External integration - Android TV and Fire TV notifications

Development
1

cover-tv-notify

Hi everyone!

You’re in the middle of a movie, the volume a bit loud, someone rings the doorbell… and no one hears it. Or maybe the washing machine has been finished for an hour. With this integration, Gladys displays its messages directly on the TV, over the movie, with the photo from the entrance camera if you want.

What it does

  • It relies on a small app to install on the TV: Notifications for Android TV, Notifications for Fire TV, or the alternatives PiPup and TvOverlay.
  • One device per TV, with a « Reachable » status that indicates if it is turned on. Nothing is displayed on the screen to check this.
  • A scene action « Display a notification on the TV »:
    • title and message, with scene variables;
    • duration, position, background color, transparency, and about twenty icons (doorbell, package, washing machine, meal…);
    • the image from a camera, taken at the time of the notification;
    • it tells the scene if the notification went through, to notify the phone instead when the TV is off.
  • A widget « Message on the TV »: the status of the TV, a « Write a message » button, and up to three quick messages (« Dinner! »).
  • For Android TV, Google TV, Nvidia Shield, Fire TV, and Fire TV Stick.
  • In French, English, German, and Spanish.

The cool part

Someone rings the doorbell → the visitor’s photo on the TV; if it’s off, message on the phone
The washing machine’s plug goes under 5 W → « The laundry is done », only if the TV is on
9:00 p.m. on school days → « Bed in 10 minutes! » in the middle of the screen

Installation

:warning: Gladys 5.2 minimum.

It will arrive in the store at the next indexer run. In the meantime: Integrations → Install from GitHub, with GitHub - guim31/gladys-tv-notify: Notifications on Android TV and Fire TV for Gladys Assistant · GitHub

  1. On the TV: install Notifications for Android TV (Play Store) or Notifications for Fire TV (Amazon Appstore), or PiPup or TvOverlay, and open it once. It displays the TV’s IP address.
  2. In Gladys: « Add or modify a TV » in the configuration, with this address and the chosen app.
  3. Discovery tab: create the device, then « Send a test notification ».

Honest small reservations

  • Local network only.
  • The image does not come from a Gladys camera device, which an integration cannot access: you need the snapshot URL of the camera (most IP cameras, Frigate, go2rtc…). A scene is readable by all Gladys users, including credentials: create a camera account limited to viewing for this.
  • PiPup and TvOverlay require a display permission over other apps, to be granted once. No color or centering with TvOverlay, no icon with PiPup.
  • A TV in standby that keeps its network active may remain « reachable » for a while after the screen turns off.
  • Developed without a test TV. It’s local, so nothing could be verified on a real TV: everything was tested against fake apps that mimic the three protocols. If you try it, let me know which TV and which app, especially for accents and images.

Like the previous ones, developed with Claude Code. Independent project, not affiliated with the authors of these apps, nor with Google or Amazon.

Repository: GitHub - guim31/gladys-tv-notify: Notifications on Android TV and Fire TV for Gladys Assistant · GitHub