Alexa.ColorController Interface 3

Implement the Alexa.ColorController interface in your Alexa add-on so that users can change the color of devices such as color-changing light bulbs. For more details about smart home add-ons, see Connect Your Device Cloud with Smart Home Add-ons. For the list of languages that the ColorController interface supports, see List of Alexa Interfaces and Supported Languages. For the definitions of the message properties, see Alexa Interface Message and Property Reference.

Utterances

When you use the Alexa.ColorController interface, the voice interaction model is already built for you. After the user says one of the following utterances, Alexa sends a corresponding directive to your add-on. The following examples show some user utterances:

Reportable properties

The color property represents the color of an endpoint. Colors are specified by using the hue, saturation, brightness (HSB) color model. For more details, see colorizer.org and The HSB Color System.

Discovery

You describe endpoints that support Alexa.ColorController using the standard discovery mechanism described in Alexa.Discovery. Set retrievable to true for all the interfaces and properties that you report when Alexa sends your add-on a state report request. Set proactivelyReported to true for interfaces and properties that you proactively report to Alexa in a change report. For the full list of display categories, see display categories. To let Alexa know the health of your device, also implement the Alexa.EndpointHealth interface.

Discover response example

The following example shows a Discover.Response message for a light that supports the Alexa.PowerController and Alexa.ColorController interfaces.

{
  "event": {
    "header": {
      "namespace": "Alexa.Discovery",
      "name": "Discover.Response",
      "payloadVersion": "3",
      "messageId": "Unique identifier, preferably a version 4 UUID"
    },
    "payload": {
      "endpoints": [
        {
          "endpointId": "Unique ID of the endpoint",
          "manufacturerName": "Manufacturer of the endpoint",
          "description": "Description to be shown in the Alexa app",
          "friendlyName": "Living Room light",
          "displayCategories": ["LIGHT"],
          "additionalAttributes":  {
            "manufacturer": "Manufacturer of the endpoint",
            "model" : "Model of the device",
            "customIdentifier": "Optional custom identifier for the device"
          },
          "cookie": {},
          "capabilities": [
            {
              "type": "AlexaInterface",
              "interface": "Alexa.PowerController",
              "version": "3",
              "properties": {
                "supported": [
                  {
                    "name": "powerState"
                  }
                ],
                "proactivelyReported": true,
                "retrievable": true
              }
            },
            {
              "type": "AlexaInterface",
              "interface": "Alexa.ColorController",
              "version": "3",
              "properties": {
                "supported": [
                  {
                    "name": "color"
                  }
                ],
                "proactivelyReported": true,
                "retrievable": true
              }
            },
            {
              "type": "AlexaInterface",
              "interface": "Alexa.EndpointHealth",
              "version": "3",
              "properties": {
                "supported": [
                  {
                    "name": "connectivity"
                  }
                ],
                "proactivelyReported": true,
                "retrievable": true
              }
            },
            {
              "type": "AlexaInterface",
              "interface": "Alexa",
              "version": "3"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Directives

Alexa sends the following Alexa.ColorController interface directives to your add-on.

SetColor directive

Support the SetColor directive so that users can change the color of devices. The following examples show user utterances:

SetColor directive example

The following example illustrates a SetColor directive that Alexa sends to your add-on.

{
  "directive": {
    "header": {
      "namespace": "Alexa.ColorController",
      "name": "SetColor",
      "messageId": "Unique version 4 UUID",
      "correlationToken": "Opaque correlation token",
      "payloadVersion": "3"
    },
    "endpoint": {
      "scope": {
        "type": "BearerToken",
        "token": "OAuth2.0 bearer token"
      },
      "endpointId": "Endpoint ID",
      "cookie": {}
    },
    "payload": {
      "color": {
        "hue": 350.5,
        "saturation": 0.7138,
        "brightness": 0.6524
      }
    }
  }
}

SetColor directive payload

The following table shows the payload details for the SetColor directive.

Property	Description	Type	Required
`color`	Color to set the device to.	Object	Yes

SetColor response

If you handle a SetColor directive successfully, respond with an Alexa.Response event. A successful response confirms that the endpoint completed the requested action. You can respond synchronously from your Lambda function or asynchronously through the Alexa event gateway. If you choose to respond asynchronously, include a correlation token and a scope with an authorization token. For details about both response types, see Alexa.Response. In the context object, include the values of all properties that changed. The following example shows a SetColor response.

{
  "event": {
    "header": {
      "namespace": "Alexa",
      "name": "Response",
      "messageId": "Unique identifier, preferably a version 4 UUID",
      "correlationToken": "Opaque correlation token that matches the request",
      "payloadVersion": "3"
    },
    "endpoint": {
      "scope": {
        "type": "BearerToken",
        "token": "OAuth2.0 bearer token"
      },
      "endpointId": "Endpoint ID"
    },
    "payload": {}
  },
  "context": {
    "properties": [
      {
        "namespace": "Alexa.ColorController",
        "name": "color",
        "value": {
            "hue": 350.5,
            "saturation": 0.7138,
            "brightness": 0.6524
        },
        "timeOfSample": "2019-07-03T16:20:50Z",
        "uncertaintyInMilliseconds": 500
      }
    ]
  }
}

SetColor directive error handling

If you can’t handle a SetColor directive successfully, respond with an Alexa.ErrorResponse event.

State reporting

Alexa sends a ReportState directive to request information about the state of an endpoint. When Alexa sends a ReportState directive, you send a StateReport event in response. The response contains the current state of all the retrievable properties in the context object. You identify your retrievable properties in your discovery response. For details about state reports, see Understand State and Change Reporting.

StateReport response example

{
  "event": {
    "header": {
      "namespace": "Alexa",
      "name": "StateReport",
      "messageId": "Unique identifier, preferably a version 4 UUID",
      "correlationToken": "Opaque correlation token that matches the request",
      "payloadVersion": "3"
    },
    "endpoint": {
      "scope": {
        "type": "BearerToken",
        "token": "OAuth2.0 bearer token"
      },
      "endpointId": "Endpoint ID"
    },
    "payload": {}
  },
  "context": {
    "properties": [
      {
        "namespace": "Alexa.ColorController",
        "name": "color",
        "value": {
            "hue": 350.5,
            "saturation": 0.7138,
            "brightness": 0.6524
        },
        "timeOfSample": "2019-07-03T16:20:50Z",
        "uncertaintyInMilliseconds": 500
      }
    ]
  }
}

Change reporting

You send a ChangeReport event to report changes proactively in the state of an endpoint. You identify the properties that you proactively report in your discovery response. For details about change reports, see Understand State and Change Reporting. For lighting endpoints that support both the ColorController and ColorTemperatureController interfaces, report the state of color when an endpoint is set to a color, and report the state of colorTemperatureInKelvin when an endpoint is set to a shade of white.

ChangeReport event example

{
  "event": {
    "header": {
      "namespace": "Alexa",
      "name": "ChangeReport",
      "messageId": "Unique identifier, preferably a version 4 UUID",
      "payloadVersion": "3"
    },
    "endpoint": {
      "scope": {
        "type": "BearerToken",
        "token": "OAuth2.0 bearer token"
      },
      "endpointId": "Endpoint ID"
    },
    "payload": {
      "change": {
        "cause": {
          "type": "PHYSICAL_INTERACTION"
        },
        "properties": [
          {
            "namespace": "Alexa.ColorController",
            "name": "color",
            "value": {
                "hue": 280,
                "saturation": 0.9,
                "brightness": 0.9
            },
            "timeOfSample": "2024-02-03T16:17:00.00Z",
            "uncertaintyInMilliseconds": 500
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "context": {
    "namespace": "Alexa.EndpointHealth",
    "name": "connectivity",
    "value": {
      "value": "OK"
    },
    "timeOfSample": "2024-02-03T16:15:00.00Z",
    "uncertaintyInMilliseconds": 0
  }
}

Get Started

Connect Your Device to Alexa

Certify Your Device

Developer Reference

Utterances

Reportable properties

Discovery

Discover response example

Directives

SetColor directive

SetColor directive example

SetColor directive payload

SetColor response

SetColor directive error handling

State reporting

StateReport response example

Change reporting

ChangeReport event example

​Utterances

​Reportable properties

​Discovery

​Discover response example

​Directives

​SetColor directive

​SetColor directive example

​SetColor directive payload

​SetColor response

​SetColor directive error handling

​State reporting

​StateReport response example

​Change reporting

​ChangeReport event example

​Related topics

Utterances

Reportable properties

Discovery

Discover response example

Directives

SetColor directive

SetColor directive example

SetColor directive payload

SetColor response

SetColor directive error handling

State reporting

StateReport response example

Change reporting

ChangeReport event example

Related topics