OpenHome

Author: Chris Gonzalez

OpenHome's New Abilities Bounty Program

At OpenHome, we believe in empowering our community to shape the future of smart home and AI-driven experiences. That’s why we’re excited to announce our new Abilities Bounties—a program designed to reward developers for building and publishing innovative Abilities that enrich the OpenHome ecosystem. Don’t want to commit to a whole project, but still want to work with OpenHome? No problem, each completed, working Ability that meets our submission guidelines earns you $250, and if your concept requires more funding, you can request it through our attached form. We want to bring a wealth of powerful new capabilities to our public Marketplace, and we’re counting on you—our community—to help make it happen!

What Are Abilities?

Abilities are modular extensions (like plugins) that you can add to your OpenHome Personalities. They enable specialized tasks such as fetching external data, controlling smart devices, or integrating third-party services. By combining Abilities with the intelligence of your Personalities, you can create truly dynamic and personalized experiences—whether that’s monitoring crypto prices, booking calendar events, ordering products, or generating interactive quizzes, all with trigger words and your voice.

Our Top Ability Use-Case Ideas

To inspire you, here are our top suggestions for Abilities that we believe will add tremendous value and utility to the OpenHome environment. These ideas tap into a wide range of APIs and services, extending the functionality of your Personalities in ways we’ve only begun to imagine. If you want to build an ability that's not on this list, just email chris@openhome.xyz for pre-approval, and we can add it to the list!

Crypto Price Checker:

APIs/Services: CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap
Functionality: Let users ask for live cryptocurrency prices and market trends.

Stock Price & Portfolio Manager:

APIs/Services: Yahoo Finance, Alpha Vantage
Functionality: Check real-time stock prices, manage watchlists, and get daily market summaries.

Google Calendar Integration:

APIs/Services: Google Calendar API
Functionality: Read aloud your schedule, add new events, and set reminders via voice commands.

Outlook Calendar Connection:

APIs/Services: Microsoft Graph API
Functionality: Access Outlook events, get your upcoming meetings, and create or adjust events on-the-fly.

Weather & Air Quality Checker:

APIs/Services: OpenWeatherMap, AirVisual API
Functionality: Get local weather forecasts, air quality indexes, and weather alerts.

News & RSS Reader:

APIs/Services: NewsAPI, RSS/Atom feeds
Functionality: Summarize top headlines, read selected articles aloud, or filter news by topic.

Voice-Activated To-Do & Task List:

APIs/Services: Todoist, Google Tasks API
Functionality: Create, update, and review your task lists by voice.

Meal Planning & Grocery Lists:

APIs/Services: Spoonacular, Instacart API
Functionality: Suggest weekly meal plans, generate grocery lists, and connect to grocery delivery services.

Fitness & Health Tracking:

APIs/Services: Fitbit, Apple Health (via HealthKit), Garmin Connect
Functionality: Track steps, workouts, and heart rate data, and suggest routines.

Home Security Monitor:

APIs/Services: Nest, Ring, or other security camera APIs

Functionality: Check the status of doors, windows, cameras, and alarm systems.

Smart Thermostat & HVAC Control:

APIs/Services: Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell APIs
Functionality: Adjust temperature, switch modes, and monitor energy usage.

Music & Media Controls:

APIs/Services: Spotify, YouTube Music, Sonos
Functionality: Play, pause, skip songs, and control playback devices with voice commands.

Email & Inbox Manager:

APIs/Services: Gmail API, Microsoft Graph for Outlook
Functionality: Check unread emails, send quick replies, and archive messages.

Productivity Timer & Reminder:

APIs/Services: Native scheduling functions or third-party reminder services
Functionality: Set timers, reminders, and Pomodoro sessions for better productivity.

Currency Conversion & Financial Tools:

APIs/Services: ExchangeRate-API, Fixer.io
Functionality: Convert currencies, check exchange rates, and get currency alerts.

Travel & Flight Information:

APIs/Services: Skyscanner API, Amadeus Travel API
Functionality: Check flight statuses, find travel deals, and help plan trips.

Note-Taking & Knowledge Base Integration:

APIs/Services: Evernote, Notion, Google Keep
Functionality: Create notes, retrieve stored information, and keep track of ideas.

Language Translation & Dictionary:

APIs/Services: Google Cloud Translation, Merriam-Webster Dictionary API
Functionality: Translate phrases, define words, and learn new vocabulary on the fly.

Home Automation Orchestrator:

APIs/Services: Home Assistant, Philips Hue, SmartThings
Functionality: Control lights, locks, and appliances, or set routines that integrate multiple smart home devices.

How to Get Started

Check Out Our Documentation:
Dive into the OpenHome Abilities Documentation to learn how to build and deploy an Ability. The docs guide you through our Live Editor, uploading code, setting Trigger Words, and publishing to the Marketplace.
Pick an Idea (or Propose Your Own):
Choose one of our suggested ideas above or pitch your own innovative concept (just email chris@openhome.xyz if you want pre-approval on an idea). As long as it’s relevant, functional, and adds value to the OpenHome ecosystem, we’ll consider it for the bounty.
Build & Test Your Ability:
Use the Live Editor to upload your code, test your Ability’s performance in real-time, and finalize trigger words. Once you’re confident in its functionality, publish it to our public Marketplace.
Submit the Form & Get Paid:
After you’ve published your Ability, email Chris@openhome.xyz to verify your submission (you can send us a github link that we can test on OpenHome to verify functionally). Upon approval, you’ll receive a $250 bounty. Need more funding upfront for a larger project? Submit your request through the same form and we’ll consider your proposal.

Bounty Rules

$250 per Completed Ability: A completed Ability must be functional, tested, submitted via this link here and submitted to the OpenHome Marketplace.
Quality Counts: We review submissions to ensure code quality, user experience, and adherence to best practices.
Multiple Submissions Welcome: Submit as many Abilities as you like. The more value you bring, the more you earn.

Help & Support

Documentation & Tutorials: If you’re new to developing Abilities, start with our comprehensive guide.
Ask a Question: Don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at chris@openhome.xyz for support, feedback, or troubleshooting assistance.

Ready to get started?

Pick one of our listed ideas—or propose your own—and build a unique Ability that will enhance how our users interact with their OpenHome Personalities. Upon publishing a working Ability to the Marketplace, fill out our submission form to receive your $250 bounty. If the Ability on our list is still live, it means no one has claimed it yet—so act fast! Alternatively, if you’ve got a brilliant idea of your own, go ahead and submit it. If it’s accepted and meets our criteria, we’ll reward you accordingly.