I don’t think Alexa Guard has made it to Canada yet. I don’t seem to have the option.
These are the only options I have
But could you not leave it enabled on Alexa all the time and just have it trigger rules on HE that you can disable when you have disarmed your system?
Might be a dumb question since I don’t have the feature to play with.
came here for the heroku-pocalypse. So would love to know how to do the local install. The docs just talk about the Heroku setup... a docker container would be cool, but not do or die.
What I did before echo speaks is setup virtual switches, one for each phrase I want alexa to say when it is "on". Then one routine to watch the switch. The hubitat rule just throws the switch to make her talk
Echo speaks was a breath of fresh air!
Hi @tonesto7,
I just received an email from Heroku that probably you received too.
Bad news: the free dynos will be extinct on November 28th this year ...
I think that's time for Plan B: Anyone out there with instructions/guide to install a local docker version on a Raspberry Pi?
tic toc tic toc - the clock is ticking ... 
PS - I did propose some time ago a project (Raspberry companion for Hubitat) where a Raspberry Pi wold be configured with Docker and the community would provide containers for various functions, e.g. local mail server, local backup server, WebCore local and so on - and, of course, local Echo Speaks to replace Heroku!
If someone versed in Raspberry OS, Docker and so on would be willing to implement such environment, I would be more than happy to contribute financially to it. Maybe a Gofundme? The basic Heroku monthly cost is $ 25 and I'd not mind pay it - one time, of course 
- to have it implemented.
Some members of this community are vehemently against paying for developers, but somethings that are too complex or demand specialised knowledge and, IMHO, should be rewarded.
The reason I went with Echo Speaks was that I kept running into the 200 limit on Alexa Routines and of course, just got tired of having to have so many routines to control so many virtual switches. I was able to get rid of so many Alexa routines and off-load them to Echo Speaks via RM. Now all this “kaput” as I got rid of all these Alexa routines. Now, either pay or forgo the convenience. I should have known.
Does anyone have a set-by-step instructional (for dummies like me) on how to set up a local container to run Heroku and get Echo Speaks to work again? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Everyone take a deep breath. See an initial response in related thread.
Taking deep breath now, lol. Problem is not knowledgeable in NodeJS (hyperventilating again, lol)! Need an idiot’s (me) guide as to how to set this up. BTW, just wanted to give @tonesto7 props for what he does for this community. Too bad the heroku thing is out of his hands.
Almost certainly a dumb question, but is Heroku required to use this at all or just if you actually use the "speaking" aspect? I only use the Echo Speaks app to have access to the Echo devices and a little dashboard for my daughter to send music to her Echo Dot. Can I do this without Heroku?
Same question, I've actually switched almost all over to using Siri as my voice assistant, but can't get access to all devices into HK yet so still keep Alexa around for that only reason. Would love to completely get away from it without having to replace devices, but until then...
I would love to know more about this. I already have a local server running 24/7 (Apache), and would love to know if this will work.
Came here, of course, due to the Heroku email I received today... Found this little comparison of alternatives on Reddit:
Also wondering if we can dockerize the server application, as I wouldn't mind running my local version from my Synology NAS, I have many other containers running on there already... What's one more? 
From what I understand, the Heroku app takes care of maintaining the connection to Amazon and brokering the requests - it acts as a broker to offload the processing from the Hubitat.
While the HE skill is enough to control lights with Alexa, Echo Speaks lets you send requests back to your Amazon account -- requests like playing music on a Dot. The Heroku app is (currently) a necessary component of that equation.
So all that is happening with heroku being the case (have to deal with reality) can anyone who is running heroku server locally on say a RPi or windows document a step-by-step on how they did it and how to get Echo Speaks and HE to use it? Looking to get something set up by November! Don’t know squat about NodeJS but can at least follow cookbook style instructions.
To clarify, you're using Heroku as a cloud platform to run what is probably a NodeJs app. You'd simply run the NodeJs app directly on your own always-on computer, such as an RPi. You'll need to have nodejs installed on your computer. Possibly along with something like pm2 to ensure your application restarts should it crash for whatever reason.
@tonesto7 has said he'll post instructions in the post linked to by @marktheknife just a few posts above yours.
FWIW, nodejs and pm2 are easy to install, and I use them to run a number of other nodejs applications I use to support my Hubitat hub.
Thank you for the clarification. Sorry I missed the previous post (probably too upset when I heard of Heroku’s plans 
). So the local solution would basically take Heroku out of the equation and NodeJs would interact with the Alexa API directly? Sorry, it is clear that I am not at all clear or knowledgeable in this but would like to learn (always trying to learn). Thanks for your help!
Yes, that is an accurate description.
The local version is having problems getting the cookie/token from Amazon. If you know some command line things for npm and node then it's not that hard to run the server on Linux. Packaging it up all nice and pretty for those that don't have those skills is more than getting a docker container set up. Assuming it works again.
Hi @ccoupe. Can you elaborate on this (are you having problems with this and can describe, or can you refer me to some threads discussing this)? Again, I wish to learn as I am a complete novice regarding NodeJs. Thanks!
@moh - First I am not a NodeJs practitioner, but it is similar enough to many languages that I do know that I'm not intimidated by NodeJs. Once you get the server running you can watch the server logs and find the areas in the code of concern. However the echo-speaks-server uses a http server framework. I do not know the ins and outs of that code and I don't want to unless I really need to. There are also 'futures' and I really really really do not want to know that much. Unless I need to.
Getting the cookie/login-token from amazon was a common problem with previous versions of echo speaks. I could probably find a clue in the many messages above. If/when the 'official' version is out, I'll switch to it.
Download the Hubitat app
