Quickstart: Install the Speech SDK

On Windows, you must use the 64-bit target architecture. Windows 10 or later is required.

Install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022 for your platform. Installing this package for the first time might require a restart.

The Speech SDK for C# only supports the following distributions on the x64, ARM32, and ARM64 architectures:

• Ubuntu 20.04/22.04/24.04
• Debian 11/12
• Amazon Linux 2023
• Azure Linux 3.0

The Speech SDK depends on the following Linux system libraries:

• The shared libraries of the GNU C library, including the POSIX Threads Programming library, libpthreads.
• The OpenSSL library, version 1.x (libssl1) or 3.x (libssl3), and certificates (ca-certificates).
• The shared library for ALSA applications (libasound2).

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential ca-certificates libasound2-dev libssl-dev wget

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential ca-certificates libasound2-dev libssl-dev wget

sudo yum update
sudo yum install alsa-lib ca-certificates openssl wget

sudo tdnf update
sudo tdnf install alsa-lib ca-certificates openssl wget

A macOS version 10.14 or later is required.

The Speech SDK for C# can be installed from the .NET CLI by using the following dotnet add command:

dotnet add package Microsoft.CognitiveServices.Speech

The Speech SDK for C# can be installed by using the following Install-Package command:

Install-Package Microsoft.CognitiveServices.Speech

On Windows, you must use the 64-bit target architecture. Windows 10 or later is required.

Install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022 for your platform. Installing this package for the first time might require a restart.

The Speech SDK for C++ only supports the following distributions on the x64, ARM32, and ARM64 architectures:

• Ubuntu 20.04/22.04/24.04
• Debian 11/12
• Amazon Linux 2023
• Azure Linux 3.0

The Speech SDK depends on the following Linux system libraries:

• The shared libraries of the GNU C library, including the POSIX Threads Programming library, libpthreads.
• The OpenSSL library, version 1.x (libssl1) or 3.x (libssl3), and certificates (ca-certificates).
• The shared library for ALSA applications (libasound2).

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential ca-certificates libasound2-dev libssl-dev wget

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential ca-certificates libasound2-dev libssl-dev wget

sudo yum update
sudo yum install alsa-lib ca-certificates openssl wget

sudo tdnf update
sudo tdnf install alsa-lib ca-certificates openssl wget

A macOS version 10.14 or later is required.

The Speech SDK for C++ can be installed from the .NET CLI by using the following dotnet add command:

dotnet add package Microsoft.CognitiveServices.Speech

The Speech SDK for C++ can be installed by using the following Install-Package command:

Install-Package Microsoft.CognitiveServices.Speech

This guide shows how to install the Speech SDK for Linux.

Use the following procedure to download and install the SDK. The steps include downloading the required libraries and header files as a .tar file.

1. Choose a directory for the Speech SDK files. Set the SPEECHSDK_ROOT environment variable to point to that directory. This variable makes it easy to refer to the directory in future commands.

   To use the directory speechsdk in your home directory, run the following command:

   export SPEECHSDK_ROOT="$HOME/speechsdk"
   

2. Create the directory if it doesn't exist:

   mkdir -p "$SPEECHSDK_ROOT"
   

3. Download and extract the .tar.gz archive that contains the Speech SDK binaries:

   wget -O SpeechSDK-Linux.tar.gz https://aka.ms/csspeech/linuxbinary
   tar --strip 1 -xzf SpeechSDK-Linux.tar.gz -C "$SPEECHSDK_ROOT"
   

4. Validate the contents of the top-level directory of the extracted package:

   ls -l "$SPEECHSDK_ROOT"
   

   The directory listing should contain the partner notices and license files. The listing should also contain an include directory that holds header (.h) files and a lib directory that holds libraries for arm32, arm64, x64, and x86.

   Path	Description
   license.md	License
   ThirdPartyNotices.md	Partner notices
   REDIST.txt	Redistribution notice
   include	Required header files for C++
   lib/arm32	Native library for ARM32 required to link your application
   lib/arm64	Native library for ARM64 required to link your application
   lib/x64	Native library for x64 required to link your application
   lib/x86	Native library for x86 required to link your application

This guide shows how to install the Speech SDK for C++ on macOS 10.14 or later. The steps include downloading the required libraries and header files as a .zip file.

1. Choose a directory for the Speech SDK files. Set the SPEECHSDK_ROOT environment variable to point to that directory. This variable makes it easy to refer to the directory in future commands.

   To use the directory speechsdk in your home directory, run the following command:

   export SPEECHSDK_ROOT="$HOME/speechsdk"
   

2. Create the directory if it doesn't exist:

   mkdir -p "$SPEECHSDK_ROOT"
   

3. Download and extract the .zip archive that contains the Speech SDK XCFramework:

   wget -O SpeechSDK-macOS.zip https://aka.ms/csspeech/macosbinary
   unzip SpeechSDK-macOS.zip -d "$SPEECHSDK_ROOT"
   

4. Validate the contents of the top-level directory of the extracted package:

   ls -l "$SPEECHSDK_ROOT"
   

   The directory listing should contain the partner notice, license files, and a MicrosoftCognitiveServicesSpeech.xcframework directory.

This guide shows how to install the Speech SDK for C++ on Windows desktop operating systems.

This setup guide requires:

• Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio for the Windows platform. Installing it for the first time might require a restart.
• Visual Studio.

Create a project in Visual Studio and install the Speech SDK

To create a Visual Studio project for C++ desktop development, you need to:

• Set up Visual Studio development options.
• Create the project.
• Select the target architecture.
• Install the Speech SDK.

Set up Visual Studio development options

To start, make sure you're set up correctly in Visual Studio for C++ desktop development:

1. Open Visual Studio 2019 to display the start window.

2. Select Continue without code to go to the Visual Studio IDE.

   

3. From the Visual Studio menu bar, select Tools > Get Tools and Features to open Visual Studio Installer and view the Modifying dialog box.

4. On the Workloads tab, under Windows, find the Desktop development with C++ workload. If that workload isn't already selected, select it.

   

5. On the Individual components tab, find NuGet package manager. If it isn't already selected, select it.

6. Select either Close or Modify. The button name varies depending on whether you selected any features for installation.

   If you select Modify, installation begins. The process might take a while.

7. Close Visual Studio Installer.

Create the project

Next, create your project and select the target architecture:

1. From the Visual Studio menu, select File > New > Project to display the Create a new project window.

2. Find and select Console App. Make sure that you select the C++ version of this project type, as opposed to C# or Visual Basic.

3. Select Next.

   

4. In the Configure your new project dialog box, in Project name, enter helloworld.

5. In Location, go to and select or create the folder where you want to save your project, and then select Create.

   

6. Select your target platform architecture. On the Visual Studio toolbar, find the Solution Platforms dropdown box. If you don't see it, select View > Toolbars > Standard to display the toolbar that contains Solution Platforms.

   If you're running 64-bit Windows, select x64 in the dropdown box. 64-bit Windows can also run 32-bit applications, so you can choose x86 if you prefer.

Install the Speech SDK by using Visual Studio

Finally, install the Speech SDK NuGet package and reference the Speech SDK in your project:

1. In Solution Explorer, right-click your solution, and then select Manage NuGet Packages for Solution to go to the NuGet - Solution window.

2. Select Browse.

3. In Package source, select nuget.org.

   

4. In the Search box, enter Microsoft.CognitiveServices.Speech. Choose that package after it appears in the search results.

5. In the package status pane next to the search results, select your helloworld project.

6. Select Install.

   

7. In the Preview Changes dialog box, select OK.

8. In the License Acceptance dialog box, view the license, and then select I Accept. The package installation begins. When installation is complete, the Output pane displays a message that's similar to the following text: Successfully installed 'Microsoft.CognitiveServices.Speech 1.15.0' to helloworld.

Run these commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential ca-certificates libasound2-dev libssl-dev wget

Run these commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential ca-certificates libasound2-dev libssl-dev wget

Run these commands:

sudo yum update
sudo yum install alsa-lib ca-certificates openssl wget

Run these commands:

sudo tdnf update
sudo tdnf install alsa-lib ca-certificates openssl wget

The Speech SDK for Java is compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential ca-certificates libasound2-dev libssl-dev wget

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential ca-certificates libasound2-dev libssl-dev wget

sudo yum update
sudo yum install alsa-lib ca-certificates openssl wget

sudo tdnf update
sudo tdnf install alsa-lib ca-certificates openssl wget

The Speech SDK is compatible with Android devices that have 32/64-bit ARM processor and Intel x86/x64 compatible processors.

This guide shows how to install the Speech SDK for Java on the Java Runtime.

Supported operating systems

The Speech SDK for Java package is available for these operating systems:

• Windows: 64-bit only.
• Mac: macOS X version 10.14 or later.
• Linux: See the supported Linux distributions and target architectures.

// build.gradle

dependencies {
    implementation group: 'com.microsoft.cognitiveservices.speech', name: 'client-sdk', version: "1.43.0", ext: "jar"
}

This guide shows how to install the Speech SDK for Java on Android.

The Speech SDK for Android is packaged as an Android Archive (AAR) file, which includes the necessary libraries and required Android permissions.

Install the Speech SDK by using Android Studio

Create a new project in Android Studio and add the Speech SDK for Java as a library dependency. The setup is based on the Speech SDK Maven Package and Android Studio Chipmunk 2021.2.1.

Create an empty project

1. Open Android Studio, and select New project.

   

2. In the New project window that appears, select Phone and Tablet > Empty Activity, and then select Next.

   

3. Enter SpeechQuickstart in the Name text box.

   

4. Enter samples.speech.cognitiveservices.microsoft.com in the Package name text box.

5. Select a project directory in the Save location selection box.

6. Select Java in the Language selection box.

7. Select API 26: Android 8.0 (Oreo) in the Minimum API level selection box.

8. Select Finish.

Android Studio takes some time to prepare your new project. For your first time using Android Studio, it might take a few minutes to set preferences, accept licenses, and complete the wizard.

Install the Speech SDK for Java on Android

Add the Speech SDK as a dependency in your project.

1. Select File > Project structure > Dependencies > app.

2. Select the plus symbol (+) to add a dependency under Declared Dependencies. Then select Library dependency from the dropdown menu.

   

3. In the Add Library Dependency window that appears, enter the name and version of the Speech SDK for Java: com.microsoft.cognitiveservices.speech:client-sdk:1.43.0. Then select Search.

4. Make sure that the selected Group ID is com.microsoft.cognitiveservices.speech, and then select OK.

5. Select OK to close the Project Structure window and apply your changes to the project.

This guide shows how to install the Speech SDK for JavaScript for use with Node.js.

1. Install Node.js.

2. Create a new directory, run npm init, and walk through the prompts.

3. To install the Speech SDK for JavaScript, run the following npm install command:

   npm install microsoft-cognitiveservices-speech-sdk
   

For more information, see the Node.js samples.

This guide shows how to install the Speech SDK for JavaScript for use with a webpage.

Unpack to a folder

1. Create a new, empty folder. If you want to host the sample on a web server, make sure that the web server can access the folder.

2. Download the Speech SDK as a .zip package and unpack it into the newly created folder. These files are unpacked:

   • microsoft.cognitiveservices.speech.sdk.bundle.js: A human-readable version of the Speech SDK.
   • microsoft.cognitiveservices.speech.sdk.bundle.js.map: A map file to use for debugging SDK code.
   • microsoft.cognitiveservices.speech.sdk.bundle.d.ts: Object definitions for use with TypeScript.
   • microsoft.cognitiveservices.speech.sdk.bundle-min.js: A minified version of the Speech SDK.
   • speech-processor.js: Code to improve performance on some browsers.

3. Create a new file named index.html in the folder, and open this file with a text editor.

HTML script tag

Download and extract the microsoft.cognitiveservices.speech.sdk.bundle.js file from the Speech SDK for JavaScript. Place it in a folder that your HTML file can access.

<script src="microsoft.cognitiveservices.speech.sdk.bundle.js"></script>;

Alternatively, you could directly include a <script> tag in the HTML <head> element, relying on the JSDelivr.

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/microsoft-cognitiveservices-speech-sdk@latest/distrib/browser/microsoft.cognitiveservices.speech.sdk.bundle-min.js">
</script>

For more information, see the browser-based samples.

The Speech SDK for Objective-C is available natively as a CocoaPod package for Mac x64 and ARM-based systems.

System requirements for Mac:

• A macOS version 10.14 or later

The macOS CocoaPod package is available for download and use with the Xcode 9.4.1 or later integrated development environment (IDE).

1. Go to the Xcode directory where your .xcodeproj project file is located.

2. Run pod init to create a pod file named Podfile.

3. Replace the contents of Podfile with the following content. Update the target name from AppName to the name of your app. Update the platform or pod version as needed.

   platform :osx, 10.14
   use_frameworks!
   
   target 'AppName' do
     pod 'MicrosoftCognitiveServicesSpeech-macOS', '~> 1.43.0'
   end
   

4. Run pod install to install the Speech SDK.

Alternatively, download the binary CocoaPod and extract its contents. In your Xcode project, add a reference to the extracted MicrosoftCognitiveServicesSpeech.xcframework folder and its contents.

The Speech SDK for Objective-C is available natively as a CocoaPod package.

System requirements for iOS:

• A macOS version 10.14 or later
• Target iOS 9.3 or later

The macOS CocoaPod package is available for download and use with the Xcode 9.4.1 or later integrated development environment (IDE).

1. Go to the Xcode directory where your .xcodeproj project file is located.

2. Run pod init to create a pod file named Podfile.

3. Replace the contents of Podfile with the following content. Update the target name from AppName to the name of your app. Update the platform or pod version as needed.

   platform :ios, '9.3'
   use_frameworks!
   
   target 'AppName' do
     pod 'MicrosoftCognitiveServicesSpeech-iOS', '~> 1.43.0'
   end
   

4. Run pod install to install the Speech SDK.

Alternatively, download the binary CocoaPod and extract its contents. In your Xcode project, add a reference to the extracted MicrosoftCognitiveServicesSpeech.xcframework folder and its contents.

The Speech SDK for Swift is available natively as a CocoaPod package for Mac x64 and ARM-based systems.

System requirements for Mac:

• A macOS version 10.14 or later

The macOS CocoaPod package is available for download and use with the Xcode 9.4.1 or later integrated development environment (IDE).

1. Go to the Xcode directory where your .xcodeproj project file is located.

2. Run pod init to create a pod file named Podfile.

3. Replace the contents of Podfile with the following content. Update the target name from AppName to the name of your app. Update the platform or pod version as needed.

   platform :osx, 10.14
   use_frameworks!
   
   target 'AppName' do
     pod 'MicrosoftCognitiveServicesSpeech-macOS', '~> 1.43.0'
   end
   

4. Run pod install to install the Speech SDK.

Alternatively, download the binary CocoaPod and extract its contents. In your Xcode project, add a reference to the extracted MicrosoftCognitiveServicesSpeech.xcframework folder and its contents.

The Speech SDK for Swift is available natively as a CocoaPod package.

System requirements for iOS:

• A macOS version 10.14 or later
• Target iOS 9.3 or later

The macOS CocoaPod package is available for download and use with the Xcode 9.4.1 or later integrated development environment (IDE).

1. Go to the Xcode directory where your .xcodeproj project file is located.

2. Run pod init to create a pod file named Podfile.

3. Replace the contents of Podfile with the following. Update the target name from AppName to the name of your app. Update the platform or pod version as needed.

   platform :ios, '9.3'
   use_frameworks!
   
   target 'AppName' do
     pod 'MicrosoftCognitiveServicesSpeech-iOS', '~> 1.43.0'
   end
   

4. Run pod install to install the Speech SDK.

Alternatively, download the binary CocoaPod and extract its contents. In your Xcode project, add a reference to the extracted MicrosoftCognitiveServicesSpeech.xcframework folder and its contents.

On Windows, you must use the 64-bit target architecture. Windows 10 or later is required.

Install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022 for your platform. Installing this package for the first time might require a restart.

The Speech SDK for Python supports the following distributions on the x64 and ARM64 architectures:

• Ubuntu 20.04/22.04/24.04
• Debian 11/12
• Amazon Linux 2023
• Azure Linux 3.0

The Speech SDK depends on the following Linux system libraries:

• The shared libraries of the GNU C library, including the POSIX Threads Programming library, libpthreads.
• The OpenSSL library, version 1.x (libssl1) or 3.x (libssl3), and certificates (ca-certificates).
• The shared library for ALSA applications (libasound2).

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential ca-certificates libasound2-dev libssl-dev wget

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential ca-certificates libasound2-dev libssl-dev wget

sudo yum update
sudo yum install alsa-lib ca-certificates openssl wget

sudo tdnf update
sudo tdnf install alsa-lib ca-certificates openssl wget

A macOS version 10.14 or later is required.

Install from PyPI

To install the Speech SDK for Python, run this command in a console window:

pip install azure-cognitiveservices-speech

Upgrade to the latest Speech SDK

To upgrade to the latest Speech SDK, run this command in console window:

pip install --upgrade azure-cognitiveservices-speech

You can check which Speech SDK for Python version is currently installed by inspecting the azure.cognitiveservices.speech.__version__ variable. For example, run this command in a console window:

pip list

Install the Speech SDK by using Visual Studio Code

To install the Speech SDK for Python:

1. Download and install Visual Studio Code.

2. Run Visual Studio Code and install the Python extension:

   1. Select File > Preferences > Extensions.
   2. Search for Python, find the Python extension for Visual Studio Code published by Microsoft, and then select Install.

   

3. Select Terminal > New Terminal to open a terminal within Visual Studio Code.

4. At the terminal prompt, run the following command to install the Speech SDK for Python package.

   python -m pip install azure-cognitiveservices-speech
   

For more information about Visual Studio Code and Python, see Visual Studio Code and Getting Started with Python in VS Code.