Google Home APIs and Runtime

11 posts · Apr 2020 – Sep 2025

What this trail covers

Google's Home APIs and Home runtime are evolving to enable all developers to build for the home. This includes Device and Structure APIs for accessing over 600M devices, the Commissioning API for setting up Matter devices, and the Automation API for creating and managing home automations using Google's intelligence signals. The Home runtime will expand hubs to include Chromecast with Google TV and select TVs, with early tests showing device control operating up to three times faster. Partners are leveraging these APIs for new experiences like secure temporary home access, enabling TVs to act as hubs, building helpful automations, and bridging digital and physical worlds for features like bedtime mode.

All Google trails

Oct 2025Gemini for Home: Expanding the Platform for a New Era of Smart Home AI- Google Developers BlogIntroduces Gemini for Home, which integrates Gemini AI into the Google Home ecosystem for smart home devices. This includes enhanced conversational capabilities for existing 'Works with Google Home' integrations and a new program for building AI cameras. The AI camera program provides a hardware reference design, recommended SoCs, and a new device-side Google Home camera embedded SDK that utilizes a split compute model (on-device ML for keyframes/metadata, cloud for event video and AI descriptions). This enables advanced on-device ML for live view and event history, and deep integration with Gemini AI Descriptions and the broader Google Home ecosystem.
May 2025Bringing Gemini intelligence to Google Home APIs- Google Developers BlogThis post announces the integration of Gemini intelligence into the Google Home APIs, expanding developer access to over 750 million devices. It highlights new Gemini-powered features for automation (suggested automations, conversational drafting, advanced triggers) and camera experiences (AI descriptions, history search). It also details how integrated devices will participate in Gemini experiences across Google surfaces and announces an early access program for Gemini-powered Home APIs. The post also mentions the public developer beta for Android and iOS SDKs.
Jan 2025Build the future of home with Google Home APIs- Google Developers BlogThis post announces the public developer beta of the Home APIs for Android, allowing developers to build and test smart home experiences. It details the Device and Structure APIs for unified device control, the Commissioning API for simplified onboarding, and the Automation API for intelligent home automations. It also highlights early partner integrations and provides community resources for developers.
Jan 2025Building a better smart home- Google Developers BlogThis post announces the public developer beta launch of Home APIs for Android (with iOS coming soon), enabling developers to build richer smart home experiences. It highlights partner launches and upcoming features. It also details investments in Matter, including expanded hub support through the Google Home runtime integrated into over 40 million devices, increased investment in Matter quality (certification automation, interoperability scripting, SDK bug fixes), streamlined certification with the Connectivity Standards Alliance by accepting Interop Lab test results, and a partnership with MediaTek on the Trinity chip (MT7903) to make Thread more universal.
May 2024Home APIs: Enabling all developers to build for the home- Google Developers BlogThis post announces the launch of the Home APIs and Home runtime, enabling any developer to build experiences for the Google Home platform. It details the Device and Structure APIs for accessing and controlling smart home devices, the Commissioning API for Matter device setup, and the Automation API for creating automations using Google's intelligence signals. It also highlights the expansion of hubs to include TVs and the performance improvements observed with the new APIs. Examples from partners like ADT, LG, Eve Systems, and Google Pixel demonstrate early use cases.
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Dec 2022Google Home is officially ready for your Matter devices and apps- Google Developers BlogThis post announces the official readiness of Google Home for Matter devices and apps, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of smart home technology. It highlights the integration of the Matter standard into Google Home, enabling seamless connectivity and control of a wide range of smart home devices. The post details how developers can leverage the Google Home Developer Center to build and test Matter-compatible apps, emphasizing the importance of Matter for a unified and interoperable smart home ecosystem.
Jul 2020Announcing New Smart Home SHED Types and Traits- Google Developers BlogThis post introduces new Smart Home SHED (Smart Home Execution Device) types and traits, expanding the capabilities for device control and automation within the Google Home ecosystem. These new types and traits allow for more granular control and richer interactions with smart home devices.
Jun 2020Local Home SDK support on Nest WiFi- Google Developers BlogThis post introduces local Home SDK support on Nest Wifi, enabling device traits to run locally on the router. This reduces latency for smart home device control and improves reliability by allowing devices to function even when the internet connection is unstable. It details the architecture for local execution, including the role of the Nest Wifi router as a local execution environment and the communication protocols involved.
Apr 2020Local Home SDK ready for Actions- Google Developers BlogThis post announces the beta release of the Local Home SDK, enabling Actions on Google to execute locally on smart home devices. This reduces latency and improves reliability by allowing direct communication between the device and the Home runtime, bypassing cloud intermediaries. It introduces the concept of local fulfillment and provides guidance on how developers can adapt their existing cloud-based fulfillment to support local execution, including the use of device discovery and local communication protocols.