https://livekit.io logo
Join Slack
Powered by
does Livekit tasks and taskGroup introduce Functio...
# ask-ai
l
does Livekit tasks and taskGroup introduce Function call latency?
t
Thanks for reaching out, Deepak. I'm an AI assistant and I'm here to help. Give me a moment while I research this topic.
Thanks — I’m responding to your question about whether LiveKit 
tasks
and 
TaskGroup
introduce function call latency. Short answer: • No — 
tasks
and 
TaskGroup
do not inherently add meaningful function-call latency. Any noticeable delay will usually come from the actual work the tasks perform (LLM inference, external API calls, STT/TTS, etc.), not from the task orchestration itself. Why: • 
AgentTask
and function tools simply encapsulate units of work and call your function tools inside the agent’s session loop; the framework’s orchestration is lightweight and optimized for real‑time voice AI flows. • 
TaskGroup
coordinates multiple tasks and can revisit earlier steps while sharing conversation context. Its overhead is minimal and mostly coordination/summarization work (which you can disable with 
summarize_chat_ctx=False
if you want to avoid that extra step). Common sources of latency to watch for: • LLM inference time (TTFT) • External API or network calls your tools make • STT or TTS processing and any associated audio I/O • Heavy synchronous computation inside a task If you’d like, I can help with next steps: • Review a specific task/tool implementation to spot latency hotspots. • Suggest async patterns or batching to reduce wall‑clock time. • Walk through disabling 
summarize_chat_ctx
or other options to minimize orchestration overhead. Which would you prefer — a code review of a task that’s showing latency, or recommendations for general patterns to reduce latency? Sources: Tasks and task groups | LiveKit Documentation | examples/frontdesk | livekit/livekit_composite | DeepWiki | examples/voice_agents | livekit/livekit_composite | DeepWiki
l
when the function call happens on task completion, this will add latency?
t
Thanks — I’m replying about whether a function call that runs on task completion will add latency. Short answer: • Yes — any function call executed at task completion will add the function’s own execution time to the overall workflow. The task system itself adds only minimal orchestration overhead; the latency you see comes from the work the function does (network I/O, LLM inference, heavy CPU work, STT/TTS, etc.). Details to keep in mind: • The orchestration cost of invoking the completion hook inside `AgentTask`/`TaskGroup` is small. The meaningful delay is the function’s runtime and any external calls it makes. • If the completion function performs synchronous blocking work (for example, waiting on an external API or doing expensive processing), that wall‑clock time will directly increase end‑to‑end latency. • If the function is lightweight (local state updates, short in‑memory operations), added latency will be negligible. Options to reduce perceived latency: • Make the completion function asynchronous where possible (perform background work and return quickly). • Offload heavy or networked work to a separate worker or queue (e.g., enqueue a job and return). • Batch calls or debounce frequent completion tasks to reduce total calls. • Disable or simplify any automatic summarization or heavy context processing (for 
TaskGroup
, set 
summarize_chat_ctx=False
) if that’s part of the completion step. If you’d like, I can: • Review the specific completion function you’re using and point out likely bottlenecks. • Suggest an async or queue-based pattern tailored to your code. • Help measure where time is being spent (recommended traces or timing points to add). Which would be most helpful — a quick review of your completion handler, or a general template for turning completion work into background jobs?
2 Views
Open in Slack
PreviousNext
Powered by