Getting a voice agent onto a phone call is the part that pulls you out of your editor. You configure the connection in one console tab and attach a number in another. Then a call fails, you get a hangup code, and you guess.
Today we are releasing Plivo CLI, a command line interface to the Plivo APIs, built for developers shipping voice agents and for the coding agents working alongside them.
There are two common ways to put a voice agent on the phone network, and the CLI covers both:
- Audio Streaming: Your agent speaks WebSocket. Plivo streams the call’s audio to it and, on a bidirectional stream, plays back the audio it sends.
- SIP trunking: Your agent speaks SIP. Plivo routes calls to it over a trunk.
Either way you keep the stack you already have and use Plivo for the connection to real calls.
Install and log in
brew install plivo/tap/plivo
plivo loginOne binary, no runtime. macOS, Linux and Windows, with Scoop and shell installers in the installation guide. Login happens in your browser, so your password never touches the CLI.
Stream call audio to your agent
Test your WebSocket connection before attaching a phone number, then take real calls on your local agent.
- Test:
plivo voice streams testsends Plivo-format audio and counts replies. A live call still checks whether the returned audio plays correctly. - Forward:
plivo voice streams forwardtunnels inbound call audio to your laptop, with no tunnel account needed. Use a test application.
Start with the Pipecat guide.
Connect your agent over SIP
Manage the Plivo side of your SIP connection from the terminal:
- Connect: Create trunks, manage authentication and attach phone numbers with
plivo sipandplivo numbers. - Inspect: Read SIP call records for hangup causes and transport details when a call fails.
Configure routing to your agent on the platform too. The LiveKit setup guide covers both sides.
Get answers without leaving the terminal
Use plivo ask for questions about building with Plivo. For an Audio Streaming or other Voice API call, diagnose explains what happened, the likely cause and what to change.
plivo ask "How do I stream call audio to my WebSocket server?"
plivo voice calls diagnose <call_uuid>For SIP calls, inspect the call record with plivo sip calls get.
Give your coding agent the context
Bundled skills teach your coding agent how to use the CLI, Audio Streaming, SIP trunking and Voice XML. They install locally with no network call.
plivo skill install allThe CLI also supports JSON output for API commands, --dry-run previews and explicit confirmation for commands that spend money.
Get started
Choose WebSocket or SIP trunking, then use the CLI to connect your agent.
Plivo CLI is open source under Apache 2.0. Tell us how it goes with plivo feedback, or file an issue on the repository.