Best practice to trigger webCoRE from Alexa/Google home?

SmartApps & Automations webCoRE
1

I just bought a samsung hub and I try to plan my house.

I was wondering was was the best practice to run a WebCoRE piston from a Google Home routine in 2019. All the posts are old or not clear.

I understand there’s 2 ways but is one faster than the other, more reliable, less buggy?

  1. Make Google home (GH) routine to trigger a Smartthings routine who contains a scene change or is just empty. Make the piston run when the routine is run.

  2. Change a virtual switch with a GH routine to on. Make the piston run when the switch is turned on. But at the end of the piston the piston need to turn off the switch.

Is there easier ways to run a webCoRE to change a global variable with my voice with Google Home? Can the piston listen on a scene change from google home instead of a smartthings routine?

How YOU use your google home / Smartthings / WebCoRE? Is your routines are in google home or smartthings? Do you use scenes? Do you use ifttt - virtual switches?

Thanks

2

I use virtual switches. It works well for me. I use Alexa not Google but I imagine the concept is the same.

I have Alexa routines turn virtual switches on and off, In some cases to initiate a webcore piston and in some cases to run a ST routine or a ST automation.

2 Likes
3

Don’t mess with ifttt. You’d just be adding another cloud layer and slowing things down to do what you’re already capable of doing.

Virtual switches are the way. I’m not sure on Alexa, but you can create routines in Google home so that you can make the activation phrase anything. For example, “we’re watching a movie” may have Google turn on a virtual switch which triggers a piston to adjust lighting throughout the house.

I just create a room in my Google home that I stash all my virtual stuff in. That way I never accidentally trigger something with a turn all the kitchen lights off or something.