I decided to try out Echo Speaks. I have an old laptop running LMDE 6 and Node Red V4. I will move to a Pi 5 if I can make satisfactory use of it. Node Red is brand spanking new to my brain so I know i have a challenge . Reading through many many posts on Echo Speaks I see there are now some issues with it concerning cookies, errors and authorization. so, is this venture a dead end? If not, what would be the best approach or method to accomplish this? All I want from the app is to send voice announcements or TTS to select echo devices based on triggers.
I prefer and have the Echo Speaks Node.js web server hosted on a Raspberry Pi and it works as expected. Node.js can run on Windows.
I have also tried the Echo Speaks server hosted in Docker on a Raspberry Pi, and it works as expected.
You can also download and try the Windows executable from the Docker Desktop product page
Not dead, but you will need to make some changes to the initial app code to deal with the latest cookie refresh issues.
Honestly, at this point and in my opinion, anything that you are confortable with. My primary setup is Docker on Unraid. I have that paused at the moment and am currently running a modified Echo Speaks server (as a workaround for the cookie refresh issues) in Docker on Synology. I did this so as not to mess with my primary setup.
I have't tried, but you may be able to accomplish this with Alexa routines, without the need for Echo Speaks.
I chose Node-Red as I have no experience in coding. The web editor looks like something I might be able to handle. If successful, this will be on a Pi 5 as a solitary item sitting in the corner.
I tried Alexa routines without any success. I did see the need to make some changes in the app, they appear to be easy enough. This is a proof of concept project for me. Probably the Node-Red learning curve will be the toughest.
If you can set up Home Assistant on the PC or Pi5, you can use HADB to make notifications on Alexa devices.
Updated link: now released in HADB with Alexas showing up as Hubitat Notification devices.
I recently set up the Alexa Devices integration on HA and it was trivially simple and just works. And it’s a platinum quality integration. I know it would be a lot of work with potentially little gain, but it would be nice if HE had a similar quality rating system for third party drivers and apps.
While I’m still using Echo Speaks and appreciate all the good work the author has done, it doesn’t appear to be in active development any longer. So the Alexa integration on HA along with HADB is a solid plan B if Echo Speaks stops working at some point. Another case of where HA can nicely complement HE.