[pimatic-echo] Release 0.5.0

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Just released version 0.5.0 with these features:

• Add pairing mode using the built in discovery feature of pimatic.
• #38 add Tradfri RGB
• reuse port of pimatic if port is equal to piamtic-echo
• bind express server to single ip
• fix issues with device discovery on both echo generations

IMPORTANT: Alexa won’t be able to discover your devices if you don’t enable the discovery mode in pimatic! Go to Settings -> Devices and in the upper right corner click on „discover devices“. Then you’ve got 20 seconds to start the discovery on your echo.
Best practice is to do both at the same time.

Don’t use the pairingEnabled setting of pimatic-echo. There is a bug in 0.5.0 so it doesn’t work without starting discovery in pimatic. And it will be removed anyways.

Do I need to redo my configuration? Updated from pre “authentication” version and alexa doesn’t get feedback from any device anymore.

@thex yes. Unfortunately you have to. That’s because your echo must be authorized now.

should be in the notes that it affects already working setups.

There should be a way for users to see that an update will break the current functionality but that’s a general pimatic thing.

How is the “authentication” working? Can I fake the authentification config file? I have quite some devices and it takes some time to redo everything. Some migration code or backwards compatibility for older setups would be great.

@thex you could try to create the users file manually. But you would need the “username” created by your echo, which is a generated UUID. If you enable the debug mode, you should see the request to /api/[UUID]/lights. This UUID must be saved in a file called echoUsers. In the current version if pimatic-echo i have honestly no idea where it gets saved. It was supposed to be stored in the pimatic home dir. But this didn’t work. In the current version on github this is fixed and the file resides in the dir [pimatic-home]/echo-database/echoUsers. So you could either wait for the next version or install the current master from github. Then just add the username to this file and check if it works.

@thex Waiting is over, just released version 0.5.1. If you start the discovery mode in pimatic and ask alexa to switch a device, the the user should be added automatically and a new file in echo-database should be created.

@michbeck100 For me the 0.5.1 Update broke everything. i have open a Post on Github.

@tehmilcho said in [pimatic-echo] Release 0.5.0:

@michbeck100 For me the 0.5.1 Update broke everything. i have open a Post on Github.

Same for me. 0.5.0 fixed my last issues and 0.5.1 breaks anything again.

@thost96 sorry for that. See https://github.com/michbeck100/pimatic-echo/issues/44 for a workaround until i fix this.

@michbeck100 if you want and if you say me how i can install a update without the automatic of pimatic… i can be your Acceptance Test User… than can we find such errors before the big bang.

@tehmilcho I think i will start publishing beta releases every time.

I didn’t have any errors when restarting after installing 0.5.1

I found the error, bug is fixed and 0.5.2 was released. If you want to keep your devices without scanning again please use the existing echoUsers file from / and copy it to …/pimatic-app/echo-database/. Otherwise you need to rescan

@michbeck100 If you can’t find the file you can find the “username” if you turn on debug mode and try to switch a device. pimatic-echo will then output this log message:

21:04:08.908 [pimatic-echo] debug: Pairing is disabled and user bSwiKWm0BIabajVpqb8GW7Fxc4Tl8IRHJg1Awxdm was not found

In this case the username is bSwiKWm0BIabajVpqb8GW7Fxc4Tl8IRHJg1Awxdm. Then you just need to

pi@raspbian ~/pimatic-app/echo-database $ echo bSwiKWm0BIabajVpqb8GW7Fxc4Tl8IRHJg1Awxdm > echoUsers

then restart pimatic and your devices work again. Just tried this on my own system.

Is there a way to do it in the other direction? Can i control to the Echo Plus Bridge connected Lamps with pimatic?

@manuelw no not that I know of

@manuelw has you tried if the Phillips Hue Plugin can connect to the Echo Plus? Because there must be same kind Software on the Echo Plus as on the Phillips Hue Bridge to handle the devices. The Echo Plus is in the theory a Phillips Hue bridge with a Amazon echo as one Device.

I searched a little bit but i only found guys that have the same question …i think there is at the moment no API for the ZigBee hub or Amazon is hiding this information.

See example here
https://forums.developer.amazon.com/questions/95222/api-to-access-the-integrated-hub-in-the-echo-plus.html

@tehmilcho said in [pimatic-echo] Release 0.5.0:

The Echo Plus is in the theory a Phillips Hue bridge with a Amazon echo as one Device

The Philips hue bridge can be controlled by pimatic because Philips implemented a REST api to control all the hue devices. This is what pimatic-echo tries to copy and why Alexa thinks these devices are Philips hue lights. But i don’t think that Amazon implemented this, too. Why should they. Everyone who wants to control their hue lights can buy a Philips hue bridge.

@manuelw said in [pimatic-echo] Release 0.5.0:

Can i control to the Echo Plus Bridge connected Lamps with pimatic?

You can try if http://[IP of echo plus]/description.xml shows some output.