Roomba Control Skill

Control Your Roomba with AI Voice Commands? This Open Source Skill Rocks

Have you ever been lounging on the couch, binge-watching your favorite show, and suddenly realized the floor needs vacuuming—but you just can't be bothered to get up? Or maybe your parents struggle with smartphone apps and always ask you to remotely start their Roomba? Honestly, I've been there too, until I stumbled upon this Roomba Control Skill open source project. It truly made me realize what "hands-free" really means.

This skill comes from the openclaw-skills-marketplace project on GitHub. In essence, it's a specialized plugin designed for Claude AI that allows Claude to control your Roomba robot vacuum through natural language. No need to open an app or press buttons—just say "clean the living room," and Claude automatically calls the Roomba API to execute the task. Sounds pretty cool, right?

The best part? This skill is completely open source and free to use. Anyone can download and install it into their Claude environment. It leverages Roomba's open API interface, intelligently interprets your intent through conversation, and converts it into specific device commands. This means you can not only turn the vacuum on and off but also set cleaning modes, schedule tasks, check status, and more. Imagine being busy cooking or putting kids to bed and casually saying, "Roomba, go clean the kitchen," and the robot starts working. That experience is simply unbeatable.

Core Capabilities and Feature Breakdown of the Roomba Control Skill

So what exactly can this skill do? Let me break it down into key features so you can see the full picture. Don't underestimate these capabilities—when combined, they turn your Roomba into an obedient personal assistant.

• Voice Start and Stop Cleaning: Through Claude's natural language understanding, you can simply say "start cleaning" or "stop working," and the skill automatically calls the Roomba API to execute the operation without any manual intervention.
• Targeted Area Cleaning: Supports commands like "clean the living room" or "vacuum the bedroom." The skill uses your home's room layout to direct the Roomba to clean only the specified area, saving time and battery.
• Scheduling and Timed Tasks: You can say "clean the whole house at 3 PM every day," and the skill automatically creates a scheduled task. Your Roomba will start working right on time, like your personal cleaning butler.
• Status Query and Reporting: Ask "what's Roomba doing now?" and the skill returns the current status—whether it's charging, cleaning, or encountering an error. It also reports remaining battery and cleaned area.
• Cleaning Mode Switching: Supports switching between "turbo mode," "quiet mode," "edge cleaning," and more to meet different scenarios.

These features may seem simple, but they involve three core components: natural language processing, API calls, and device state management. Claude first understands your intent, then maps it to Roomba API commands through the skill plugin, and finally executes and returns results. The entire process completes in seconds, delivering a very smooth experience.

Step-by-Step Guide to Installing and Configuring the Roomba Control Skill

Alright, you're excited, right? Let's get our hands dirty. Installing this skill is actually quite simple, but you'll need a Roomba robot vacuum (Wi-Fi enabled model) and a Claude account. The process involves three steps—just follow along.

Step 1: Get the Skill Files. You need to download the Roomba Control Skill plugin files from the GitHub repository. This skill is located in the openclaw-skills-marketplace project under the plugins directory, specifically at bytesagain1--roomba-control/skills/roomba-control. After downloading, you'll get a folder containing configuration files and code.

Step 2: Configure Roomba API Credentials. To let Claude control your Roomba, you need to obtain your Roomba's BLID (Bluetooth identifier) and Password. These can usually be found through the official Roomba app or on the robot's bottom label. Here's a sample configuration:

{
  "roomba": {
    "blid": "Your Roomba BLID",
    "password": "Your Roomba Password",
    "ip_address": "192.168.1.100",
    "model": "980"
  },
  "claude_skill": {
    "name": "roomba-control",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "enabled": true
  }
}

Step 3: Load the Skill into Claude. Place the configuration file into Claude's skill directory, restart the Claude application, and the skill will load automatically. You can test it in Claude's chat interface by typing "check my Roomba's battery." If it returns the correct battery level, the configuration is successful.

A quick tip: Different Roomba models may have slightly different API interfaces. If you're using an older model, you might need to update the Roomba firmware to the latest version first. Also, make sure your computer or phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as your Roomba, otherwise communication won't work.

Complete Code Example: From Connection to Control, Everything You Need

To give you a clearer picture of how this skill works, I've prepared a complete code example. This example shows how to directly call the Roomba API using a Python script and integrate it into the Claude skill. You can use it as a reference template and modify it to suit your needs.

# Roomba Control Skill Core Code Example
import requests
import json

class RoombaController:
    def __init__(self, blid, password, ip_address):
        self.blid = blid
        self.password = password
        self.ip_address = ip_address
        self.base_url = f"http://{ip_address}/api"
        
    def start_cleaning(self):
        """Start the cleaning task"""
        payload = {"command": "start"}
        response = requests.post(
            f"{self.base_url}/clean",
            auth=(self.blid, self.password),
            json=payload
        )
        return response.json()
    
    def stop_cleaning(self):
        """Stop cleaning"""
        payload = {"command": "stop"}
        response = requests.post(
            f"{self.base_url}/clean",
            auth=(self.blid, self.password),
            json=payload
        )
        return response.json()
    
    def get_status(self):
        """Get Roomba's current status"""
        response = requests.get(
            f"{self.base_url}/status",
            auth=(self.blid, self.password)
        )
        return response.json()
    
    def set_cleaning_mode(self, mode):
        """Set cleaning mode: quiet, standard, turbo, edge"""
        modes = {"quiet": 1, "standard": 2, "turbo": 3, "edge": 4}
        payload = {"mode": modes.get(mode, 2)}
        response = requests.post(
            f"{self.base_url}/mode",
            auth=(self.blid, self.password),
            json=payload
        )
        return response.json()

# Usage example
if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Initialize the controller (replace with your actual info)
    roomba = RoombaController(
        blid="Your BLID",
        password="Your Password",
        ip_address="192.168.1.100"
    )
    
    # Start cleaning
    result = roomba.start_cleaning()
    print(f"Cleaning start result: {result}")
    
    # Query status
    status = roomba.get_status()
    print(f"Current status: {status}")

This code implements three core functions: start cleaning, stop cleaning, and status query. Simply replace the BLID, password, and IP address with your own information, and you can run it directly. If you want to integrate this code into the Claude skill, just call these methods inside the skill's callback function.

To make the code more robust, I recommend adding error handling and timeout mechanisms. For example, when the Roomba is offline, it should return a friendly error message instead of crashing. Also, the API authentication method may vary depending on the Roomba firmware version, so be sure to check your Roomba model's official documentation.

Configuration Parameters and Comparison Table for the Roomba Control Skill

To make your configuration process smoother, I've compiled a table of the Roomba Control Skill's core configuration parameters. This table covers all key configuration items, along with their descriptions and example values. You can use it as a checklist to complete your setup step by step.

As you can see from the table, the three most critical parameters are blid, password, and ip_address. If you're unsure about your Roomba's IP address, check your router's admin panel or use a mobile app to scan for LAN devices. Also, different Roomba models have varying levels of API support. For instance, older 600 series models may not support area cleaning, while the latest j7 series offers obstacle avoidance and map management.

If you encounter issues during configuration, the most common culprits are incorrect IP addresses or wrong passwords. I recommend testing the network connection with the official Roomba app first to ensure the robot is online, then attempt the skill configuration. The password is usually a 16-character hexadecimal string that is case-sensitive, so double-check it carefully.

Conclusion: The Future of Truly "Obeying" Smart Homes Is Here

Honestly, what impresses me most about the Roomba Control Skill open source project is this: the ultimate form of smart home technology should be seamless and natural. You shouldn't have to learn complex procedures or memorize app menu hierarchies. Just talk to the AI like you would to a person, tell it what you want, and it gets done. This isn't just about convenience—it's about technology returning to its true purpose: serving people.

Of course, this skill is still in its early stages and may have some compatibility issues or feature limitations. For example, it relies on Claude as an intermediary, so you can't use it without a Claude account. Additionally, support for Roomba models is still limited, and some advanced features (like map editing or virtual walls) haven't been implemented yet. But since it's open source, the community of developers is continuously improving it, and I have every reason to believe it will become more polished over time.

My advice is this: if you already own a Roomba and have an interest in AI technology, spend half an hour trying out this skill. Even if you run into problems, the GitHub issue tracker has plenty of helpful people offering solutions. And even if you don't succeed in the end, you'll at least learn something about API calls and smart home integration—it's a win-win. After all, tinkering is what tech enthusiasts live for, right?