Routine Trigger API

Trigger a Voice Monkey Routine Trigger device, which in turn fires the Alexa Routine you wired it into.

Endpoint

GET/POST https://api-v3.voicemonkey.io/trigger

POST and GET behave identically — pick whichever your HTTP client makes easiest.

Example request

curl -X POST https://api-v3.voicemonkey.io/trigger \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "YOUR_TOKEN",
    "device": "YOUR_TRIGGER_DEVICE_ID"
  }'

Or as a one-line GET, useful for IFTTT, Tasker, Flic, etc.:

curl "https://api-v3.voicemonkey.io/trigger?token=YOUR_TOKEN&device=YOUR_TRIGGER_DEVICE_ID"

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
token	yes	Your API token. See Authentication.
device	yes	The ID of the Routine Trigger device. List your devices with GET /devices.

Response

Successful calls return 200:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": "OK"
}

If any var- sidecar updates ran, the response also includes a variableUpdates array.

Setting variables in the same request

Any parameter prefixed with var- is upserted as a variable before the routine fires, so a downstream Flow that reads the variable sees the new value immediately:

curl -X POST https://api-v3.voicemonkey.io/trigger \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "YOUR_TOKEN",
    "device": "YOUR_TRIGGER_DEVICE_ID",
    "var-CAMERA_STATUS": "motion"
  }'

See Variables API → Setting variables alongside any other API call for the full rules.

Errors

Errors return a JSON body with an error field and an HTTP status code:

Status	Response body	Meaning
400	{ "error": "MISSING_DEVICE" }	No device parameter supplied.
404	{ "error": "DEVICE_NOT_FOUND" }	The device ID isn’t on this account.
401	{ "error": "UNAUTHORIZED" }	No token supplied.
401	{ "error": "INVALID_TOKEN" }	Token doesn’t match an active token.
429	{ "error": "THROTTLED", "lockoutUntil": "<ISO>" }	Per-user safety lockout — back off until the timestamp.
429	{ "error": "MONTHLY_QUOTA_EXCEEDED", "periodEnd": "<ISO>" }	Plan’s monthly request budget exhausted. Wait for the period end or upgrade.
500	{ "error": "ALEXA_TRIGGER_FAILED" }	Generic upstream Alexa failure — retry with backoff.

Use cases

• Trigger a routine from IFTTT, Zapier, Home Assistant, or any automation tool that can make an HTTP call.
• Wire a hardware button (e.g. Flic, Shelly, ESPHome) to a routine without writing custom Alexa skill code.
• Trigger a routine on a schedule from cron or a serverless function.

See Flic Buttons and Home Assistant for worked examples.