What is the Home Automation Script Editor for Google Home?
Best answer: The Home Automation Script Editor for Google Home is an online tool that allows you to build advanced routines for Google Home devices. It incorporates the existing selection of routine actions and offers over 100 more actions.
You can build routines that trigger on specific events like the time through the Google Home app. They can be handy. I use one to set off my alarm and coffee maker in the morning (if I remember to add coffee to it!) at different times based on the day of the week and plenty of other folks have far more advanced ones they use every day.
That's great, but as more and more devices are built to be smart and work with the Google Assistant service, there is room to do a lot more. Google recognized this and has brought a script editor that's more powerful as part of the Google Home redesign and website.
It's a very Google-ish thing. It looks like a development environment for writing code but also appears to be using a unique set of rules built into the editor itself. Scripts are built using the YAML language and the editor lives in the cloud — you can access it through the Google Home website or in the Google Home mobile app.
You're going to need a basic understanding of coding to use the script editor, but it's nothing that an average user can't learn in an afternoon using Google's code examples.
One thing is certain — Google has seen advanced smart home platforms like Home Assistant gain in popularity and this is the company's response. It plays on Google's strengths, namely catering to the prosumer by offering a small slice of geeky style while still being approachable to make better use of your smart home products. You might want more and use something like Home Assistant, but most people will be more than happy with slightly less powerful tools that are built to be easy to use.
