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datech / node-red-contrib-amazon-echo

Alexa controlled Node-Red nodes supporting latest Amazon Echo devices. NO Alexa Skills required. NO cloud dependencies.
MIT License
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Passing Object Status back to Alexa from Home Assistant #196

Open hisham211 opened 8 months ago

hisham211 commented 8 months ago

This Node-Red to Echo integration is great and I've been using it for many years. However, the one thing that I haven't been able to figure out is how to look in the Alexa app and see if a light (in HA) is turned on, currently. This seems to work if I use the Alexa app/voice command to change the light status. But, it doesn't work if I manually flip the switch or do it from the HA console/dashboard.

Specifically, I want the integration to pass the light switch status back to the Alexa so that I can see it in the Alexa app. Is what I'm asking possible? If yes, is there some code/tutorial I can be pointed to?

Otherwise, I really appreciate the effort it took to make all this work and want to thank you for all the hard work.

-Me

datech commented 7 months ago

First off, thank you so much for your feedback and for using this module for such a long time. It’s really encouraging to hear that it has been useful to you. I started this project out of a personal need to manage my devices with Alexa locally, and it’s been over three years of continuous use on my end.

Regarding your question: The key issue here is that only Echo devices are currently designed to communicate their state back to Amazon. To reflect the status of devices like your HA light in the Alexa app, especially when changes are made manually or through the HA dashboard, we'd need to incorporate Alexa Skills. This requires setting up a backend infrastructure in the cloud to handle requests for device state updates, a significant shift from the current setup.

Over the last few years, as I’ve expanded my own home setup, I’ve felt the limitations of not being able to manage a wider variety of devices and commands, beyond simple on/off or 0-100% settings. I’m really keen on developing an Alexa Skill that could accommodate a broader range of devices and more complex commands. However, given the necessity for cloud services to support this, running such a setup as an open-source project would not be feasible due to the costs involved.

I’m contemplating the idea of moving towards a subscription-based model to support this advanced functionality. This would help cover the costs of cloud services needed to process and manage state change requests for all connected devices. I wonder if you and other current users of this plugin might be open to a subscription model for these expanded features?

Again, thank you for being part of our community.