Alexa CLI

Alexa CLI

Use alexacli to control Amazon Echo devices and smart home via the unofficial Alexa API.

Authentication

Browser login (recommended)
alexacli auth

Non-US accounts
alexacli auth --domain amazon.de
alexacli auth --domain amazon.co.uk

Check auth status
alexacli auth status
alexacli auth status --verify    # validate token against API

Remove credentials
alexacli auth logout

Token is valid ~14 days. Configuration stored in ~/.alexa-cli/config.json.

Devices

alexacli devices
alexacli devices --json

Text-to-Speech

Speak on a specific device
alexacli speak "Hello world" -d "Kitchen Echo"

Announce to ALL devices
alexacli speak "Dinner is ready!" --announce

Device name matching is flexible
alexacli speak "Build complete" -d Kitchen

Voice Commands (Smart Home Control)

Send any command as if you spoke it to Alexa:

Lights, switches, plugs
alexacli command "turn off the living room lights" -d Kitchen
alexacli command "dim the bedroom lights to 50 percent" -d Bedroom

Thermostats
alexacli command "set thermostat to 72 degrees" -d Bedroom
alexacli command "what's the temperature inside" -d Kitchen

Locks
alexacli command "lock the front door" -d Kitchen

Music
alexacli command "play jazz music" -d "Living Room"
alexacli command "stop" -d "Living Room"

Questions
alexacli command "what's the weather" -d Kitchen

Timers
alexacli command "set a timer for 10 minutes" -d Kitchen

Ask (Get Response Back)

Send a command and capture Alexa's text response:

alexacli ask "what's the thermostat set to" -d Kitchen
Output: The thermostat is set to 68 degrees.

alexacli ask "what's on my calendar today" -d Kitchen --json

Alexa+ (LLM Conversations)

Interact with Amazon's LLM-powered assistant:

Quick start - auto-selects conversation
alexacli askplus -d "Echo Show" "What's the capital of France?"

Multi-turn retains context
alexacli askplus -d "Echo Show" "What about Germany?"

List conversations
alexacli conversations

View conversation history
alexacli fragments "amzn1.conversation.xxx"

Audio Playback

Play MP3 audio through Echo devices:

alexacli play --url "https://example.com/audio.mp3" -d "Echo Show"

Requirements: MP3 at 48kbps, 22050Hz sample rate, HTTPS URL.

History

alexacli history
alexacli history --limit 5
alexacli history --json

Command Reference

| Command | Description |

|---------|-------------|

| alexacli devices | List all Echo devices |

| alexacli speak <text> -d <device> | Text-to-speech on device |

| alexacli speak <text> --announce | Announce to all devices |

| alexacli command <text> -d <device> | Voice command (smart home, music, etc.) |

| alexacli ask <text> -d <device> | Send command, get response back |

| alexacli conversations | List Alexa+ conversation IDs |

| alexacli fragments <id> | View Alexa+ conversation history |

| alexacli askplus -d <device> <text> | Alexa+ LLM conversation |

| alexacli play --url <url> -d <device> | Play MP3 via SSML |

| alexacli auth | Browser login or manual token |

| alexacli auth status [--verify] | Show auth status |

| alexacli auth logout | Remove credentials |

| alexacli history | View recent voice activity |

Notes

• -Uses Amazon's unofficial API (same as Alexa app)
• -Refresh token valid ~14 days, re-run alexacli auth if expired
• -Device names support partial, case-insensitive matching
• -For AI/agentic use, alexacli command with natural language is preferred
• -Add --verbose or -v to any command for debug output