UPDATE #2: IFTTT changes:

My existing IFTTT commands through the maker channel are still working, but they've changed the naming structure since I made this guide. New commands still use the Google Assistant trigger, but the web requests are now handled by the "Webhooks" action.

UPDATE #1: Starter Application Now Available!

Hello World!

Now that the Google Home is out, there are lots of people wondering how to use it to control their existing Arduino or Raspberry Pi smart devices. Now that I've got my setup working, I thought I would share my fairly simple setup with you.

While I am currently using a Raspberry Pi Zero to control a five outlet power strip, This guide is more general. It will walk you through how to use any Raspberry Pi device to control an electronic relay, using Node.js and the IFTTT web services.

Check out a video of the device in action, or scroll to the final step, where I have it embedded!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCTjZTCaTzM

Step 1: What You'll Need

At the very least, you will need:

A Google Home
- Buy from Google
Any model Raspberry Pi
- Buy from Adafruit
GPIO Cables
- You can probably find your own, I don't own you
5v 2 relay module
- Cheaper on Ebay

And the rest is software. If you are totally new to Raspberry Pi, be aware that you may need some additional hardware like usb cables or wifi chips in order to get up and running.

Step 2: On-Board Software Setup

So, to make this guide as user-friendly as possible, I'm going to include some links that you power-users might find excessive.

TLDR in advance: set up your raspberry pi on WiFi or Ethernet (preferably WiFi) and configure your router so that you have a server available externally. You'll use raspberry-gpio-python to control the relay.

For newer hobbyists, you will start out by setting up your raspberry pi.

You will want to get your raspberry pi set up on your local WiFi.

I'll be working in Node.js, so you will want to upgrade to the latest version of Node.

Configure the router so that port 80 redirects to your raspberry Pi's MAC address. (Sorry, this will depend on what router you're using, and there isn't really a universal guide)

I prefer using SSH to connect to my raspberry pi.

Plenty of things can go wrong in this process while you're starting out. Stay patient, and google things. The community is very supportive, and the odds are someone else has had your problem before!

Step 3: Make a Circuit

So, there are lots of guides on getting started with relays on the Rasberry Pi. I mostly used Youtube tutorials like this one to get started.

Basically, you will need to provide power from your Raspberry Pi's 5v out pin, and choose which control pins you want to use to send the on/off signal to trigger the relay.

Using the above image, I recommend using the yellow pins for whichever model you use.

Step 4: Create Your Server

Starter application now available!

Vist https://github.com/krpeacock/google_home_starter to download a starter application for this project, and follow the README to get it configured and running on your own device.

You can also check out my more-fleshed-out React project at https://github.com/krpeacock/power_strip/tree/strip if you are interested in seeing a slightly more complex version of the project

The main step is to build an Node + Express server that is able to handle POST requests.

In my code, it looks like this:

app.post('/api/switches/:id', function(req, res){  

  var foundSwitch = getSwitch(req.params.id);  

  foundSwitch.toggle();  

  saveState();  

  console.log("postSwitch "+JSON.stringify(foundSwitch));  

  res.json(foundSwitch);

})

I make a post request to /api/switches/:id, where id is written as sw1, sw2, and so on. After identifying the switch, I call a toggle() method to run my Python script and change the state of my relay.

I wrote individual python scripts for off and on functions, specifying which GPIO pin was tied to each switch. for example, sw1_on.py looks like:

import RPi.GPIO as GPIO<br>GPIO.setwarnings(False)
GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)
GPIO.setup(23, GPIO.OUT)

Then, by requiring the Python-shell node module, I can execute the script, using:

<p>const PythonShell = require('python-shell');</p><p>PythonShell.run('./public/python/scripts/sw1_on.py')</p>

Step 5: Connecting to the Google Home

If you've managed to get this far, this information is probably the only reason that you're here. That's fine! this is the cool bit.

You have your server running, and it can control a relay. It is structured so that a POST request can change the state of the relay. Now all you need is to get your Google Home to deliver a POST request to your device. Eventually, you will want to add some authorization so that strangers can't control your devices, but now we just want the request to work.

Go to https://ifttt.com and connect it to your Google account.
Go to https://ifttt.com/create, and click on the +this link.
Search for Google Assistant
Select Google Assistant
Choose "Say a simple phrase" as your trigger
Tell Google what should trigger the action.
- I prefer to name use the device I want to control, so I said "turn my lamp on"
Designate a response
- "Turning your lamp on"
Click "Create Trigger" and proceed
Click the +that link
Search for "Webhooks"
Select "Make a web request"

Now, here is the important bit. Identify your IP address (or domain, if you set up that level of abstraction), and enter it into the URL portion. If you followed my the structure in my starter project, it will look like

http://ipaddressgoeshere/API/switches/sw1?password=yourpasswordhere

Set Method to POST

Content Type should be text/plain

Body can be left blank

Create your action and choose Finish.

Step 6: Congrats!

You've done it! Your Google Home now knows how to communicate over HTTP with your smart device.

Since this does a toggle, you can technically keep saying "Turn the lamp on" to turn it on and off. I preferred to add duplicate on and off commands for each of my switches to make everything feel more comfortable.

If you would like to contribute to this guide, or to work with me on building out a starter application, you can also feel free to get in touch! I want to make this process as easy as possible for new hackers.