---
title: "*LiteLLM* embeddings & speech-to-text"
description: >
  Embed text and transcribe audio through LiteLLM's unified API across 100+
  providers (OpenAI, Azure, Vertex AI, Bedrock, Cohere, and more) — with
  VectorSchemaProvider for automatic vector column configuration.
---
The `cocoindex.ops.litellm` module provides integration with the [LiteLLM](https://docs.litellm.ai/) library for text embeddings (`LiteLLMEmbedder`) and speech-to-text transcription (`LiteLLMTranscriber`).

```python
from cocoindex.ops.litellm import LiteLLMEmbedder, LiteLLMTranscriber
```

:::note[Dependencies]
This module requires additional dependencies. Install with:

```bash
pip install cocoindex[litellm]
```

:::

## Overview

The `LiteLLMEmbedder` class is a wrapper around LiteLLM's embedding API that:

- Implements `VectorSchemaProvider` for seamless integration with CocoIndex connectors
- Supports 100+ embedding providers (OpenAI, Azure, Vertex AI, Cohere, Bedrock, etc.) through a unified API
- Provides a simple async `embed()` method
- Passes through all additional arguments to the LiteLLM embedding API
- Returns properly typed numpy arrays

## Basic usage

### Creating an embedder

All extra keyword arguments are passed through to every `litellm.aembedding` call. See [Supported providers](#supported-providers) for provider-specific model strings and configuration.

```python
from cocoindex.ops.litellm import LiteLLMEmbedder

embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("text-embedding-3-small")

# With explicit API key and base URL
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("text-embedding-3-small", api_key="sk-...", api_base="https://my-proxy.example.com")

# With custom dimensions (OpenAI text-embedding-3 models)
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("text-embedding-3-small", dimensions=512)

# With a timeout (seconds)
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("text-embedding-3-small", timeout=30)
```

### Embedding text

The `embed()` method converts text into a `numpy.ndarray` of `float32`. It's an async method — use `await` when calling it:

```python
# In a CocoIndex function
embedding = await embedder.embed("Hello, world!")

# Use the embedding in a dataclass row, store in a vector database, etc.
table.declare_row(row=DocEmbedding(text="Hello, world!", embedding=embedding))
```

### Using as a type annotation

The `LiteLLMEmbedder` implements [`VectorSchemaProvider`](../common_resources/vector_schema#vectorschemaprovider), which means it can be used directly as metadata in `Annotated` type annotations. This is the recommended way to declare vector columns — CocoIndex connectors automatically extract the vector dimension and dtype from the annotation when creating tables.

```python
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import Annotated
from numpy.typing import NDArray

embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("text-embedding-3-small")

@dataclass
class DocEmbedding:
    id: int
    filename: str
    text: str
    embedding: Annotated[NDArray, embedder]
```

When you pass this dataclass to a connector's `TableSchema.from_class()`, the connector automatically reads the embedder annotation to determine the vector column's dimension and dtype. For example, with Postgres:

```python
from cocoindex.connectors import postgres

table_schema = await postgres.TableSchema.from_class(
    DocEmbedding,
    primary_key=["id"],
)
target_table = await postgres.mount_table_target(
    PG_DB,
    table_name="doc_embeddings",
    table_schema=table_schema,
    pg_schema_name="my_schema",
)
```

The connector automatically creates the appropriate `vector(N)` column. See the [Connectors](../connectors/postgres) docs for other supported backends (LanceDB, Qdrant, SQLite).

## Speech-to-text

The `LiteLLMTranscriber` class is a wrapper around LiteLLM's transcription API that turns audio into text through any LiteLLM-supported speech-to-text provider (OpenAI Whisper, ElevenLabs, Groq, and more) using a unified interface.

### Creating a transcriber

All extra keyword arguments are passed through to every `litellm.atranscription` call (e.g., `api_key`, `api_base`, `language`, `extra_body`).

```python
from cocoindex.ops.litellm import LiteLLMTranscriber

transcriber = LiteLLMTranscriber("whisper-1")

# With an explicit API key
transcriber = LiteLLMTranscriber("whisper-1", api_key="sk-...")

# With a default language hint applied to every call
transcriber = LiteLLMTranscriber("whisper-1", language="en")
```

### Transcribing audio

The `transcribe()` method takes a `FileLike` object (such as a `localfs.File`) containing audio data and returns the transcribed text as a `str`. It's an async method — use `await` when calling it. Per-call keyword arguments override the defaults provided at construction time:

```python
# In a CocoIndex function, `file` is a FileLike (e.g. localfs.File)
transcript = await transcriber.transcribe(file)

# Override or add per-call options
transcript = await transcriber.transcribe(file, response_format="verbose_json")
```

A complete pipeline that walks local audio files, transcribes each one, and stores the transcripts in Postgres is available in the [`audio_to_text` example](https://github.com/cocoindex-io/cocoindex/tree/main/examples/audio_to_text).

### Supported transcription providers

`LiteLLMTranscriber` accepts any model string supported by LiteLLM's transcription API. A few common examples:

| Model | Model string | Environment variables |
|-------|-------------|-----------------------|
| OpenAI Whisper | `whisper-1` | `OPENAI_API_KEY` |
| ElevenLabs Scribe | `elevenlabs/scribe_v1` | `ELEVENLABS_API_KEY` |
| Groq Whisper Large V3 | `groq/whisper-large-v3` | `GROQ_API_KEY` |

See the [LiteLLM audio transcription docs](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/audio_transcription) for the full list of providers and model strings.

## Supported providers

Below are common providers with their model strings and configuration. The `litellm` module is re-exported from `cocoindex.ops.litellm` for setting provider-specific variables. See the [LiteLLM embedding docs](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/embedding/supported_embedding) for the full list.

### Ollama

| Model                    | Model string                  |
|--------------------------|-------------------------------|
| Nomic Embed Text         | `ollama/nomic-embed-text`     |
| MXBai Embed Large        | `ollama/mxbai-embed-large`    |
| All MiniLM               | `ollama/all-minilm`           |
| Snowflake Arctic Embed   | `ollama/snowflake-arctic-embed` |
| BGE M3                   | `ollama/bge-m3`               |

No API key required. Ollama must be running locally (default `http://localhost:11434`). Pull the model first with `ollama pull <model-name>`.

```python
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("ollama/nomic-embed-text", api_base="http://localhost:11434")
```

### OpenAI

| Model | Model string |
|-------|-------------|
| Text Embedding 3 Small | `text-embedding-3-small` |
| Text Embedding 3 Large | `text-embedding-3-large` |
| Text Embedding Ada 002 | `text-embedding-ada-002` |

**Environment variables:** `OPENAI_API_KEY`

```python
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("text-embedding-3-small")
```

### Azure OpenAI

| Model | Model string |
|-------|-------------|
| Text Embedding 3 Small | `azure/<your-deployment-name>` |
| Text Embedding Ada 002 | `azure/<your-deployment-name>` |

The model string uses your Azure deployment name, not the OpenAI model name.

**Environment variables:** `AZURE_API_KEY`, `AZURE_API_BASE`, `AZURE_API_VERSION`

```python
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder(
    "azure/my-deployment-name",
    api_key="your-azure-api-key",
    api_base="https://my-resource.openai.azure.com",
    api_version="2024-02-01",
)
```

### Gemini (Google AI Studio)

| Model | Model string |
|-------|-------------|
| Text Embedding 004 | `gemini/text-embedding-004` |

**Environment variables:** `GEMINI_API_KEY`

```python
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("gemini/text-embedding-004")
```

### Vertex AI

| Model | Model string |
|-------|-------------|
| Text Embedding 004 | `vertex_ai/text-embedding-004` |
| Text Multilingual Embedding 002 | `vertex_ai/text-multilingual-embedding-002` |
| Textembedding Gecko | `vertex_ai/textembedding-gecko` |

**Environment variables:** `GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS` (path to service account JSON)

**Additional configuration:** Set project and location via the `litellm` module or environment variables `VERTEXAI_PROJECT` and `VERTEXAI_LOCATION`:

```python
from cocoindex.ops.litellm import LiteLLMEmbedder, litellm

litellm.vertex_project = "my-gcp-project"
litellm.vertex_location = "us-central1"

embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("vertex_ai/text-embedding-004")
```

### AWS Bedrock

| Model | Model string |
|-------|-------------|
| Titan Text Embeddings V2 | `bedrock/amazon.titan-embed-text-v2:0` |
| Titan Text Embeddings V1 | `bedrock/amazon.titan-embed-text-v1` |
| Cohere Embed English | `bedrock/cohere.embed-english-v3` |
| Cohere Embed Multilingual | `bedrock/cohere.embed-multilingual-v3` |

**Environment variables:** `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID`, `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`, `AWS_REGION_NAME`

```python
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("bedrock/amazon.titan-embed-text-v2:0")
```

### Mistral AI

| Model | Model string |
|-------|-------------|
| Mistral Embed | `mistral/mistral-embed` |

**Environment variables:** `MISTRAL_API_KEY`

```python
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("mistral/mistral-embed")
```

### Voyage AI

| Model | Model string |
|-------|-------------|
| Voyage 3.5 | `voyage/voyage-3.5` |
| Voyage 3.5 Lite | `voyage/voyage-3.5-lite` |
| Voyage Code 3 | `voyage/voyage-code-3` |

**Environment variables:** `VOYAGE_API_KEY`

```python
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("voyage/voyage-3.5")
```

### Cohere

| Model | Model string |
|-------|-------------|
| Embed English V3 | `cohere/embed-english-v3.0` |
| Embed English Light V3 | `cohere/embed-english-light-v3.0` |
| Embed Multilingual V3 | `cohere/embed-multilingual-v3.0` |

**Environment variables:** `COHERE_API_KEY`

**Additional configuration:** V3 models require an `input_type` parameter (defaults to `"search_document"`; use `"search_query"` for queries):

```python
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("cohere/embed-english-v3.0", input_type="search_document")
```

### Nebius AI

| Model | Model string |
|-------|-------------|
| BGE EN ICL | `nebius/BAAI/bge-en-icl` |

**Environment variables:** `NEBIUS_API_KEY`

```python
embedder = LiteLLMEmbedder("nebius/BAAI/bge-en-icl")
```
