueError` at construction when `auto_hang_up=True` (the default) but required credentials are missing, matching `TwilioFrameSerializer`. Previously they constructed successfully and the hangup failed silently at call-end, leaving phantom billable sessions on the provider. If you relied on the old silent behavior, pass `auto_hang_up=False` explicitly or provide the credentials.  The specific fields checked are `call_id`/`auth_id`/`auth_token` for Plivo and `call_control_id`/`api_key` for Telnyx. 
  (PR [#4349](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4349))

- `ToolsSchema(standard_tools=...)` now accepts any `Sequence[FunctionSchema | DirectFunction]` rather than requiring an exact `list` of the union. Callers can pass a narrower `list[FunctionSchema]` (or any other `Sequence`) without the type checker complaining about list invariance. 
  (PR [#4352](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4352))

- Updated `aic-sdk` dependency to `~=2.2.0`. The `AIC_LICENSE_KEY` environment variable replaces the previous `AICOUSTICS_LICENSE_KEY`. 
  (PR [#4362](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4362))

- Loosened the `protobuf` dependency to `>=5.29.6,<7`, so projects pinned to protobuf 5.x can install `pipecat-ai` again. The previous `>=6.31.1,<7` pin (introduced in 1.0.8 alongside the `nvidia-riva-client 2.25.1` upgrade) silently blocked any environment whose dependency graph already constrained protobuf to the 5.x line. The bundled `frames_pb2.py` is now compiled with protoc 5.x so it imports cleanly on both 5.x and 6.x runtimes.

  Installing the `nvidia` extra still pulls protobuf 6.x: `nvidia-riva-client 2.25.1` ships gencode that requires a 6.x runtime, so `pipecat-ai[nvidia]` now declares `protobuf>=6.31.1,<7` explicitly to cover an upstream packaging gap (https://github.com/nvidia-riva/python-clients/issues/172). 
  (PR [#4372](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4372))

- Daily rooms created by the development runner (`pipecat.runner.run`) now expire after 4 hours with `eject_at_room_exp=True`, mirroring Pipecat Cloud's max session limit. Previously, runner-created rooms inherited a 2-hour expiration on the default code paths and had no expiration at all when callers posted partial `dailyRoomProperties` (e.g. `{"start_video_off": true}`) to `/start`, causing rooms to accumulate indefinitely. Explicit `exp` and `eject_at_room_exp` values in `dailyRoomProperties` are still respected. 
  (PR [#4374](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4374))

- Updated `daily-python` dependency to `~=0.28.0`. 
  (PR [#4379](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4379))

### Deprecated

- Deprecated `TransportParams.video_out_bitrate` for the Daily transport. Use `DailyParams.camera_out_send_settings` instead to configure camera publishing encodings (bitrate, framerate, codec, etc.). 
  (PR [#4370](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4370))

### Fixed

- Fixed missing tool handlers so unregistered tool calls fail with a normal final tool result instead of leaving tool-call state hanging. 
  (PR [#4301](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4301))

- Fixed `pipecat-ai[tavus]` not installing the required `daily-python` dependency. Installing the `tavus` extra now correctly pulls in `pipecat-ai[daily]`. 
  (PR [#4304](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4304))

- Fixed audio loss and potential errors when STT settings were updated
  mid-speech. Previously, `CartesiaSTTService` and `DeepgramSTTService` would
  immediately disconnect and reconnect when settings changed, dropping any
  in-flight audio. Reconnection is now deferred until the user stops speaking,
  and audio arriving during the reconnect window is buffered and replayed.
(PR [#4311](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4311))

- Fixed `SmallestTTSService` WebSocket endpoint URL to match Smallest AI v4.0.0 API (`wss://waves-api.smallest.ai` → `wss://api.smallest.ai`) and restored keepalive using a silent space message instead of the unsupported flush command. 
  (PR [#4320](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4320))

- Fixed whitespace handling in TTS token streaming mode. Inter-token whitespace (e.g., spaces between words) is now preserved for correct prosody, while leading whitespace before the first non-whitespace token is still stripped to avoid issues with TTS models that are sensitive to leading spaces. 
  (PR [#4323](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4323))

- Fixed `SentryMetrics` silently dropping `MetricsFrame`s from `stop_ttfb_metrics` and `stop_processing_metrics`. `SentryMetrics` called the base `FrameProcessorMetrics` implementation but discarded its return value, so `FrameProcessor` never pushed the `MetricsFrame` downstream. This prevented observers (e.g. `UserBotLatencyObserver`, `MetricsLogObserver`) from seeing TTFB and processing metrics for any service using `metrics=SentryMetrics()`. The metrics were still calculated and Sentry transactions still completed — only the downstream frame push was affected. 
  (PR [#4325](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4325))

- Fixed `ElevenLabsTTSService` and `ElevenLabsHttpTTSService` emitting word timestamps and `TTSTextFrame` content that matched the input text instead of the spoken audio when a pronunciation dictionary (`pronunciation_dictionary_locators`) or text normalization rewrote the input. Both services now consume ElevenLabs' normalized alignment, so downstream consumers (captions, transcripts, context aggregation) reflect what the listener actually hears. 
  (PR [#4344](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4344))

- Fixed a crash in `DeepgramSTTService` when an `STTUpdateSettingsFrame` arrived before the WebSocket handshake completed (for example, when pushing an update upstream on `StartFrame`). The settings-triggered reconnect cancelled the in-flight connection task before its keepalive task was created, causing an `UnboundLocalError: cannot access local variable 'keepalive_task'` in the handler's `finally` block. 
  (PR [#4347](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4347))

- Fixed direct-function registration crashing for functions without a docstring. `DirectFunctionWrapper` passed `inspect.getdoc()`'s result to `docstring_parser.parse()`, which raises when the docstring is `None`.  Functions now register cleanly whether or not they have a docstring; an empty docstring produces empty description and parameter metadata as expected. 
  (PR [#4352](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4352))

- Fixed `AssemblyAISTTService`, `CartesiaSTTService`, `GradiumSTTService`, and `SonioxSTTService` crashing the pipeline on transient WebSocket send failures. Each `run_stt` sent audio directly without catching errors, so a single network hiccup mid-stream raised an uncaught exception through `process_frame`. The guards now log a warning and let the connection-state check on the next call handle recovery, matching the pattern used by Deepgram, xAI, Azure, and other push-based STTs. 
  (PR [#4352](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4352))

- Fixed Gemini Live losing conversation history in the (rare) case of a WebSocket reconnect before any session resumption handle is received. When the session reconnects (e.g. on system instruction change), conversation history is now re-seeded into the new session before it is marked ready for input. 
  (PR [#4355](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4355))

- Fixed SmallWebRTC data channel silently stalling on networks with a 1280-byte MTU (IPv6, Tailscale overlays, many consumer VPNs). aiortc's default SCTP chunk size of 1200 bytes produces ~1305-byte UDP datagrams after headers, which the kernel rejects with EMSGSIZE; aiortc has no path-MTU discovery so it retransmits forever at the same oversized size. The chunk size is now clamped to 1100 bytes (~1205-byte datagrams, ~75 bytes of slack). Override with `PIPECAT_SCTP_MAX_CHUNK_SIZE` if your path MTU requires a different value. 
  (PR [#4358](https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat/pull/4358))