keydon/googlehomekodi repository overview

⁠Control Kodi through your Google Home / Google Assistant

⁠Table of contents:

• What it can do⁠
• How to setup⁠
• Full table with available actions⁠
• How to update to the latest version⁠
• Troubleshooting⁠

⁠What it can do

Follow these steps to easily control your kodi using simple voice commands with your Google Home or Google assistant:

⁠Play a movie:

"Hey Google, kodi play [movie name]" --> will search for the given movie name and play it.
"Hey Google, kodi resume [movie name]" --> will search for given movie name and pick up playback from where you left it.

⁠Play a random movie:

"Hey Google, kodi play a random movie" --> will play a random movie.
"Hey Google, kodi play a random horror movie" --> will play a random movie of the genre "Horror".
"Hey Google, kodi play a random movie of the year 2010" --> will play a random movie of the year 2010.
"Hey Google, kodi play a random horror movie of the year 2010" --> will play a random movie of the genre "Horror" and of the year 2010.

⁠Play a tv show:

Play the next unwatched episode: "Hey Google, kodi play tv show [tv show name]" --> will search for the given tv show and play the next unwatched episode.
Play a specific episode: "Hey Google, kodi play [tv show name] season 3 episode 1" --> will search for the given tv show and play season 3 episode 1.
Play a random episode from a tv show: "Hey Google, kodi shuffle [tv show name]" --> will search for the given tv show and play a random episode.
Play the most recently added episode: "Hey Google, kodi play new episode" --> will play the most recently added episode to the kodi library.

⁠Search and play a youtube video:

"Hey Google youtube [youtube title]" --> will search a youtube video, and play the first video.

⁠Pause / Resume kodi:

"Hey Google, pause kodi"

⁠Stop kodi:

"Hey Google, stop kodi"

⁠Mute kodi:

"Hey Google, mute/unmute kodi"

⁠Set volume:

"Hey Google, set kodi volume to 60"

⁠Play PVR channel:

"Hey Google, switch kodi to BBC channel" or "Hey Google, switch kodi to channel 10"

⁠Turn on TV:

"Hey Google, switch to kodi" --> will turn on the TV and switch to Kodi's HDMI input

⁠Shutdown Kodi:

"Hey Google, kodi shutdown"

⁠Scan library:

"Hey Google, kodi scan library" --> Will start a full library scan

⁠Navigate kodi:

Navigate up: "Hey Google, kodi navigate up 3" --> Will navigate up the requested amount
Navigate Down: "Hey Google, kodi navigate down 3" --> Will navigate down the requested amount
Navigate Left: "Hey Google, kodi navigate left 3" --> Will navigate left the requested amount
Navigate Right: "Hey Google, kodi navigate right 3" --> Will navigate right the requested amount
Navigate Back: "Hey Google, kodi go back 3" --> Will navigate back requested amount
Navigate Select: Hey Google, kodi Select" --> Will select the hightlighted item
Navigate Context Menu: "Hey Google, kodi open context menu" --> Will open the context menu for the selected item
Navigate Go Home: "Hey Google, kodi go home" --> Will open the main menu page

⁠Whats Playing:

"Hey Google, kodi Whats Playing" --> Will show whats playing information

⁠Change Subtitles:

"Hey Google, kodi subtitles on/off/previous/next" --> Will change subtitle settings

⁠Change Subtitles direct select:

"Hey Google, kodi change subtitle to track 3" --> Will change subtitle track to a specific track

⁠Change Audiostream(Language):

"Hey Google, kodi audiostream previous/next" --> Will change audiostream settings

⁠Change Audiostream(Language) direct select:

"Hey Google, kodi change audiostream to track 3" --> Will change audiostream settings

⁠Seek forward x minutes:

"Hey Google, kodi go forward 30 minutes"

⁠Seek backwards x minutes:

"Hey Google, kodi go backward 30 minutes"

⁠Seek to x minutes:

"Hey Google, kodi jump to 30 minutes"

⁠Play a song:

"Hey Google, kodi play the song [song name]" --> will search for the given song name and play it.

⁠Play an album:

"Hey Google, kodi play the album [album name]" --> will search for the given album name and play it.

⁠Play an artist:

"Hey Google, kodi play songs by the artist [music artist name]" --> will search for the given music artist name and play it.

⁠Playlist Control:

"Hey Google, kodi playlist previous/next/list item number" --> This will go forward/backward or select an item on the playlist #.

⁠How to setup

Disclaimer: Use on your own risk and choose complex username & password in the below steps.

⁠A) Enable webserver access in kodi

1. In Kodi, go to Settings >> Web server
2. Set Allow remote contorl via HTTP to On
3. Choose a port number (e.g. 8080)
4. Choose a username and password (Important!)
5. Configure your router to forward the port your selected to your kodi device
6. Find your external IP address (i.e. Google 'what's my ip?')

⁠** B) We currently support three ways of running this application

1. Using the Webhoster glitch.com

• • quick and easy setup
• • exposes your kodi webservice api to the internet (but protectable through basic authentication)
• • supports one kodi instace at a time
• • adds a little latency

1. Hosting natively on your local or external network

• • low latency if within your own network
• • kodi webservice api does not need to be exposed to the internet

1. Hosting dockerized on the same machine as kodi (or any other machine)

• • supported by LibreELEC via the Addon "Docker"
• • some ssh console commands needed

⁠B.1) Set up a webserver in Glitch to control your kodi

1. Go to Glitch.com⁠ and sign in with your github user
2. Create a new Glitch project and under advance settings choose Import from GitHub
3. Enter this project OmerTu/GoogleHomeKodi
4. Change Glitch project settings to private (under share > Make private)
5. Edit the .env file in your Glitch project with the following settings:

KODI_PROTOCOL="http"
KODI_IP="YOUR_EXTERNAL_IP_ADDRESS"
KODI_PORT="YOUR_KODI_PORT"
KODI_USER="YOUR_KODI_USER_NAME"
KODI_PASSWORD="YOUR_KODI_PASSWORD"
AUTH_TOKEN="YOUR_CONNECTION_PASSWORD"

YOUR_CONNECTION_PASSWORD can be anything you want.

1. Check your Glitch server address by choosing 'Show Live' on the top left. A new tab with your server will open. Note your server address in the address bar.

⁠B.2) [OPTIONAL] Set up a local webserver to control your kodi

As an alternative to (B), it's possible to run a local node.js server in stead of running it on Glitch.com. The benifit of this is that you don't need to expose your kodi Api. Additional using the hodi-hosts.config.js file, you can set up and control multiple kodi installations.

[Unit]
Description=Node.js Google Home Kodi Interface

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /opt/GoogleHomeKodi/server.js
# Required on some systems
WorkingDirectory=/opt/GoogleHomeKodi
Restart=always
# Restart service after 10 seconds if node service crashes
RestartSec=10
# Output to syslog
StandardOutput=syslog
StandardError=syslog
SyslogIdentifier=nodejs-example

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

⁠C) [OPTIONAL] controlling multiple kodi instances

Setting up the local node server, will allow you to utilize the kodi-hosts.config.js configuration. This configuration will allow you to address multiple kodi installations (e.g. "Hey Google, kodi play [movie name] in the bedroom")

exports.kodiConfig = [{
    id: 'kodi', // For now leave the first set to kodi.
    // YOUR_EXTERNAL_PROTOCOL (http or https)
    kodiProtocol: 'http',
    // YOUR_KODI_IP_ADDRESS
    kodiIp: '192.168.178.10',
    // YOUR_KODI_PORT
    kodiPort: '8080',
    // YOUR_KODI_USER_NAME
    kodiUser: 'kodi',
    // YOUR_KODI_PASSWORD
    kodiPassword: 'myKodiPass'
},
    // You can use this to specify additonal kodi installation, that you'd like to control.
    // For example alternate kodi destination 1:   
{
    id: 'bedroom',
    // YOUR_EXTERNAL_PROTOCOL (http or https)
    kodiProtocol: 'http',
    // YOUR_KODI_IP_ADDRESS
    kodiIp: '192.168.1.11',
    // YOUR_KODI_PORT
    kodiPort: '8080',
    // YOUR_KODI_USER_NAME
    kodiUser: 'kodi',
    // YOUR_KODI_PASSWORD
    kodiPassword: 'myKodiPass'
},
    // You can use this to specify additonal kodi installation, that you'd like to control.
    // For example alternate kodi destination 2:   
{
    id: 'kitchen',
    // YOUR_EXTERNAL_PROTOCOL (http or https)
    kodiProtocol: 'http',
    // YOUR_KODI_IP_ADDRESS
    kodiIp: '192.168.1.12',
    // YOUR_KODI_PORT
    kodiPort: '8080',
    // YOUR_KODI_USER_NAME
    kodiUser: 'kodi',
    // YOUR_KODI_PASSWORD
    kodiPassword: 'myKodiPass'
}
];

⁠B.3 Run it with Docker

The following steps were done on LibreELEC running on a Raspberry Pi I B, but should be applicable to every OS/Architecture except the first.

1. Install Docker a) LibreELEC: Install the service addon: Docker b) Install Docker accourding to your specific environment: https://docs.docker.com/engine/installation/⁠
2. Install our pre-built image of this application docker pull keydon/googlehomekodi
3. Confiure and run the application

docker run -d \
  --restart always \
  -p 0.0.0.0:8099:8099 \
  --name googlehomekodi \
  -e KODI_PROTOCOL="http" \
  -e KODI_IP="libreelec" \
  -e KODI_PORT="8080" \
  -e PORT="8099" \
  -e KODI_USER="keydon" \
  -e KODI_PASSWORD="donkeykeydon" \
  -e AUTH_TOKEN="keydondonkey" \
  keydon/googlehomekodi

⁠D) Set up IFTTT with your Google Home

1. Go to IFTTT⁠

2. Create a new applet: if This then That

3. For This choose: Google Assistance

   1. Choose Say a phrase with a text ingredient
   2. In What do you want to say? enter something like:

   Kodi play $

   1. In What do you want the Assistant to say in response? enter something like:

   ok playing $ movie

4. For That choose: Maker Webhooks

   1. Choose Make a web request
   2. In URL enter:

   YOUR_GLITCH_SERVER_ADDRESS/playmovie?q= {{TextField}}

   For example, if your glitch server address is 'green-icecream.glitch.me', your should enter:

   https://green-icecream.glitch.me/playmovie?q=⁠ {{TextField}}

   1. Method: POST
   2. Content Type: application/json
   3. Body:

   {"token":"YOUR_CONNECTION_PASSWORD"}

Now every time you say "Hey Google, Kodi play movie bla bla", it should play bla bla on your kodi.

Note: If your external IP changes, this will stop working (consider getting a static IP address)

⁠Setting up other actions:

For Tv show support - Next unwatched episode, follow all the steps in C, except these changes:

• Choose a different phrase (e.g. "Kodi play an episode of $")
• Use this URL:

  YOUR_GLITCH_SERVER_ADDRESS/playtvshow?q= {{TextField}}

For Tv show support - Specific episode, follow all the steps in C, except these changes:

• Choose "Say a phrase with both a number and a text ingredient" in step 3

• Choose a different phrase (e.g. "Kodi play $ episode #").

For this to work, when you talk to your GoogleHome, the $ part must be in the format of "[TV_SHOW_NAME] season [SEASON_NUMBER]". Meaning the word "Season" has to be said, the tv show name must be said before it and the season number must be said after it (i.e. "okay google kodi play bla season 4 episode 1")

• Use this URL:

  YOUR_GLITCH_SERVER_ADDRESS/playepisode?q= {{TextField}}&e= {{NumberField}}

To pause or resume kodi follow the instructions in C, except these changes:

• Choose "Say a simple phrase" in step 3
• Use this URL:

  YOUR_GLITCH_SERVER_ADDRESS/playpause

To Stop kodi, follow the same instructions as pause but use this URL:

To Mute kodi, follow the same instructions as pause but use this URL:

To Set Volume on kodi use "Say a phrase with a number" and the URL:

To Seek forward the play by x seconds use "Say a phrase with a number" and the URL:

For PVR TV support - Set channel by name, follow all the steps in C, except these changes:

• Choose a different phrase (e.g. "switch kodi to $ channel")
• Use this URL:

  YOUR_GLITCH_SERVER_ADDRESS/playpvrchannelbyname?q={{TextField}}

For PVR TV support - Set channel by number, use "Say a phrase with a number" and the URL:

⁠Full table with available actions

To Turn on the TV and switch to Kodi's HDMI input

• This requires Kodi 17 (Krypton) and above

• This also requires that both your kodi device and TV support CEC commands

• You need to install this script.json-cec⁠ add-on: Download and move it to your kodi device and then in Kodi choose Settings>Add-ons>Install from zip file > choose the zip your just downloaded.

• Finally you can use this in 2 ways:

  • Add another command: follow the same instructions as pause but use this URL:

  YOUR_GLITCH_SERVER_ADDRESS/activatetv

  • Add the following line to your .env file (see step B-5 above) and kodi will automaticly turn on the tv and switch the HDMI input everytime your trigger the main playing actions (play a move / tv show / episode / pvr channel)

  ACTIVATE_TV="true"

⁠How to update to the latest version

1. Go to Glitch.com⁠ and sign in with your github user
2. Select your Glitch project and under advance settings choose Import from GitHub
3. Enter this project OmerTu/GoogleHomeKodi

⁠Troubleshooting

If your can't preform a simple action like pausing a video, try to narrow down to problem:

1. While a video is being played in Kodi, try pausing it by entering this in your browser:

If you get prompt to enter username and password choose the ones you set in Kodi (step A above). If that doesn't work, you probably have a problem with your kodi setup.

1. If that works, try pausing a video using your external IP:

If that doesn't work you probably have a problem with your router configuration.

1. If it does work, there might be something wrong in your glich or IFTTT settings.

⁠Credits

Thanks for everyone who contributed to this projects: p0psicles⁠, Keljian⁠ and Lunatixz⁠

I also used some code from these 3 projects: MarvinSchenkel/HomeyKodi⁠ Jephuff/kodi-rpc⁠ joshjowen/script.json-cec⁠

And this wonderful website makes setting this up super easy - Glitch⁠

⁠Made by Omer Turgeman

I hope you find this helpful! If you'd like, you can give me a cup of coffee :)