The Google Cloud-to-cloud platform lets users control your commercially available connected devices through the Google Home app (GHA) and Google Assistant, which is available on more than 1 billion devices like smart speakers, phones, cars, TVs, headphones, watches, and more.
Why build
The benefits to you include deepening user engagement, driving sales of your devices and growing your brand value.
- Deepen user engagement — Reach users across 1 billion Assistant devices, improve discoverability, and remove friction from set-up.
- Drive sales — Become discoverable on Shopping on Search, increase eligibility to be featured across retail, installer channels.
- Grow brand value — Be at the center of the helpful home. Enable users to know your brand due to reliability and rich features.
How to build
To connect your device with Assistant, you need to build a Cloud-to-cloud integration. Assistant handles how users trigger your Action (in multiple languages) and provides you with useful metadata through Google Home Graph (such as the state of a specific device based on the user's room). All you need to do is respond to the requests through your fulfillment service.
The easiest way to get started is by going through our codelabs. We recommend doing both of these codelabs, which walk you through portions of the development process, step-by-step:
Enable local fulfillment for Cloud-to-cloud integrations
49 minutes
Updated November 27, 2024
Learn to enable local fulfillment with the Local Home SDK to enhance smart home integrations with the Assistant.
Debugging the Local Home
50 minutes
Updated November 20, 2024
Learn how to use GCP Metrics and Logging to identify and resolve production issues. Learn how to use the Test Suite to identify functional and API issues. Learn how to use Chrome Dev Tools while developing your Local Home app.
Enhance and secure your Cloud-to-cloud integrations
50 minutes
Updated November 20, 2024
Learn to enhance and secure your Cloud-to-cloud integration through customizable device traits and secure them with two-factor authentication.
Implement CameraStream with WebRTC
23 minutes
Updated November 20, 2024
Learn how to stream from a webcam to a Google Nest display device with the CameraStream trait and WebRTC.
Connect smart home devices to the Google Assistant
35 minutes
Updated November 20, 2024
Build and deploy a Cloud-to-cloud integration to integrate a virtual smart washer to the Assistant.
Monitoring Outages for Smart Home
31 minutes
Updated November 20, 2024
In this codelab, learn how to detect outages by setting up automated alerts on your Smart Home integration.
Debugging the Smart Home
25 minutes
Updated November 20, 2024
Learn how to use GCP Metrics and Logging to identify and resolve production issues. Learn how to use the Test Suite to identify functional and API issues.
Log-based Metrics for Smart Home
16 minutes
Updated November 20, 2024
Learn how to use Log-based Metrics on Google Cloud to track patterns and analyze your Smart Home integration error logs.
Build a Custom Web Receiver
1 hour 37 minutes
Updated September 18, 2024
In this codelab, you will build a Custom Web Receiver app to play content on Cast-enabled devices.
Cast-enable an iOS app
2 hours 28 minutes
Updated September 18, 2024
In this codelab, you will modify an existing iOS video app to cast content on a Google Cast-enabled device.
Cast-enable an Android app
2 hours 48 minutes
Updated September 18, 2024
In this codelab, you will modify an existing Android video app to cast content on a Google Cast-enabled device.
Cast-enable an Android TV app
1 hour 8 minutes
Updated September 18, 2024
In this codelab, you will modify an existing Android TV app to support casting and communication from your existing Cast sender apps.
Add live support to a Cast Receiver
30 minutes
Updated September 18, 2024
In this codelab, you will build a Custom Web Receiver application that uses the Cast Live API.
Add Ad Breaks API Support to a Web Receiver
56 minutes
Updated September 18, 2024
In this codelab, you will build a Custom Web Receiver application that uses the Cast Ad Breaks API.
Cast-enable a web app
1 hour 18 minutes
Updated September 18, 2024
In this codelab, you will modify an existing web video app to cast content on a Google Cast-enabled device.
Debugging Cast Receiver Apps
59 minutes
Updated September 18, 2024
In this codelab, you will add the Cast Debug Logger to your existing Custom Web Receiver app.
Build an Android App for Matter
1 hour 17 minutes
Updated August 29, 2024
Customize the Google Home Sample App for Matter to commission and manage devices.
Building a Device Access Web Application
1 hour
Updated August 7, 2024
In this Codelab, you’ll learn how Device Access works and build a web application that handles authentication and Smart Device Management API calls for a Nest Thermostat.
Build a Matter virtual device
1 hour 12 minutes
Updated August 1, 2024
In this codelab, you’ll build, commission, and use a virtual Matter device.
Debugging Matter Integrations
36 minutes
Updated December 26, 2023
Learn how to troubleshoot Matter integrations using analytics tools and find out more about the developer support resources.
Build a Matter device
1 hour 17 minutes
Updated October 2, 2023
In this codelab, you’ll build, commission, and use a Matter device.
After that, check our list of supported devices to ensure that what you plan to integrate is supported in the Google Home ecosystem. Then read through the Developer Checklist to understand the entire development flow from project creation to launch.
Supported Devices Developer Checklist
Google Home Playground
Use Google Home Playground to simulate a smart home project with your device types and traits. Create virtual devices, modify the device attributes and states, and more. See the Google Home Playground page for more details.
Debugging and analytics
If you've already built a smart home action and need to:
- Debug your action, go to the Debugging the smart home codelab.
- Access logs or create log-based metrics, go to the Log-based metrics for smart home codelab.
- Set up alerts to monitor outages, go to the Monitoring outages for smart home codelab.
Definitions
The following terms are used throughout this documentation:
- Authentication
- Links your users' Google accounts with user accounts in your authentication system.
- Device trait
- Device traits define the capabilities of a device type.
- Device type
- Let Assistant know what grammar should be used with your device.
- Fulfillment
- A service that handles a smart home intent and carries out the corresponding Action.
- Google Home ecosystem
- A platform that lets you create a smart home Action to extend the functionality of the Assistant to control connected devices.
- Home Graph
- A database that stores and provides contextual data about the home and its devices.
- smart home intents
- Simple messaging objects that describe how to perform a smart home Action such as turn on a light or cast audio to a speaker.