Alexa Skill - Control Amazon Echo Devices

Control your Amazon Echo devices, smart home, and routines. Send announcements, notifications, and more.

CRITICAL: Announcement Confirmation Required

Before sending ANY announcement or notification, you MUST get explicit user confirmation.

When the user asks to send an announcement:

1. Show them the complete message details (message, target device)
2. Ask: "Do you want me to send this announcement?"
3. ONLY run the command AFTER the user explicitly confirms

First-Time Setup (~3 minutes)

1. Install Dependencies

# Python dependencies
pip3.11 install alexapy aiohttp

# Node.js dependencies (for setup)
cd ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill && npm install

2. Run Setup

node ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/setup.js YOUR_EMAIL@example.com

This will:

1. Start a local proxy server
2. Open a browser window for Amazon login
3. Save authentication cookies locally (no password stored)

3. Verify Setup

python3.11 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py devices

Should return a list of your Echo devices.

Commands

Send Voice Command (Most Flexible)

python3.11 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py say "turn off the living room lamp"
python3.11 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py say "turn on the TV and dim the lights to 50 percent"
python3.11 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py say "play jazz music in the kitchen"

This sends any command as if you said "Alexa, ..." - supports complex multi-device commands.

List Echo Devices

python3.11 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py devices

Discover Smart Home Devices

python3.11 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py discover

Make Announcement (with chime)

python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py announce "Dinner is ready"
python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py announce "Meeting in 5 minutes" --device "Office"
python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py announce "Fire drill" --all

Note: Avoid exclamation marks (!) in messages - they get escaped and Alexa will say "backs" instead.

Arguments:

• message - The message to announce (required)
• --device / -d - Target device name (optional, uses first online device)
• --all / -a - Announce on all devices

Text-to-Speech (no chime)

python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py speak "Hello world"
python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py speak "Welcome home" --device "Living Room"

List Smart Home Devices

python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py smart-home

List Smart Home Entities (for Silent Control)

python3.11 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py smart-entities

Returns devices with their entity_id needed for silent control. Use this for the two-call workflow:

1. Call smart-entities to get device list with IDs
2. Match the user's request to the right entity_id
3. Call silent-control with that entity_id

Silent Control (No "OK" Response)

Control devices silently without Alexa saying "OK" - perfect for nighttime or when kids are sleeping.

python3.11 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py silent-control ENTITY_ID --action on
python3.11 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py silent-control ENTITY_ID --action off
python3.11 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py silent-control ENTITY_ID --action on --brightness 50
python3.11 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py silent-control ENTITY_ID --action on --color blue

Arguments:

• ENTITY_ID - The entity ID from smart-entities command (required)
• --action / -a - on or off (required)
• --brightness / -b - Brightness level 0-100 (optional)
• --color / -c - Color name like red, blue, warm_white (optional)

Control Smart Home Device

python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py control "Living Room Lights" --action on
python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py control "Bedroom Lights" --action off
python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py control "Desk Lamp" --action setBrightness --value 50

Actions:

• on - Turn on
• off - Turn off
• toggle - Toggle state
• setBrightness - Set brightness (use --value 0-100)
• setColor - Set color (use --value with color name)

Set Volume

python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py volume 50
python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py volume 30 --device "Bedroom"

List Routines

python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py routines

Trigger Routine

python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py routine "Good Morning"
python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py routine "Movie Time"

Send Notification

python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py notify "Task completed"
python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py notify "Reminder: Call mom" --title "Reminder"

Regional Support

Setup supports multiple Amazon regions:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py setup --region us   # Default
python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py setup --region uk   # amazon.co.uk
python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py setup --region de   # amazon.de
python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py setup --region jp   # amazon.co.jp

Available regions: us, uk, de, jp, ca, au, fr, it, es, br, mx, in

Output

All commands output JSON for easy parsing:

{
  "devices": [
    {
      "name": "Kitchen Echo",
      "type": "ECHO_DOT_V3",
      "online": true
    }
  ],
  "count": 1
}

Troubleshooting

"Not authenticated" Error

Run setup again:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/alexa_skill.py setup

2FA Issues

If you use 2FA, make sure it's set to authenticator app (not SMS or email).
Go to Amazon > Account > Login & Security > Two-Step Verification and update if needed.

Device Not Found

• Device names are case-insensitive partial matches
• Run devices command to see exact names
• Make sure the device is online

Smart Home Device Not Responding

• Check if the device is reachable in the Alexa app
• Try toggling it manually first
• Some devices may not support all actions

Requirements

alexapy>=1.29.0
aiohttp

Security Notes

• No passwords are stored - only OAuth tokens
• Credentials are saved locally in ~/.claude/skills/alexa-skill/config.json
• Tokens auto-refresh when expired
• To revoke access: Remove config.json and re-run setup

Important Disclaimer

Amazon does not provide an official API for this functionality. This skill uses the same endpoints as the Alexa web app. It may stop working if Amazon changes their API.

#alexa #smart-home #echo