Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime API

Speech and live video frames in, speech out over one socket, with 56 voices, tool calling during the conversation, and separate text and audio token rates.

Alibaba CloudAudio Generation192K contextReleased Sep 21, 2026SingaporeProprietary EndpointNew

About Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime

Speech and live video frames in, speech out over one socket, with 56 voices, tool calling during the conversation, and separate text and audio token rates.

Session is configured with session.update events over the socket rather than request parameters. Text and audio tokens bill at separate rates.

Also known as Alibaba Cloud Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime

realtimespeech to speechaudio inaudio outvideofunction callingmultilingual

Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime specs

Model ID
qwen3-8-omni-flash-realtime
Author
Alibaba Cloud
Category
Audio Generation
Released
Sep 21, 2026
Context window
192K tokens
Max output
65,536 tokens
Input
AudioTextVideo
Output
AudioText
Region
Singapore
Endpoints
WEBSOCKET/v1/realtime
Alternate model IDs
qwen3.8-omni-flash-realtimealibaba/qwen3-8-omni-flash-realtime

Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime API pricing

Live pay-as-you-go rates from the EmpirioLabs catalog. You are billed only for what you use, with no monthly minimum.

Type
Spec
Rate
Input: audio
per 1M audio input tokens
$1.86
Input
per 1M prompt tokens
$0.46
Output
per 1M generated tokens
$1.40
Output: audio
per 1M generated audio tokens
$3.74
Compare on the full pricing page

How to call the Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime API

Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime holds a live conversation over a WebSocket at wss://api.empiriolabs.ai/v1/realtime?model=qwen3-8-omni-flash-realtime, not over the HTTP endpoints. Connect with the model id qwen3-8-omni-flash-realtime and send your EmpirioLabs API key as an Authorization: Bearer header on the handshake. Audio travels both ways as base64 16-bit PCM. A browser cannot set headers on a WebSocket, so open this connection from your server and relay audio to the browser over your own socket. Get an API key from the EmpirioLabs dashboard.

Python (websockets)
import asyncio, json, os, websockets

async def main():
    async with websockets.connect(
        "wss://api.empiriolabs.ai/v1/realtime?model=qwen3-8-omni-flash-realtime",
        additional_headers=[
            ("Authorization", f"Bearer {os.environ['EMPIRIOLABS_API_KEY']}"),
        ],
        max_size=None,
    ) as ws:
        print(json.loads(await ws.recv())["type"])  # session.created

        await ws.send(json.dumps({
            "type": "conversation.item.create",
            "item": {
                "type": "message",
                "role": "user",
                "content": [{"type": "input_text", "text": "Say hello."}],
            },
        }))
        await ws.send(json.dumps({"type": "response.create"}))

        async for raw in ws:
            event = json.loads(raw)
            if event["type"] == "response.audio.delta":
                ...  # base64 audio chunk, append to your playback buffer
            elif event["type"] == "response.done":
                break

asyncio.run(main())
Full Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime API reference

Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime API parameters

Request parameters supported by the Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime API on EmpirioLabs. Defaults apply when a field is omitted.

ParameterTypeDefaultRange / valuesDescription
voiceenumTinaTina, Cindy, Liora Mira, Raymond, Zane, Katerina, Ryan, Mia, ...Speaking voice for the session. Set it with session.update before the model produces any audio. These voices are specific to this model.
instructionsstring--System guidance for how the model should behave and speak during the conversation.
modalitiesstring["text","audio"]-Which output types the model returns for a turn. Drop audio for a text-only reply.
input_audio_formatenumpcm16pcm16Encoding of the audio you append to the input buffer: base64 16-bit PCM at 16 kHz.
output_audio_formatenumpcm24pcm24Encoding of the audio the model streams back: 16-bit PCM at 24 kHz.
turn_detectionstring{"type":"server_vad"}-Server-side voice activity detection. Decides when you have stopped speaking and the model should reply. It is on by default on this model.

Good to know

Connecting

Full-duplex voice over a WebSocket at wss://api.empiriolabs.ai/v1/realtime?model=qwen3-8-omni-flash-realtime, authenticated with the ordinary Authorization Bearer header. Configure the session with session.update over the socket: voice, instructions, modalities, and turn detection.

Sending audio and video

  • Append microphone audio as input_audio_buffer.append events.
  • Append live video frames as input_image_buffer.append events. Frames are not message content, so an image inside a conversation item is rejected.
  • Voice activity detection decides when you have stopped speaking, so keep streaming for about a second after the speech ends.

Voices

The voices on this model are not the same set as the Qwen3.5 Omni realtime models. Pick one from the voice list rather than carrying a voice across, or leave it unset and the default is supplied for you.

Billing

Audio and text tokens are priced separately in both directions, and each completed turn is billed on its own from the usage the model reports.

Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime API: common questions

How much does the Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime API cost?

On EmpirioLabs, Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime is billed pay as you go: Input: audio $1.86 per 1M audio input tokens; Input $0.46 per 1M prompt tokens; Output $1.40 per 1M generated tokens; Output: audio $3.74 per 1M generated audio tokens. The live rate card on this page always matches what the API charges.

What is the context window of Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime?

Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime supports a 192K-token context window with up to 65,536 output tokens per response.

Which endpoint does Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime use?

Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime is served through WEBSOCKET /v1/realtime on api.empiriolabs.ai with standard bearer-token authentication.

Can I try Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime in the browser before integrating?

Open the EmpirioLabs playground and press Start session to try it in your browser. Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime runs over a WebSocket rather than a request and response, so to build with it start from the realtime voice quickstart. Connect from your server with your EmpirioLabs API key and the model id qwen3-8-omni-flash-realtime, then stream audio in both directions.

How do I get a Qwen3.8 Omni Flash Realtime API key?

Create an EmpirioLabs account, then generate a key under API Keys in the dashboard. Billing is pay-as-you-go credits, so you only pay for the requests you make.

Ready to use better endpoints?

Check out our pricing or reach out if you want your own model deployed on our stack.