A Python web service for controlling Yamaha receivers from an Amazon echo device.

Yams is super easy to run. Just get Python 3.5.1 (I highly recommend pyenv) and do the following inside this directory.

$ pyvenv env
$ . env/bin/activate
$ pip install .
# Note that it's best to assign a static DHCP ip to the receiver so the ip is
# always the same, then pass that it in with the -r option.
$ python -m yams # Optionally with --debug or --port.

This will run a web server on port 8185 by default, but this can be changed via a -p flag. You can turn on debug mode by passing -d.

Note this project is aimed towards developers. It's a complicated process to set up an Amazon Echo skill, and this project has to run somewhere on the same network as the receiver it is meant to control, otherwise you'd have to open up access to the receiver to the internet. For example, I run Yams on a Raspberry Pi 2. One of the more complicated aspects of setting up an unpublished Echo Skill is that it is required that the web server has a valid SSL certificate. Fortunately, a self-signed certificate will work for unpublished skills and alexandra, the framework used to develop this skill, has some documentation on it and a script to help with generating the files you need.

Intents and utterances are included in intents.json and utterances.txt, respectively. All slots are custom types, which I have set as follows on my own skill:

• Directions
  • up
  • down
• VolumeOptions
  • a little
  • a bit
  • a lot
  • a bunch
• ReceiverPowerStates
  • on
  • off
• RecieverInputs
  • chromecast
  • playstation
  • play station

ReceiverInputs is the only one you'd configure differently when setting up your own skill. You set the mappings from these slot values in the input_mappings.json file.

I recommend 'receiver' as the activation word for this skill. 'yams' will work, but I had spotty luck with the Echo often thinking I was asking it to turn itself up or down.

Yams can turn your receiver on and off (if network standby is enabled), turn the volume up and down at various levels of granularity, and switch inputs for you. Most common remote functionality is covered.

When you get bored of listening to yourself ask it "what's the yams?". If you don't get it, you don't listen to enough Kendrick Lamar.