Inbound Call Appointment server

Overview

This project uses Vocode to handle inbound and outbound phone calls. It includes a custom agent for spelling out text and integrates with Twilio for telephony services.

Requirements

• Ngrok: For exposing the local server to the internet.
• ffmpeg: For processing audio. If you have Homebrew installed, run:

  brew install ffmpeg
  

• redis: For managing state. If you have Homebrew installed, run:
• Docker: For containerized deployment.

Example .env file:

# Vocode API Key
VOCODE_API_KEY=your_vocode_api_key_here

# Twilio API Keys
TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID=your_twilio_account_sid_here
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=your_twilio_auth_token_here
TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER=your_twilio_phone_number_here

# Eleven Labs API Keys
ELEVEN_LABS_API_KEY=your_eleven_labs_api_key_here
ELEVEN_LABS_VOICE_ID=your_eleven_labs_voice_id_here

# Deepgram API Key
DEEPGRAM_API_KEY=your_deepgram_api_key_here

# OpenAI API Key
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here

# Azure Speech API Keys
AZURE_SPEECH_KEY=your_azure_speech_key_here
AZURE_SPEECH_REGION=your_azure_speech_region_here

# Courier API Token
COURIER_AUTH_TOKEN=your_courier_auth_token_here

# Ngrok Authentication Token
NGROK_AUTH_TOKEN=your_ngrok_auth_token_here

# Base URL for Ngrok or your deployed server
BASE_URL=your_base_url_here

Step 3: Setup Hosting

To make your server accessible to Twilio, you need to expose it to the internet. A simple way to do this is with Ngrok. In this setup, we assume your server is running on port 3000. Run:

ngrok http 3000

Ngrok will provide you with a URL that tunnels localhost:3000. Copy this URL and update the BASE_URL in your .env file, excluding the https:// part, e.g.:

BASE_URL=asdf1234.ngrok.app

Step 4: Install Dependencies

Install the required dependencies for the project. If using Python, you might need to set up a virtual environment and install packages from requirements.txt:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Configuring Twilio

Before starting your server, you need to set up Twilio to handle incoming and outgoing calls. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Sign Up for a Twilio Account

1. Go to the Twilio website.
2. Sign up for a new account if you don’t already have one. Follow the instructions to verify your email and phone number.

Step 2: Obtain Twilio API Credentials

1. Log in to your Twilio console.

2. Navigate to the Twilio Console Dashboard.

3. Note down the following credentials from the dashboard:

   • Account SID: This is a unique identifier for your Twilio account.
   • Auth Token: This is used to authenticate API requests.

   These credentials will be used in your .env file:

   TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID=your_twilio_account_sid_here
   TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=your_twilio_auth_token_here
   

Step 3: Get A Twilio Phone Number:

1. Go to the Phone Numbers section in the Twilio console.

2. Click on Get a Number.

3. Choose a number that suits your needs and purchase it. This number will be used to send and receive calls and SMS.

4. Add this number to your .env file:

   TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER=your_twilio_phone_number_here
   

Step 4: Set Up Twilio Webhooks

1. To handle incoming calls and messages, you need to configure Twilio to point to your server’s endpoints:

2. Configure Incoming Call Handling:

3. In the Twilio console, go to the Phone Numbers section and select your Twilio number.

4. Under Voice & Fax, set the A CALL COMES IN webhook to point to your server’s URL where you handle incoming calls. For example:

   http://your-server-url/inbound_call

Step 5: Start Dcoker

Start Redis using Docker or directly on your machine. For Docker, use:

docker build -t vocode-telephony-app .

Step 6: Run the Application

Start your application. This might involve running a server script or using Docker:

docker-compose up

Contact

For any questions or issues, you can reach me at matthewpierceladdy@gmail.com.