Control Gladys devices via an Alexa skill
Hello!
After doing Google Home, I think the time has come for me to tackle Alexa integration 
I would like to define the specifications of this integration with you before I get started.
What would we like to be able to do with Alexa in Gladys?
I am not familiar with how Alexa works (which seems quite different from Google Home based on what I read), a system that appears to revolve around a concept of « Skills ».
Unlike Google Home, it seems that on the Alexa side, it’s up to me to code what each Skill does.
I take back what I said, it looks a lot like Google Home 
I need to read this in full:
Ouch, apparently it’s not possible to use the Alexa smart home API without hosting the code in an AWS Lambda function…
Well, nothing stops me from proxying the request to Gladys Plus, but it’s a shame to have to go through Lambda, which adds an additional API call, especially when they offer external calls on other types of integrations…
See smart home API:
Vs custom skill:
Well, I’ve done some research and it’s actually quite simple to implement, just like Google Home 
I’ve made my little to-do list, and I hope to make progress on the integration/certification in the coming weeks.
I’ll keep you posted when I have something to show you.
I’m leaving a quick message to get an update on where you’re at?
Indeed, all the home automation solutions that offer Alexa are paid, so I assume you’ll have to do the same with external servers, etc… (Gladys Plus?)
And since I’m here, it’s because I use it daily and I would like Gladys and Alexa to get along… just like my current HA.
Hello @syper! I’ve made several attempts, but for now my priority is to finish this feature:
The integration will indeed be paid (it will be included in Gladys Plus, without a price increase), because it requires an external server, an AWS account, Lambda functions, etc. and above all it needs to be maintained daily to be sustainable over time
Great! Here’s why I would subscribe to Gladys in my case.
Indeed, I don’t currently have a use for it, but Alexa is a prerequisite for me, which I didn’t mention when you asked a few days ago.
Hello everyone!
To keep you updated, I just merged the « Curve display on the dashboard » feature, and consequently, I am now working on this Alexa integration! 
I’ll keep you posted as soon as I have something to show you
Hello,
I’m chiming in following last week’s live where you shared the challenges and the feeling that this feature wasn’t in high demand.
Actually, I think this feature isn’t as demanded because the people using Gladys today are mostly concerned with hosting their data locally, and therefore, de facto, do not want Alexa.
However, this feature would open Gladys to a much larger number of users by having this functionality because it would make Gladys an ideal platform for monitoring, easily integrating tools, having nice graphs, etc., while also having voice control, which is important for some users! So I still think it’s a key integration that truly opens Gladys to the general public! And personally, I encourage you to pursue this path!
That was my little reflection.
I agree!
I think that as soon as I have dealt with the current emergencies, and I have a bit more time for longer-term developments, I will start on this development again.
It’s always hard to « feel the need » and estimate the ROI (return on investment) of a development. Especially for developments as costly as this one.
Hi everyone! I finally found some time to get back to development today
I’ve made a lot of progress on the Gladys Plus server side, which is finished and functional.
Now I still have to finish the Alexa service on the Gladys side — it’s the one that will interpret commands and convert them into actions in Gladys. For now I only handle bulbs on/off, and it still needs some testing.
For this part, I estimate I need about one day of work to get something presentable for an alpha.
Then I need to comb through the Alexa documentation to understand the publishing process and especially the rules to be Amazon-certified, a necessary condition to publish — it’s like Google. I hope it will be simpler than Google! 
To show you roughly what it looks like for now, I posted a video on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/gladysassistant/status/1526256485755506689
I can’t say when this integration will be ready; on Amazon’s side I have no idea how long it takes to go from « app ready » to « deployed to users », and on my side it’s always tight to find availability for these big developments
I’ll post a message the next day I work on the integration!
Hi everyone!
I’ve got very very good news 
We can move this to alpha!!
I’ve been working on it all morning, and I was much faster than I thought.
On the Alexa side, it’s very well done; in this case the developer certification process is much better than Google’s.
I’ve developed 2 types of devices:
- Light on/off
- Outlet on/off
The tests pass:
Automatic validation passes:
I can’t publish the app officially yet because a manual review by Amazon is required; for now I’d like to run a first alpha with a limited number of users.
How to join the alpha
If you want to take part in the alpha, just reply to this message and say you’re interested
Hey (obviously when my house is no longer offline )
Whenever you want!!^^
Awesome! I can test
Hello, I am interested.
Hello,
I just set up an instance again after many months.
Of course I’m still interested in integrating Alexa into Gladys.
So, I’m interested in testing it 
Are you Gladys Plus users?
This integration is only available via Gladys Plus, because, like the Google Home integration, it is a purely cloud-based integration.
To subscribe to Gladys Plus, go here:
Of course, it’s no commitment, cancel anytime with one click, and on top of that you support the project 
There’s still the 50% off promo — now’s the time to take advantage!