Q&A (FAQ)

How do I upgrade AlexaPi?

1. Go to your installation directory, which is /opt/AlexaPi by default:

   cd /opt/AlexaPi
   

2. Pull from the repo:

   sudo git pull
   

3. Run the setup script again

   sudo ./src/scripts/setup.sh
   

4. Start with a fresh config or update your configuration file - consult the config.template.yaml, CHANGELOG.md and Configuration changes wiki page.

How do I uninstall AlexaPi?

1. To be nice to AlexaPi, first stop it & disable it:

   sudo systemctl disable AlexaPi.service
   sudo systemctl stop AlexaPi.service
   

2. Remove AlexaPi:

   sudo rm -rf /opt/AlexaPi
   
   # For systemd install:
   sudo rm -rf /etc/systemd/system/AlexaPi.service.d/
   sudo rm /usr/lib/systemd/system/AlexaPi.service
   
   # For classic init install:
   sudo rm /var/log/AlexaPi.log
   sudo rm /etc/init.d/AlexaPi
   
   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   

3. (optional) Remove all configuration:

   sudo rm -rf /etc/opt/AlexaPi
   

How to try the dev branch

After you have done the sudo git clone ... do

cd /opt/AlexaPi
git checkout dev

and then run install normally. It is highly recommended you use a new config. Otherwise, you'd have to manually update your config, which can be much more difficult.

How to use an older version

The streaming feature in v1.5 brought issues for some people. You can use this to roll-back to an older version if it worked for you.

After you have done the sudo git clone ... do

cd /opt/AlexaPi
git checkout v1.4 # For the version 1.4

and then run install normally. It is highly recommended you use a new config. Otherwise, you'd have to manually update your config, which can be much more difficult.

For the list of available versions, see the list of repository tags.

WARNING: Do not use an older version than 1.4!

Does AlexaPi support Amazon Music?

Yes, but you have to apply at Amazon Developer portal for permission. You'll find that in your device setting - same as when you registered the device.

NOTE: This is currently suspended by Amazon. Also, they have stated that they allow this only for to-be-commercial devices (seen this in our gitter room).

Amazon's reponse as posted by @illperipherals:

We apologize for the lack of clarity on Amazon Music approvals. Amazon Music is currently limited to Alexa-enabled devices that are approved for commercial distribution and use. If you are developing a commercial device, please let us know. We’d love to help. Thanks for being an AVS developer.

Can I switch the language to German, etc?

Yes, just make sure your Account is a German one. Anyways you will pronounce "Alexa" in English but she will answer in German and recognize German too.

Can I discover my devices with AlexaPi like with Echo?

No. AVS API doesn't have a way to connect the devices to Amazon. You can probably still do this by setting up your own Alexa skills, but that's a different thing than AlexaPi.

AlexaPi will allow you to control your devices such as Hue provided you also have a genuine Echo in the network which acts as a gateway between the Alexa service and your Hue bridge.

How do I change my location, time zone, units, ...?

This is not up to us. Do that over at Amazon: https://alexa.amazon.com

Why do I see the AlexaPi device offline in the Alexa app? / Why do I get "Timers and alarms are not currently supported on this device"?

Because we use the old AVS API. This will change when we suport the new API.

Can I delete the devices from my Alexa app?

Yes! It seems that you can manage all apps / devices that you have paired with your account via OAuth. Just visit Manage Your Content and Devices > Your Devices.

What's the difference between Amazon's sample app and AlexaPi?

	Amazon's sample app	AlexaPi
language / environment	Java & node.js	Python
headless	AFAIK can be done	YES
device support	unknown	excellent
AVS API support	excellent	uses old API version
community development	no (bugfixes only)	YES

How do I run a local command / script when I say X?

There is no direct, nor easy solution. Keep in mind, that AlexaPi is simply only a client to AVS - it sends and receives voice to/from AVS, it doesn't do much else. Voice recognition in AlexaPi is used only to trigger it.

There are these options:

1. Make your own skill or use an existing skill that somehow connects back to your device to your own application.
2. Hack AlexaPi so there is another listener apart from for the trigger word only. This will be more CPU hungry, although when using snowboy, it might be doable.
3. Give up and use mycroft.