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Overview

This guide walks you through deploying Smallest Self-Host Text-to-Speech (TTS) using Docker Compose. You’ll have a fully functional text-to-speech service running in under 15 minutes.
Ensure you’ve completed all prerequisites before starting this guide.

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Step 1: Create Project Directory

Create a directory for your deployment: 
mkdir -p ~/smallest-tts
cd ~/smallest-tts

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Step 2: Login to Container Registry

Authenticate with the Smallest container registry using credentials provided by support: 
docker login quay.io
Enter your username and password when prompted.
Save your credentials securely. You’ll need them if you restart or redeploy the containers.

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Step 3: Create Environment File

Create a .env file with your license key: 
cat > .env << 'EOF'
LICENSE_KEY=your-license-key-here
EOF
Replace your-license-key-here with the actual license key provided by Smallest.ai.
Never commit your .env file to version control. Add it to .gitignore if using git.

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Step 4: Create Docker Compose File

Create a docker-compose.yml file for TTS deployment:
docker-compose.yml
version: "3.8"

services:
  lightning-tts:
    image: quay.io/smallestinc/lightning-tts:latest
    ports:
      - "8876:8876"
    environment:
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}
      - REDIS_HOST=redis
      - REDIS_PORT=6379
      - PORT=8876
    deploy:
      resources:
        reservations:
          devices:
            - driver: nvidia
              count: 1
              capabilities: [gpu]
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - smallest-network

  api-server:
    image: quay.io/smallestinc/self-hosted-api-server:latest
    container_name: api-server
    environment:
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}
      - LIGHTNING_TTS_BASE_URL=http://lightning-tts:8876
      - API_BASE_URL=http://license-proxy:3369
      - REDIS_HOST=redis
      - REDIS_PORT=6379
    ports:
      - "7100:7100"
    networks:
      - smallest-network
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      - lightning-tts
      - license-proxy

  license-proxy:
    image: quay.io/smallestinc/license-proxy:latest
    container_name: license-proxy
    environment:
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}
      - PORT=3369
    networks:
      - smallest-network
    restart: unless-stopped

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: redis-server
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
    networks:
      - smallest-network
    restart: unless-stopped
    command: redis-server --appendonly yes
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5

networks:
  smallest-network:
    driver: bridge
    name: smallest-network

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Step 5: Start Services

Launch all services with Docker Compose: 
docker compose up -d
First startup will take 3-5 minutes as the system:
  1. Pulls container images (~15-25 GB, includes TTS models)
  2. Initializes GPU and loads models
Models are embedded in the container - no separate download needed.

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Step 6: Monitor Startup

Watch the logs to monitor startup progress: 
docker compose logs -f
Look for these success indicators:
1

Redis Ready

redis-server  | Ready to accept connections
2

License Proxy Ready

license-proxy  | License validated successfully
license-proxy  | Server listening on port 3369
3

Lightning TTS Ready

lightning-tts  | Model loaded successfully
lightning-tts  | Server ready on port 8876
4

API Server Ready

api-server  | Connected to Lightning TTS
api-server  | API server listening on port 7100
Press Ctrl+C to stop following logs.

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Step 7: Verify Installation

Check that all containers are running: 
docker compose ps
Expected output: 
NAME                IMAGE                                         STATUS
api-server          quay.io/smallestinc/self-hosted-api-server    Up
license-proxy       quay.io/smallestinc/license-proxy             Up
lightning-tts        quay.io/smallestinc/lightning-tts             Up
redis-server        redis:7-alpine                                Up (healthy)

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Step 8: Test API

Test the API with a sample request: 
curl -X POST http://localhost:7100/v1/speak \
  -H "Authorization: Token ${LICENSE_KEY}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "Hello, this is a test of the text-to-speech service.",
    "voice": "default"
  }'
Or use the health check endpoint first:
curl http://localhost:7100/health
Expected response: {"status": "healthy"}

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Common Startup Issues

Error: could not select device driver "nvidia"Solution:
sudo systemctl restart docker
docker run --rm --gpus all nvidia/cuda:11.8.0-base-ubuntu22.04 nvidia-smi
If this fails, reinstall NVIDIA Container Toolkit.
Error: License validation failedSolution:
  • Verify LICENSE_KEY in .env is correct
  • Check internet connectivity
  • Ensure firewall allows HTTPS to api.smallest.ai
Error: port is already allocatedSolution: Check what’s using the port:
sudo lsof -i :7100
Either stop the conflicting service or change the port in docker-compose.yml

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Managing Your Deployment

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Stop Services

docker compose stop

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Restart Services

docker compose restart

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View Logs

docker compose logs -f [service-name]
Examples: 
docker compose logs -f api-server
docker compose logs -f lightning-tts

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Update Images

Pull latest images and restart: 
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

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Remove Deployment

Stop and remove all containers: 
docker compose down
Remove containers and volumes: 
docker compose down -v
Using -v flag will delete all data. Models will need to be re-downloaded on next startup.

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What’s Next?

TTS Configuration

Customize your TTS deployment with advanced configuration options

TTS Services Overview

Learn about each TTS service component in detail

TTS Troubleshooting

Debug common issues and optimize performance

API Reference

Integrate with your applications using the API