IndigoPlugin-Voice-Monkey

This plugin is for the Indigo Domotics home automation platform and allows you to control your Alexa devices from within Indigo. It works with the Voice Monkey - Smart Home + Routine Triggers + TTS Alexa Skill which has the ability to perform text-to-speech, play preset sounds, and execute Alexa routines on an Alexa Smart device such as an Echo or Echo Dot.

Current Release: 2026.1.3

Version 2026.1.3 is a Voice Monkey v2-compatible rewrite of the plugin. It keeps the existing bundle id (com.anyone.indigoplugin.voice-monkey), action IDs, callback names, config keys, device states, and saved Yes/No question format, so it installs as an in-place upgrade over 2022.1.7 and existing Action Groups, devices, and scripts keep working. Internally, the old monolithic plugin was replaced by smaller, tested modules.

Download Voice.Monkey.indigoPlugin.zip from the latest release, unzip it, and double-click Voice Monkey.indigoPlugin to install.

Voice Monkey v3 support is not yet available: a v3 option appears in the plugin configuration for future use, but the plugin stays on the v2-compatible path, and the selector should be left on v2.

See the release notes for the full list of changes.

Supported Features:

• Trigger an Alexa Routine
• Perform Text-To-Speech
• Play a preset sound (Chime, Doorbell, Air Horn, etc.)
• Play a URL audio file (Dogs barking, etc.)
• Play a URL audio file (Dogs barking, etc.) while performing Text-To-Speech
• Ask a Prompted Yes/No Question, executing an Action Group based on the Yes, No, or No Response. (the Indigo Alexa Plugin and Indigo Smart Home Skill are required)

The Free features of the Voice Monkey - Smart Home + Routine Triggers + TTS Alexa Skill now includes Triggering Alexa Routines and Text-To-Speech. Ask a Prompted Yes/No Question may work in the Free version.

Visit https://voicemonkey.io/start to learn more.

The support forum for this plugin is located here: https://forums.indigodomo.com/viewforum.php?f=157

Additional capabilities worth mentioning:

• Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML) is supported in Text-To-Speech
• Indigo variable substitution is supported in the Text-To-Speech fields and Audio File URL field - i.e. %%v:12345%% for variables and %%d:12345:someStateId%% for device states
• Multiple voices are available to choose from for Text-To-Speech - the voice for the 'Yes or No prompt', unfortunately can not be changed

Voice Monkey Skill Setup Instructions

Follow the instructions detailed here https://voicemonkey.io/start:

1. Enable the Voice Monkey Skill
2. Sign-in to the Voice Monkey website (to obtain your API Tokens used by the Plugin)

Indigo Voice Monkey Plugin Installation Instructions

1. Download the plugin
2. After the plugin starts - Add your Voice Monkey Access and Secret Tokens - under Plugins -> Voice Monkey -> Configure...

Triggering a Alexa Routine (virtual triggers)

Step-by-Step Guide

Step-by-Step Guide with screenshots

If you are using the above guides to only configure a virtual trigger, below is an example URL demonstrating how to activate a trigger named 'Routine Trigger One' from a web browser. The monkey name, which is shown at the end of the URL as 'routine-trigger-one', should be the lowercase version of the trigger name found on the Voice Monkey website. Ensure that there are dashes inserted between the words in the monkey name. This URL can be used to test your virtual trigger and ensure that it is functioning as expected.

Example URL:

https://api.voicemonkey.io/trigger?access_token=ACCESS_TOKEN&secret_token=SECRET_TOKEN&monkey=routine-trigger-one

Creating a Device

Step-by-Step Guide

Step-by-Step Guide with screenshots

After creating a device, no additional configuration is needed to perform Text-To-Speech, Play a Sound, Play a Audio File or Play a Background Audio File

To perform a function:

• Create an Action Group
• Type: Device Actions

Select:

• Voice Monkey Controls -> Text to Speech
• Voice Monkey Controls -> Play a Sound
• Voice Monkey Controls -> Play a Audio File
• Voice Monkey Controls -> Play a Background Audio File

Then:

• Select a configured Voice Monkey device
• Populate the 'configure...' window for your selection

Ask a Prompted Yes/No Question

To use this capability, follow these steps:

1. Create a Device (Step-by-Step Guide) or (Step-by-Step Guide with screenshots)
2. Install the Indigo Smart Home Skill from the Amazon Alexa Skills Store.
3. Enable the Indigo Alexa Plugin in Indigo.
4. Verify that the plugin is properly configured and functioning.
5. Follow one of the Step-by-Step Guides shown below.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step-by-Step Guide with screenshots

To perform this function:

• Create an Action Group
• Type: Device Actions

Select:

• Voice Monkey Controls -> Ask a Yes/No Question

Then:

• Populate the 'Configure Ask a Yes/No Question' window

Basic Scripting

Place the file named 'voice_monkey.py' in your Python3-Includes folder.

The full path is '/Library/Application Support/Perceptive Automation/Python3-includes'

import voice_monkey

# indigo.devices[651183378] # "Loft Echo"

indigo.device.beep(651183378)

voice_monkey.routine(monkeyId='routine-trigger-one', deviceId=651183378)

voice_monkey.play_sound(soundName=the_sound, deviceId=651183378)

dogs_barking = 'https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/dqk73c2cduxjg6k/one_dog_barking_audacity.mp3?dl=1'
voice_monkey.play_audio(audioFileUrl=dogs_barking, deviceId=651183378)

say_this = ('I am not sure why you would want to talk over dogs barking. <break time="5s"/>But you could if you really wanted to but again, I am not really sure why you would do this.<break time="7s"/>')
dogs_barking = 'https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/dqk73c2cduxjg6k/one_dog_barking_audacity.mp3?dl=1'
voice_monkey.play_background_audio(
        text=say_this, audioFileUrl=dogs_barking, deviceId=651183378)

ask_this 'Is this plugin working out for you?'
voice_monkey.yes_or_no(question=ask_this, 
                       executeWhenYes=800994550, 
                       executeWhenNo=None, 
                       deviceId=651183378)

voice_monkey.speak(text='Yes, it is working extremely well.', deviceId=651183378)

"One more thing..."

The Voice Monkey plugin is also compatible with 'alexa_remote_control', which provides additional control over Amazon Alexa devices.

For more information and installation instructions for 'alexa_remote_control', please visit the following page: https://github.com/thorsten-gehrig/alexa-remote-control. Note that the installation and configuration of 'alexa_remote_control' is optional - the Voice Monkey capabilities mentioned earlier will work without it.

Please use version v0.20d of the project file, available here. This version is compatible with macOS and contains all the features of the project. Note that version v0.20e, released on 2022-06-29, is not compatible with macOS and does not offer any additional features compared to v0.20d.

Supported Features: (with alexa_remote_control installed)

• Perform Text-To-Speech
• Play a preset sound (Chime, Doorbell, Air Horn, etc.)
• Trigger an Alexa Routine (by the name shown in the Alexa App)
• Type a Request to Alexa (Type in anything you would otherwise say to Alexa)
• Pass commands from Indigo, directly to alexa_remote_control - change the volume - pause - play - repeat - connect/disconnect from BlueTooth - etc.

Additional Indigo Plugin Installation Instructions

After configuring alexa_remote_control, which you can test using available commands from the macOS command line, only a few more steps are needed.

For version 2026.1.3, the plugin no longer ships the old alexa_remote_control.py Python helper. The built-in Voice Monkey plugin actions call the configured alexa_remote_control.sh script through the plugin itself. The legacy Python3-includes helper-copy step below is retained only for users of the older 2022.1.7 scripting helper path.

After you placed the files in the folders shown above:

• In Indigo, under Plugins -> Reload Libraries and Attachments
• In Indigo, under Plugins -> Voice Monkey -> Reload

• In Indigo, under Plugins -> Voice Monkey -> Configure...

• Click the checkbox for 'Use alexa-remote-control'

To test your installation and configuration, create an Action Group. Select Voice Monkey Actions and then select 'Pass command line arguments'

• Type in some command that can be executed and heard on a nearby device. - for example, -d 'Family Room Echo' -e speak:'Hello world!'

IMPORTANT: This command should also work from the macOS command line.

Usage

To perform a function:

• Create an Action Group

Select:

• Type: Voice Monkey Controls -> Type in a Request
• Type: Voice Monkey Controls -> Run an Alexa Routine by Name
• Type: Voice Monkey Controls -> Pass command line arguments
• Type: Voice Monkey Controls -> pass -d device |arg|

Then:

• Select a configured Voice Monkey device (if required)
• Populate the 'configure...' window for your selection

A walk thru of the setup of alexa-remote-control

I documented a walk-through of the installation and configuration of the Alexa Remote Control Project, which foor the macOS requires version 0.2d of the project file.

There are Four steps:

1. Install Homebrew and then use Homebrew to install JQ - Homebrew
2. Download, modify, and then run alexa-cookie-cli-macos-x64 - alexa-cookie-cli
3. Download, modify, and then run v0.20d of alexa_remote_control.sh - alexa_remote_control.sh
4. Legacy 2022.1.7 only: place optional scripting helper files in Python3-includes - Voice Monkey Plugin

1. Install Homebrew and then use Homebrew to install JQ

The Alexa Remote Control project is based on BASH and uses JQ to efficiently parse JSON. The easiest way to install JQ is with Homebrew.

The Homebrew website provides the command to install Homebrew, which is shown below.

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

After finishing, you need to follow the instructions shown on the screen to add Homebrew to your PATH. The instructions should look something like this, but please note this is not the actual command for your system:

(echo; echo 'eval "$(/usr/local/bin/brew shellenv)"') >> /Users/####/.zprofile
eval "$(/usr/local/bin/brew shellenv)"

After Homebrew is installed, in the terminal, you can install JQ with the command:

brew install jq

You can confirm JQ is installed with the command:

jq

And you can find out where JQ was installed with the command:

whereis jq

2. Download, modify, and then run alexa-cookie-cli-macos-x64

The project requires a session cookie to run. The script, alexa-cookie-cli-macos-x64, is able to assist with that by providing a REFRESH_TOKEN. This script only needs to be run once and on any machine.

The current version is available here https\://github.com/adn77/alexa-cookie-cli/releases/tag/v5.0.1, download the file "alexa-cookie-cli-macos-x64"

Once downloaded, change the permissions to make the file executable\:

chmod 755 alexa-cookie-cli-macos-x64

run the executable, with options requesting the web page to be presented in English

./alexa-cookie-cli-macos-x64 -a en_US -L en_US

You likely will see the following message when you attempt to run the file

zsh\: permission denied\: alexa-cookie-cli-macos-x64

An error window should also appear which says; "alexa-cookie-cli-macos-x64" cannot e opened because the developer cannot be verified. macOS cannot verify that this app is free from malware."

Click Cancel

Go to, System Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> "Click Allow Anyway"

Where you see; "alexa-cookie-cli-macos-x64 was blocked from use because it is not from an identified developer"

Go back to terminal and issue the command again

./alexa-cookie-cli-macos-x64 -a en_US -L en_US

An error window should also appear which says; "macOS cannot verify the developer of "alexa-cookie-cli-macos-x64". Are you sure you want to open it? By opening this app, you will be overriding system security which can expose your computer and personal inforrmation to malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy."

Click "Open"

When successfully ran, you will see the following message in the terminal.

Error\: Please open http\://127.0.0.1\:8080/ with your browser and login to Amazon. The cookie will be output here after successfull login. / null

Paste URL (http\://127.0.0.1\:8080/) into a web browser and then log into your Amazon account on the supplied web page.

Once you successfully log in, you'll see this message in the browswer:

Amazon Alexa Cookie successfully retrieved. You can close the browser.

Go back to terminal, CONTROL-C to exit

Copy and store the refreshToken which will be shown and should begin with 'Atnr|.........'

refreshToken: Atnr|EwICIOOqYSwdviUTUzP1XzhPANwQhzoaL14GsP7zq............

3. Download, modify, and then run v0.20d of alexa_remote_control.sh

The macOS compatible version of the project file alexa_remote_control.sh, v0.20d, is available at the following link. The easiest way to download it is to click the icon for "Download raw file". https://github.com/thorsten-gehrig/alexa-remote-control/blob/67610c7b282ff2b45b2b39d6713890abef38e463/alexa_remote_control.sh

Place this file in the '/Library/Application Support/Perceptive Automation/Script' folder.

In an editor, on line 103, comment out this line

#SET_LANGUAGE='de,en-US;q=0.7,en;q=0.3'

On line 104, uncomment this line

SET_LANGUAGE='en-US'

On line 108, comment out this line

#SET_AMAZON='amazon.de'

On line 109, uncomment out this line

SET_AMAZON='amazon.com'

On line 132, change the path to the JQ file which was determined earlier with the whereis command.

SET_JQ='/usr/local/bin/jq'

On line 101, paste in your Refresh Token

SET_REFRESH_TOKEN='Atnr|EwICIOOqYSwdviUTUzP1XzhPANwQhzoaL14GsP7zq............'

Exit and save the alexa_remote_control.sh file

update the permissions on the alexa_remote_control.sh with the command\:

chmod 755 alexa_remote_control.sh

You can test if alexa_remote_control.sh can be run with the following command

./alexa_remote_control.sh -a

4. Legacy 2022.1.7 only: optional Python3-includes helpers

The current 2026.1.3 plugin package does not include alexa_remote_control.py. This section is kept for older 2022.1.7 installs that used the separate Python scripting helper directly. It remains available from the 2022.1.7 release.

Download alexa_constants.py

Download the voice_monkey.py

Place the optional helper files in the '/Library/Application Support/Perceptive Automation/Python3-includes' folder

Additional Scripting

Legacy 2022.1.7 helper examples:

If everything is working up to this point on an older install that includes the separate alexa_remote_control.py helper, you will be able to, from Indigo, call alexa_remote_control functions.

import alexa_remote_control

# indigo.devices[651183378] # "Loft Echo"

ask_alexa_this = 'How many days until christmas?' 
alexa_remote_control.ask_alexa(ask_alexa_this, "Loft Echo")

say_this = 'Its only a few more days until christmas' 
alexa_remote_control.alexa_speak(say_this, "Loft Echo", 'Aditi')

alexa_remote_control.alexa_play_sound('Bell 2', 'Loft Echo')

alexa_remote_control.pass_cmd_line_args("-d 'Loft Echo' -e speak:'Hello world!'")

routine_name = "Loft: Morning Routine"
alexa_remote_control.alexa_routine(routine_name, "Loft Echo")