Raspberry Pi Halloween Automation - IFTTT, Alexa, REST API, Network Automation

About this video

A hands-on tutorial for automating Halloween props with a Raspberry Pi, an 8-channel relay, Python and Flask as a REST API. He lists the kit as under 60 bucks total, including a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (he says a Pi 4 or earlier Pi 3 should also work) and an 8-channel relay for about twelve bucks, plus DuPont wires and a prop with a ’try me’ button or step pad. Wiring uses 5V on pin 2 to VCC, ground on pin 6 (plus an extra ground on pin 34 because he says he is paranoid), and GPIO pins 40, 38, 36 and 32 for four relays. The relay simply joins the prop’s two try-me wires. He installs Python 3 Flask, creates Halloween/templates and Halloween/static folders, copies index.html, style.css and halloween.py from his GitHub, tests GPIO high/low from the command line, and runs the script with sudo. That gives a web page to trigger each monster and API routes like /pumpkin and /MonsterMash to fire all of them. He then connects it via IFTTT webhooks (requiring port forwarding on port 80 to the Pi’s private IP 172.27.1.37 and using the public IP in the webhook URL), an Alexa phrase ‘Monster Mash’, and a SolarWinds network monitor alert for a lost ping to 8.8.8.8. He also shows how to extend the script and page to add a fifth relay and a new monster.

Key takeaways

• A relay automates a prop by electrically joining its two ’try me’ wires; no change to the prop itself is needed beyond removing the button and stripping the wires.
• Flask on the Pi turns GPIO control into both a clickable web controller and a REST API that any other system can call with a GET to /.
• His wiring follows specific board pins — 40, 38, 36, 32 for relays, pin 2 for 5V/VCC and pin 6 for ground — and following the script exactly requires matching those pins or editing the code.
• External triggers such as IFTTT and Alexa need port forwarding on port 80 because IFTTT cannot reach a private LAN IP directly; the webhook must use the public IP.
• Adding a monster means declaring its pin at the top of halloween.py, adding that pin to the MonsterMash list, adding an if-branch for its device name, and adding a matching button/link in index.html.

Episode details: published October 27, 2019 · 34:41 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are NetworkChuck’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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