# Bolna

> Bolna is the open-source core of Bolna's hosted voice-agent platform: it chains ASR, LLM and TTS providers over websockets and places phone calls through Twilio or Plivo. MIT. The local setup is four Docker containers (telephony server, Bolna server, ngrok, Redis). Most listed ASR/TTS providers are paid APIs, though self-hosted ASR, vLLM and an OpenAI-compatible TTS endpoint are supported. The README says the project is looking for maintainers.

- Repository: https://github.com/bolna-ai/bolna
- Official docs: https://docs.bolna.ai
- Checked: 2026-10-16

## What it replaces
- Vapi: Voice agents, Phone calls (telephony) (partial). Self-hosted phone agents; you still pay Twilio or Plivo and usually the ASR/LLM/TTS providers.
- ElevenLabs: Voice agents (partial). Orchestration only; voices come from plugged-in TTS providers.

## Facts, with sources

| Question | Status | Answer | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on my machine? | Confirmed | Yes, self-hosted with Docker; also usable as a Python package | https://github.com/bolna-ai/bolna#local-example-setup-will-be-moved-to-a-different-repository | 2026-10-15 |
| Code licence | Confirmed | MIT | https://github.com/bolna-ai/bolna/blob/master/LICENSE | 2026-10-15 |
| Model weights licence | Confirmed | No separate model weights; each plugged-in provider has its own terms | https://github.com/bolna-ai/bolna#supported-providers-and-models | 2026-10-15 |
| Commercial use | Confirmed | Yes for the framework (MIT); check each provider's terms | https://github.com/bolna-ai/bolna/blob/master/LICENSE | 2026-10-15 |
| Paid services needed? | No | Phone calls need a Twilio or Plivo account; ASR, LLM and TTS can be paid APIs or self-hosted endpoints | https://github.com/bolna-ai/bolna#local-example-setup-will-be-moved-to-a-different-repository | 2026-10-15 |
| Hardware | Unknown | Not documented; depends on the providers you choose | none found | - |
| Operating systems | Unknown | Local telephony examples use Docker Compose V2; the reviewed README does not establish native Windows/macOS/Linux support or a tested host OS matrix | https://github.com/bolna-ai/bolna#local-example-setup-will-be-moved-to-a-different-repository | 2026-10-16 |
| Setup effort | Confirmed | Medium; Docker Compose with four containers plus .env provider keys and an ngrok token | https://github.com/bolna-ai/bolna#quick-start | 2026-10-15 |

GitHub: 795 stars, 374 forks, last push 2026-10-16, archived: no.
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Source: RepoQuarry (https://repoquarry.dev/projects/bolna). Data licence: CC BY 4.0. Quotes are from project documentation and belong to their authors.