Actionable Notifications via Alexa Media Player

dbrunt · April 23, 2022, 7:46pm

The Event Listener is your best friend here to see what Alexa is returning.
To re-trigger the last actionable notification just ask Alexa, open custom actions.
I just tried on mine and if I answer with 3 hours I get 10800, which is seconds
whereas 4 and a half minutes returned 270, which is minutes.
1 minute looks like this:

Event 5 fired 12:29 PM:
{
    "event_type": "alexa_actionable_notification",
    "data": {
        "event_id": "actionable_notification_another_name",
        "event_response": 60,
        "event_response_type": "ResponseDuration",
        "event_person_id": "amzn1.ask.person.AICLLUQLXZNFVNMUOSLKWZBX4DXDPYOYXW3QQL3BMKMNSDCIRW7G52CM3U6M4YCM5GNHZESFQGKDEFUEMK5FNRQGSPRBC6JH23JCTTML"
    },
    "origin": "REMOTE",
    "time_fired": "2022-04-23T19:29:35.608907+00:00",
    "context": {
        "id": "1231fda53d36816d196ef2c4184d03f0",
        "parent_id": null,
        "user_id": "7c824b7712954da39c719cddefae9008"
    }
}

Have you checked your script/automation debug tracing?

I don’t have any actionable notification scripts/automations for ResponseDuration, just ResponseNumeric

I sometimes add an HA persistent notification to get an instant look at something I am debugging.

action:
  - service: input_select.set_options
    target:
      entity_id: input_select.destination
    data:
      options: '{{ states.zone | map(attribute="name") | list }}'
  - service: notify.persistent_notification
    data:
      title: Destination Selections Updated
      message: >-
        {{ trigger.event.event_type }}: {{ trigger.event.data.action }}: {{
        trigger.event.data.entity_id }}

007DJ · April 24, 2022, 8:29am

Not mine. Just in case I am off the path, as I have never been here before… Here are the steps I am using to attempt linking to a HA Script (In the Amazon Alexa App):

Open App.
At the bottom, select more icon.
In the list, select routines
At the top, (+)
Enter Routine Name (+), Coffee Filters, At the top, Next.
When This Happens (+), In the list, select Voice, “I brought coffee filters”, At the top, Next.
Add Action (+), In the list select “Smart Home”. Options are:
All Devices; Lights; Control Group.
All Devices: About 100 devices linked directly into Echo, all are Switches and Lights.
Lights: (This brings up a link that opens a list of Lights, Noting some are duplicated.
Control Group: This list is previous routines controlling lights created directly in this convention before I started learning HA.

Am I doing this right? I do not see any of the scripts in HA.

dbrunt · April 24, 2022, 3:07pm

Yes, those are the correct steps. When I do those, I see All Devices, Lights, Control group, Control scene. How did you add the Alexa integration to HA? Are you using Nabu Casa or did you follow the manual setup steps?

007DJ · April 24, 2022, 3:55pm

www.xxxx.duckDNS.org

htpc2308 · April 24, 2022, 8:05pm

Hello,

the Actionable Notifications works well, but now im playing with a custom answer.

My example.

He Should question me which serie i want to play, i want to answer for example “simpsons” and he should play it on my mediaPlayer.

I had a input_text field which when changes the text (state) he plays this on my Plex.

now is the questions is it possible to answer with a series (custom) name? and request this answer from me to put it in the input_text?

can there someone help or give me a link to the wiki?

007DJ · April 25, 2022, 8:47am

As I mentioned earlier, I followed all the steps explicitly adding the custom skill (It took two weeks of starting over because I had a typo in one step , and the HACS Alexa Media Player, which enabled the integration Alexa Media Player.
Meanwhile, I thought about what you said. And beyond by better judgement I deleted the integration and added it back in. Painful! with the same results and a side affect. My devices got renamed slightly. At first I thought I broke it good; fortunately I just have to edit YAML.
Still seeking this awesome method you enlightened me to. I am planning to pursue an alternate method using an input helper as mentioned by @Didgeridrew until I can learn more. Another clue I have is the log book. I have posted this awhile back, but no one responded.

Trying to make sense of the log(s) is challenging when you take on new ground by trial and error with the help of savior’s like yourself. I wish there was a book out there, the internet is riddled with documentation, but some of it is super vague. My experience tells me the information source most likely has some additional configuration or YAML that is not included.
Anyhow… If you think of anything, let me know.

fatbob01 · April 25, 2022, 12:45pm

All my echos do this, I gave up on getting alexa actionable notifications because of this…lemme know if your replacement does the same thing!

edit, fixed

Changing the language from english canada to english US made everything work.

dbrunt · April 25, 2022, 10:44pm

I think you need advanced setup in your skill and that’s not something I have done.
The wiki is here

dbrunt · April 25, 2022, 10:57pm

I originally started with manual setup then tried HA Cloud for a while, and liked the ease by which you can add/remove what’s presented to Alexa discovery without having to edit yaml and restart HA but I am now back to the manual setup. I am using Duck DNS and Nginx Proxy Manager add-ons with 443 forwarded to HA but now have my own domain name with dynamic DNS updating so I no longer need Duck DNS. I currently do not have the error you refer to so OAuth is working for me.
If you delete all HA discovered entities from Alexa and rediscover, does she still discover everything except scenes/scripts? If the websocket is not connecting she should discover nothing, If it is then everything in your smart_home: section should be discovered. What is in your smart_home: yaml for Alexa??

007DJ · April 26, 2022, 5:25pm

Well… This one kept me awake last night. I have another possible explanation… I have Amazon as integration to HA, but I do not have HA integrated to Amazon (If I did I think I would end up with even more duplicates and loops.

I also have my own domain (997DJ.net) and static IP(s) but Use DuckDNS and Ngiinx for simplicity.
I started automation over 30 years ago with X-10 and progressed from there in stages. When ADT came out with Pulse, I was right there and integrated a device or two monthly… Until I was having connection drop outs. The Tech advised me that I had too many devices connected. I purchased Wink II and was transferred almost all of my Z-Wave devices. Then Wink transitioned to a $5 month subscription… Immediately replaced with two SmartThings. The way I look at it and my expectations, is that HA becomes the ultimate server integrating the various hubs and smart devices. I will most likely always be adding more. Currently Alexa can integrate ADT, by HA integration fails and have not figured why (So it’s off the the back burner!). Additionally I had a new heater installed… To the cloud, but I have no idea how to write the API. Anyhow… Alexa also does not see virtual devices… So I may end up using extra switches to signal from Alexa to switch and HA listening for state change… It will work… at least till I figure what is up with the Auth and links. Oh! - you asked about my YAML for Alexa:
configuration.yaml:

default_config:
## Alexa Media Player Integration
alexa_media:
  accounts:
    - email: !secret amazon_user
      password: !secret amazon_password
      url: amazon.com

Did I miss anything?

dbrunt · April 26, 2022, 10:16pm

I think so. For Alexa to get entities from HA you need Amazon Alexa Smart Home Skill in addition to the Actionable Notifications via Alexa Media Player

My configuration.yaml:

alexa: !include alexa.yaml

alexa.yaml:

  smart_home:
    locale: en-CA
    endpoint: https://api.amazonalexa.com/v3/events
    client_id: amzn1.application-oa2-client.<redacted>
    client_secret: <redacted>
    filter:
      include_domains:
        - light
        - cover
        - lock
#        - fan
        
      include_entities:
        - input_boolean.bedroom_automatic_lights
        - input_boolean.coffee_prepared
        - input_boolean.living_room_automatic_lights
        - input_boolean.sleep_mode
        - script.bought_coffee_filters
        - script.feed_fish
        - script.good_morning
        - script.good_night
        - script.sleep_mode
        - switch.10004e8bc1
        - switch.bedroom_3_plug_2
        - switch.dryer_master_power
        - switch.electric_kettle
        - switch.garage_door_opener
        - switch.node_50
        - switch.washer_master_power
        - media_player.fire_tv_192_168_1_91
        - media_player.living_room_tv
#        - binary_sensor.coffee_brewing
#        - binary_sensor.ecolink_garage_door_tilt_sensor

      include_entity_globs:
        - switch.aquarium_devices_*
#        - switch.303175872462ab063340_*
#        - switch.sonoff_*
#        - switch.switchlinc_*
        
#      exclude_entities:
#        - cover.mqtt_cover
        
      exclude_entity_globs:
#        - binary_sensor.*motion*
#        - binary_sensor.*occupancy
        - cover.*_hidden
        - light.browser_mod_*
        - light.tagreader_*
#        - media_player.browser_mod_*
#        - sensor.browser_mod_*
#        - sensor.canon_*

    entity_config:
      cover.kitchen_blind_1:
        name: "Kitchen Blind 1"
        description: "iBlinds"
        display_categories: INTERIOR_BLIND
      cover.kitchen_blind_2:
        name: "Kitchen Blind 2"
        description: "iBlinds"
        display_categories: INTERIOR_BLIND
      cover.kitchen_blind_3:
        name: "Kitchen Blind 3"
        description: "iBlinds"
        display_categories: INTERIOR_BLIND
      cover.living_room_blind:
        name: "Living Room Blind"
        description: "iBlinds"
        display_categories: INTERIOR_BLIND
      cover.patio_door_blind:
        name: "Patio Door Blind"
        description: "iBlinds"
        display_categories: INTERIOR_BLIND
      cover.bedroom_blind:
        name: "Bedroom Blind"
        description: "iBlinds"
        display_categories: INTERIOR_BLIND
       
#    entity_config:
#      switch.smart_power_plug_switch:
#        name: "Coffee Maker Power"
#        display_categories: SMARTPLUG
#      switch.smart_power_plug_switch_2:
#        name: "Washing Machine Power"
#        display_categories: SMARTPLUG
#      switch.sonoff_inching:
#        name: "Make Coffee"
#        display_categories: COFFEE_MAKER
#      binary_sensor.coffee_brewing:
#        name: "Making coffee"
#        display_categories: OTHER
#      switch.mimolite_switch:
#        name: "Garage Door"
#        display_categories: GARAGE_DOOR
#      binary_sensor.ecolink_garage_door_tilt_sensor:
#        name: "Garage Door"
#        display_categories: CONTACT_SENSOR
#      light.sengled_z01_a19nae26_43100103_level_light_color_on_off:
#        name: "Bedroom Lamp 1"
#        display_categories: LIGHT
#      light.sengled_z01_a19nae26_906c0103_level_light_color_on_off:
#        name: "Bedroom Lamp 2"
#        display_categories: LIGHT
#      switch.nzw30_smart_switch_switch:
#        name: "Porch Light Switch"
#        display_categories: LIGHT
#      switch.appliance_module_zl7201us_switch:
#        name: "Pole Lamp"
#        display_categories: LIGHT
#      lock.zm1702_electronic_deadbolt_door_lock_locked:
#        name: "Front Door Lock"
#        display_categories: SMARTLOCK
#      lock.smartcode_10_touchpad_electronic_deadbolt_locked:
#        name: "Garage Door Lock"
#        display_categories: SMARTLOCK
#      input_boolean.sleep_mode:
#        name: Sleep Mode"
#        display_categories: SCENE_TRIGGER

I also just found this Amazon Alexa Custom Skill which I had not seen before and this one Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing which I will need to explore further!
The above are all liked to from https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/alexa/ which has changed a lot from last time I was there quite some time ago.

007DJ · April 27, 2022, 3:46pm

Changed? Like OMG totally different! I made it all they way to ( Painful ) the very last step… Tested everything in the AWS Console using the Discovery. All works to that point and responded back with what I believe is everything she has . But as I said, and you noted Documentation was extremely outdated. So… last step, account linking in the Alexa App (Enable To Use)… , I get the login screen for HA, enter username and password, and authy security token… and I get
“Unable to link Home Assistant with Alexa. We are experiencing a problem connecting with the skill to link your account. You can try linking your account again by visiting the Home Assistant Skill Page.”

Researching everything I can find leads me to believe it is directly related to the Amazon LWA OAuth server because I had the errors in my log forever, but I have no idea how to fix that…

007DJ · May 1, 2022, 11:04am

@dbrunt
I am convinced the only way to resolve is start over… My question to you, if you recall… When you fist installed Amazon Media, did you start at HACS? All of the documentation I found is at various levels and nothing seems current. Could that be why I am having the errors?

dbrunt · May 1, 2022, 11:53pm

Well, the first thing I installed was the Home Assistant Alexa custom skill integration. This is what populates your HA devices and scripts/scenes into Alexa. Next was Alexa Media Player via HACS which creates your Alexa Echo devices as media players in HA. They are two totally separate processes and are unrelated to each other. Then you need the custom skill Alexa Actionable Notifications which requires a working Alexa Media Player integration (HACS). Without re-reading the posts, I thought you were having trouble with the Home Assistant Alexa custom skill integration not giving you your HA entities in Alexa?

neo2angel · May 2, 2022, 6:11am

Hello everyone

Has anyone tried it in Spanish?

I did the whole process in both languages (Spanish and English) to try, I also did it with English, adding Spanish… but it doesn’t work, alexa tells me “there was an error managing the response on this device”

someone has the solution?

Thank you so much

007DJ · May 8, 2022, 4:57am

@dbrunt
Long time no hear (Update). I finally got the Home Skill linked from the Alexa App… Well, I have been troubleshooting since - it broke my Actionable Notifications. Now I am getting authentication errors like you would not believe I am trying everything I can think of… So far, I have completely deleted HA and built from the ground up (4th time now) Somewhere in the Actionable Notifications is an authentication section. I just don’t recall how to get back there. Wish you well, wish me luck, I will need it.Let you know how things go… Hopefully soon, as you can imagine, I am consumed with trying to get it back on line.

007DJ · May 10, 2022, 2:10pm

Everyone following this educational thread. I finally have everything solved. Amazon is a strange creature… Even stranger than trying to figure the syntax of HA . Until I very slowly followed every step, I did not realize how many keys, F2A, Two-Step, and passwords were actually active. I for one know it is all necessary, because everywhere you lurk someone is trying to disrupt or hack your existence. In authenticating one of the skills work disconnect the other and drive you nuts! The fix: In the app, disable both, Open the Developers console page Amazon Sign-In Review the steps in edit mode updating keys, long time passwords, etc. Then re-link them in the app after saving changes. It was a long and challenging journey. BUT…
Thanks to @dbrunt I can now use both amazon skills to the very fullest ability! I home to see more exciting abilities posted in the forum.
Mine is working!!! What do others do with this exciting feature?

dbrunt · May 10, 2022, 7:47pm

Yay! Glad you finally figured it out!

htpc2308 · May 17, 2022, 3:31am

hello,

is it not possible to listen to the “ResponseNone” Event?

i tried it with this code

platform: event
event_type: alexa_actionable_notification
event_data:
  event_id: actionable_notification_firetv_kueche_switch_off
  event_response_type: ResponseNone

but the automation get never triggered when alexa get no answer from me.

here is the automation for the question

service: script.activate_alexa_actionable_notification
data_template:
  text: Hallo, Soll ich die Shield ausschalten?
  event_id: actionable_notification_firetv_kueche_switch_off
  alexa_device: media_player.echo_show_kueche

and in the script is everything correct, the ResponseYes works well.

DaleC · June 13, 2022, 2:32am

I have the same problem, ResponseNone never seems to work. ResponseYes and ResponseNo work fine, but looking at the trace it seems like the automation just stops if no response is given and it doesn’t proceed with the ResponseNone action.

I’m using Sonos speakers with Alexa as the voice assistant. Could this be a limitation of using Sonos, or should it be able to work correctly?

Thanks.