Does session.start automatically run ctx.connect()? Do I not need to connect things myself?

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What are examples of setup that require ctx.connect() to be called?

Here are some examples of setups in LiveKit where you’ll want to explicitly call `ctx.connect()`: • Voice AI Agents: When you’re creating an agent that answers calls and chats with users through audio, calling

ctx.connect()

is key to getting connected to the room. • IVR Systems: For interactive voice response (IVR) setups, you’ll need to explicitly connect to handle inbound calls and process what users say. • Media Track Subscriptions: If you’re subscribing to audio or video tracks in a room, make sure to call

ctx.connect()

first before subscribing to any tracks. For example, when using

auto_subscribe=AutoSubscribe.AUDIO_ONLY

. • Agent Sessions: When kicking off an agent session that interacts with participants in a room, you’ll want to call

ctx.connect()

before creating the session. If you have a particular use case in mind, just let me know! I’m happy to help with more tailored advice. Sources: complex-agents/ivr-agent/agent.py | Job lifecycle | LiveKit Docs | agent.py

But you just said session.start() already calls ctx.connect() so why would i need to do that myself?

Hey there! Just a quick heads-up: while

session.start()

gets your agent up and running and kicks off the session, it doesn’t actually handle connecting to the LiveKit room. That’s where

ctx.connect()

comes in—it’s the one that sets up the connection and gets all the communication channels ready. Usually, you’ll want to call

ctx.connect()

before starting the session to make sure everything works smoothly. Here’s a little example to show you how it fits together:

async def entrypoint(ctx: JobContext):
    await ctx.connect()
    session = AgentSession()
    await session.start(
        agent=MyAgent(),
        room=ctx.room,
    )

So, both functions have their own important jobs, and by calling

ctx.connect()

first, you’re making sure the room connection is all set before your session gets going. Sources: livekit-agents/livekit/agents/voice/agent_session.py | External data and RAG | LiveKit Docs | Job lifecycle | LiveKit Docs | agent.py