[IDEA] Add New Device To Apps During Creation

📢 Feedback Feature Requests
1

I think it would be nice if, when pairing / creating a new device, we could be asked whether we want to add the device to a pre-defined list of apps that could easily accept the device in their configuration or as to act as a convenient link to creating automations.

The kind of scenario I am thinking of could be:

  • I am pairing a new Zigbee contact sensor
  • When entering a name for the device, list of Apps would also be displayed, allowing me to select 0, 1 or many from the list
  • The apps listed could include those that could simply take the device id and add it to their setup:
    • Dashboards
    • Installations of Maker API
    • Google Home Integration
  • Some more complex apps could potentially be included in the list, indicating they require configuration, including:
    • Simple Automation Rule
    • Button Controller
  • Selecting one of these apps would open a separate tab where the setup could be completed.

It would be an opt-in system where the user would need to configure in each app whether to make this option available during the device creation process.

The feature could also be included in the Virtual Device creation process, though I expect it would need to happen after the device has been created.

Potentially it could be opened up to custom apps, requiring the developer to include a standard page / screen that the HE platform could call, as long as the user has approved for the custom app to be included in those displayed during device creation.

I'm not expecting this would be a quick or simple thing to implement, but hopefully it could be something that could start small and expand over time. Maker API and Dashboards could be a good starting point.

2 Likes
2

Adding new devices to groups is one more thing I would like to suggest.

1 Like
3

Yes... I certainly wouldn't want to limit the apps to the few examples I could conjure up earlier, any that could easily support taking a device id and updating their config would be a good outcome.

4

I'll happily +1 this request, if only because I've been thinking along the same lines lately. Cannot tell you how often I've added a Device to HE and then wondered why Alexa won't act upon it. Well, duh, it's because I never think to include new Devices in the Alexa Echo Skill, thus making them visible to her.

Recognizing there will likely be pushback from the system devs on this request, maybe at least a simplified version of it could be presented on the Device edit screen instead of as a walk-through...

...I'm envisioning a set of checkboxes under the heading INCLUDE DEVICE IN:
[] Maker API [] Alexa Echo Skill [] WebCore [] Google Home Assistant [] etc.
where that list comes directly from all such "includable" apps already installed.

1 Like
5

Precisely...

1 Like
6

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