Create a device and link it to Alexa

This is the most important step in getting set up — and the one that trips most people up. Take it slowly the first time. Once you’ve done it once, every device after is the same.

First, pick the right device type

Voice Monkey gives you two device types. They look identical to Alexa under the hood, but they’re used for different jobs:

Device type	Use it when you want to…	Console section
Speaker	Make Voice Monkey talk on a physical Echo — TTS announcements, audio, video, images, on-screen text.	app.voicemonkey.io/speakers
Routine Trigger	Use Voice Monkey to fire an Alexa Routine remotely (lights, music, scenes, etc.) without any speech.	app.voicemonkey.io/routines

Rule of thumb: does Voice Monkey need to push something back to your Echo? If yes (speech / media / display), create a Speaker. If you just want VM to be the trigger and Alexa handles the rest, create a Routine Trigger.

You can mix and match — most users have a few of each.

How Voice Monkey appears in your Alexa account

When you create your very first Voice Monkey device, Voice Monkey registers a single smart-home device with Alexa called “Alexa Voice Monkey v3”. Every Speaker and Routine Trigger you create after that is added as a named event inside that one device, grouped under two event sources:

• VM Speakers — every Speaker device you create shows up here.
• VM Routines — every Routine Trigger device you create shows up here.

So when you go to the Alexa app to wire up a Routine, you’ll always pick the same Alexa Voice Monkey v3 device first, then pick the event that matches the name you gave the device in the Voice Monkey console. There is nothing to “discover” or sync manually — Voice Monkey pushes the update to Alexa the moment you click Create.

Tip

If you don’t see Alexa Voice Monkey v3 in the Alexa app the first time, give it a minute and pull-to-refresh the device list, or open the Alexa app’s Devices screen.

Add a Speaker

A Speaker lets Voice Monkey speak (and show media) on a specific physical Echo.

1. Create the device in the console

1. Go to app.voicemonkey.io/speakers and click Add New Speaker.
2. Give it a friendly name that matches the physical Echo it’ll talk on, e.g. Living Room Echo or Kitchen Show. Letters, numbers and spaces only.
3. Click Create Speaker.

The device is registered with Alexa straight away. No “sync” button — you’re done with the console for now.

2. Wire it up in the Alexa app

In the Alexa mobile app, create a Routine that fires whenever Voice Monkey wants to speak:

1. More → Routines → + to create a new Routine.
2. When this happens → Smart Home → pick Alexa Voice Monkey v3 → choose VM Speakers → pick the event named after the Speaker you just created (e.g. Living Room Echo).
3. Add action → Custom → type open Voice Monkey. This is what hands control to the Voice Monkey skill. (Not in English? See language-specific phrases. Or skip the typing entirely with Add action → Skills → Voice Monkey.)
4. From → pick the physical Echo you want this Speaker to talk on (e.g. “Echo Dot — Living Room”).
5. Save.

Alexa language launch phrases

Use the equivalent for your Alexa language in step 3 above:

Alexa language	Launch phrase
English (US / UK / CA / AU / IN)	open Voice Monkey
German (de-DE)	öffne Voice Monkey
French (fr-FR / fr-CA)	ouvre Voice Monkey
Italian (it-IT)	apri Voice Monkey
Portuguese (pt-BR)	abrir Voice Monkey
Spanish (es-ES / es-MX / es-US)	abre Mono de Voz (the skill is published as “Mono de Voz” in Spanish)

3. Test it

Back in app.voicemonkey.io/speakers, click the Test button on your new Speaker. The chosen Echo should speak the test message within a couple of seconds.

If it doesn’t, the most common causes are:

• The Routine in step 2 is disabled — check the Routines list in the Alexa app.
• The Routine’s From device is wrong — it must point at the Echo you want to hear the announcement on.
• The Echo is muted / in a Do Not Disturb period.

See Troubleshooting for more.

Tip

For a multi-room speaker, just create one Routine per room (steps 2–3), all keyed off the same VM Speakers event. They’ll all fire together.

Add a Routine Trigger

A Routine Trigger lets you fire any Alexa Routine remotely — Voice Monkey doesn’t speak, it just pulls the trigger.

1. Create the device in the console

1. Go to app.voicemonkey.io/routines and click Add New Trigger.
2. Name it after the thing it triggers, e.g. Morning Routine, Movie Time, Lights Off. Letters, numbers and spaces only.
3. Click Create Trigger.

Again, no manual sync needed.

2. Wire it up in the Alexa app

1. More → Routines → + to create a new Routine.
2. When this happens → Smart Home → pick Alexa Voice Monkey v3 → choose VM Routines → pick the event named after the Trigger you just created (e.g. Morning Routine).
3. Add action → whatever you want this Routine to do — turn on lights, play music, set a thermostat, run another Routine. Voice Monkey doesn’t care.
4. Save.

3. Test it

Back in app.voicemonkey.io/routines, click the Test button on your new Trigger. The actions you set in your Alexa Routine should run within a couple of seconds.

What now?

You’ve got a device wired up — anything that can make an HTTP request can now fire it:

• Build your first Flow — chain announcements, media and conditions together.
• Trigger your devices from the API (use GET /devices to list their IDs).
• Plug Voice Monkey into IFTTT, Home Assistant or a Flic button.
• Browse the Guides for ready-made ideas.