Set up Getwello with Google Home and Nest

Google Home and Nest are popular UK kitchen speakers. This guide makes them announce Getwello check-ins, missed-day alerts and Family Room messages. Unlike Alexa, Google does not allow raw webhooks directly into routines, so a small bridge is needed.

Pick your bridge

• Voice Monkey , £3/month, easiest, most reliable.
• Pushcut , £10 one-off purchase, good for iOS households.
• Self-hosted Cloudflare Worker , free, requires comfort with a few lines of JS.

This guide uses Voice Monkey as the worked example, because the setup pattern is the same regardless.

Step 1: Mint a Getwello API key

Open Settings → Developer API, name the key “Google Home / Nest”, copy the token.

Step 2: Create a Voice Monkey routine

1. Sign in to voicemonkey.io.
2. Create a Monkey: name it “Getwello check-in”.
3. Copy the access token Voice Monkey gives you.
4. Configure the Monkey: when triggered, announce “Mum has just checked in” to your Google Home group.

Step 3: Get the trigger URL

Voice Monkey provides a webhook URL of the form https://api.voicemonkey.io/trigger?access_token=...&monkey=getwello-check-in. Copy it.

Step 4: Create the Getwello webhook subscription

Settings → Developer API → Webhooks → Create new.

• Name: “Google Home announcer”.
• Circle: your Circle.
• URL: the Voice Monkey trigger URL from Step 3.
• Events: check_in.created for daily, check_in.missed for the louder alert.

Step 5: Configure the Google Home routine

In the Google Home app on your phone:

1. Tap Routines → Add → Custom routine.
2. Starter: When something happens → A Google Home device receives a command. (Voice Monkey simulates a voice command.)
3. Action: Broadcast a message. Type “Mum has just checked in.”
4. Devices: pick whichever speakers you want (kitchen, all, etc.).
5. Save.

Step 6: Test

Click Test on the Getwello webhook. The Nest device should announce within a few seconds. Adjust volume in Google Home if needed.

Self-hosted alternative (free, more technical)

If you'd rather not pay Voice Monkey, build a small Cloudflare Worker:

1. Worker receives our webhook (HMAC-verified for safety).
2. Uses a library like google-home-notifier on a Raspberry Pi at home, accessed via a Tailscale tunnel.
3. Pi sends the announcement to the Nest.

More work, free forever once running. Skeleton on the developer overview page.

Quiet hours and routing

In Google Home, you can scope each routine to specific speakers. Build two routines: a quiet kitchen-only one for daytime, a louder all-room one for missed-day alerts. Voice Monkey supports multiple Monkeys, so each routine has its own trigger URL.

Troubleshooting

Nothing happens: check Voice Monkey's dashboard for trigger history. If our webhook is not reaching them, the URL is wrong. If they are receiving but Google Home is not firing, check the routine in the Google Home app.

Announcement too loud: Google Home routines play at the speaker's last-set volume. Set it to 30% before testing.