I am implementing the local execution functionality for my google smart home action. I am following the steps in this link: https://developers.google.com/actions/smarthome/develop/local
I have already configured the scanning data in the console, and now I am trying to deploy my local execution app. I know how to program in javascript, I have created a couple of firebase functions, but I am not an expert in node.js. I don't understand how to setup and run this javascript app.
I tried to run it on the browser, but it says it cannot find "require", and I read that node.js is not supposed to run on client side. In the link above, it says to create an index.html, that declares the "local_execution.js". Is this javascript module going to run on client side? Can someone point me in the right direction? Maybe explain how to setup the app directory.
Thank you in advance, Henrique
The best place to get started would be with the local home sample app on GitHub. This sample includes both a local execution app and a compatible virtual device, with instructions to get it compiled and deployed.
For testing, you need to host the web app (HTML/JavaScript) in a location that's accessible to your Home device. This could be a local dev server or something like Firebase Hosting (the sample has instructions for both). The hosted URL goes in the console under Test > On device testing.
I tried to run it on the browser, but it says it cannot find "require", and I read that node.js is not supposed to run on client side.
The Home devices run a browser-based (Chrome) environment, so your JavaScript must be compatible with the browser. If you use Node programming paradigms (e.g. importing modules using require) in your code, you need to use a bundler tool such as Webpack or Parcel to package the code for the browser. The sample uses Webpack to accomplish this.
Side Note: You can't run even a properly packaged local home app in the browser on your development machine because the local home SDK only exists on Home devices.