Alex2ESP

Alex2ESP is a lightweight C++ library for integrating ESP8266 and ESP32 microcontrollers with Amazon Alexa smart home APIs. The library simplifies the process of creating Alexa-compatible devices using MQTT.

For more details on how to configure Alex2ESP, visit Alex2ESP Documentation.

---

Features

• Supports various Alexa smart home capabilities.
• Provides action mapping for advanced customization.
• Simple integration with Wi-Fi and MQTT.
• Event-driven architecture for handling Alexa directives.

---

Quick Start

Installation

Download the library and include it in your Arduino IDE project:

#include <Alex2ESP.h>

---

Creating a Basic Device

Example: Light Control

Here’s how to create a simple device that controls a light:

First create an instance of the alexa client and initilize it with your MQTT Credentials

Alex2ESP alexClient;

Credentials can be found at https://alex2mqtt.stormysdream.club/ after logging in with amazin

  alexClient.begin(ALEXA_USERNAME, ALEXA_PASSWORD, ALEXA_ROOT_TOPIC);

Once initilized you can begin to add virtual devices, in this example we add a power controller to toggle a light

  AlexaDevice* device1 = alexClient.getDevice("Test Lamp", "ESP-01");
  device1->setDisplayCategory(DisplayCategory::LIGHT);
  device1->addCapability(AlexaInterfaceType::POWER_CONTROLLER);

  device1->registerEvent("ReportState", [](const JsonDocument& directive, const AlexaInterfaceType& type) {
    // Build and send status report
    device1->buildStatusMessage(directive["header"]["correlationToken"])
      .AddHealthProp(EndpointHealth::OK)
      .AddPowerControllerProp(outputState)
      .send();
  });

  // Register event listener for "Event" directive to handle state changes
  device1->registerEvent("Event", [](const JsonDocument& directive, const AlexaInterfaceType& type) {
    if (type == AlexaInterfaceType::POWER_CONTROLLER) {
      if (directive["header"]["name"] == "TurnOn") {
        outputState = PowerController::ON;
        Serial.println("Turning ON");
      } else if (directive["header"]["name"] == "TurnOff") {
        outputState = PowerController::OFF;
        Serial.println("Turning OFF");
      }

      // Send the updated state after change
      device1->buildStatusMessage(directive["header"]["correlationToken"], true)
        .AddHealthProp(EndpointHealth::OK)
        .AddPowerControllerProp(outputState)
        .send();
    }
  });

---

Example: Toggle Controller for Blinds

Alex2ESP also supports action mapping so we can map keywords such as "open" and "close" to a toggle controller For a comprehensive list of Alexa actions and mappings, visit the Alexa Developer Documentation

AlexaDevice* device = alexClient.getDevice("Bedroom Blinds", "ESP-01");
device->setDisplayCategory(DisplayCategory::LIGHT);

AlexaInterface* toggleController = device->addCapability(AlexaInterfaceType::TOGGLE_CONTROLLER);
toggleController->setInstance("ESP-01.Toggle");
toggleController->addFriendlyName("Bedroom Blinds", "en-US");

ActionMapping closeMapping({AlexaActions::Close}, "TurnOn");
ActionMapping openMapping({AlexaActions::Open}, "TurnOff");
toggleController->addActionMapping(closeMapping);
toggleController->addActionMapping(openMapping);

---

Interface Types

Alexa Interface Type	Status
AlexaInterfaceType::AUTOMATION_MANAGEMENT	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::BRIGHTNESS_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::CHANNEL_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::COLOR_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::COLOR_TEMPERATURE_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::CONTACT_SENSOR	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::POWER_CONTROLLER	Fully Supported
AlexaInterfaceType::ENDPOINT_HEALTH	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::TOGGLE_CONTROLLER	Fully Supported
AlexaInterfaceType::APPLICATION_STATE_REPORTER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::AUDIO_PLAY_QUEUE	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::AUTHORIZATION_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::AUTOMOTIVE_VEHICLE_DATA	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::CAMERA_LIVE_VIEW_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::CAMERA_STREAM_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::COMMISSIONABLE	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::CONSENT_MANAGEMENT_CONSENT_REQUIRED_REPORTER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::COOKING	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::DATA_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::DEVICE_USAGE_ESTIMATION	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::DEVICE_USAGE_METER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::DOORBELL_EVENT_SOURCE	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::EQUALIZER_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::INPUT_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::INVENTORY_LEVEL_SENSOR	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::INVENTORY_LEVEL_USAGE_SENSOR	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::INVENTORY_USAGE_SENSOR	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::KEYPAD_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::LAUNCHER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::LOCK_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::MEDIA_PLAYBACK	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::MEDIA_SEARCH	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::MODE_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::MOTION_SENSOR	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::PERCENTAGE_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::PLAYBACK_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::PLAYBACK_STATE_REPORTER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::PROACTIVE_NOTIFICATION_SOURCE	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::RANGE_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::RECORD_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::REMOTE_VIDEO_PLAYER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::RTC_SESSION_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::SCENE_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::SECURITY_PANEL_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::SEEK_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::SIMPLE_EVENT_SOURCE	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::SMART_VISION_OBJECT_DETECTION_SENSOR	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::SMART_VISION_SNAPSHOT_PROVIDER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::SPEAKER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::STEP_SPEAKER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::TEMPERATURE_SENSOR	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::THERMOSTAT_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::THERMOSTAT_CONTROLLER_CONFIGURATION	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::THERMOSTAT_CONTROLLER_HVAC_COMPONENTS	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::THERMOSTAT_CONTROLLER_SCHEDULE	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::TIME_HOLD_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::UI_CONTROLLER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::USER_PREFERENCE	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::VIDEO_RECORDER	Supported*
AlexaInterfaceType::WAKE_ON_LAN_CONTROLLER	Supported*

(*Partial support or limited implementation advanced configuration is required)

---

Advanced ussage

For devices with limited or partial support, Alex2ESP provides functions that allow you to attach custom JSON objects to the status report. For example, to report the status of a PowerController type, you can use the AddPowerControllerProp function. However, if a specific "add props" function does not exist for your use case, you can utilize the AddContextProp function to pass a custom JSON object.

For instance, to manually report the state of a PowerController, you can use the following code:

    JsonDocument doc;

    doc["namespace"] = "Alexa.PowerController";
    doc["name"] = "powerState";
    doc["value"] = "ON";
    doc["timeOfSample"] = "{REPLACE_WITH_DATETIME}"; // Alex2MQTT server wil do the replace
    doc["uncertaintyInMilliseconds"] = 0;
    AddContextProp(doc.as<JsonObject>())

---

Contributing

Feel free to submit pull requests or issues for feature requests and bug fixes.

---

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.