> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.openhome.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Simple Abilities Cookbook

> 200+ Ability ideas organized by location, user, and use case — copy, remix, ship.

The best Ability does something the LLM can't, at a moment the user didn't expect, with information accumulated over time, delivered in fewer words than expected.

This catalog is organized so you can find relevant ideas fast — **by room, by user, by use case, or by vibe.** Every entry is a seed. Pick one, pass it to an LLM with the [SDK Reference](/api-sdk/sdk-reference), and scaffold.

<Tip>
  **Working with an LLM?** Copy any section below and paste it into Claude, Cursor, or the [OpenHome CLI](/guides/getting-started/cli) alongside the SDK Reference. The LLM has everything it needs to draft a working Ability.
</Tip>

***

## By location

### Nightstand / Bedroom

| Ability                    | Description                                                                    |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Morning Manifest           | One sentence: the one thing on your calendar that matters most today           |
| Lights Out Debrief         | Voice-dump everything on your mind; organized into actionable items by morning |
| Tomorrow's Weather Whisper | Only speaks if weather demands action: *"You'll want a coat"*                  |
| Bedtime Story Engine       | Serialized adventure for kids, remembers where it left off                     |
| Midnight Worry Jar         | Captures anxious 2 AM thoughts, reframes as calm to-dos by breakfast           |
| Gratitude Fade-Out         | One good thing from today, ambient tone, silence. 15-second ritual.            |
| Morning Body Check         | *"How are you feeling?"* every morning. One word. Patterns after a month.      |
| Dream Catcher              | Transcribes sleep-talking, builds dream journal with recurring themes          |
| Sleep Debt Tracker         | Logs bed/wake times, weekly report on target gap                               |
| Power Nap Coach            | Optimal wake point, transition sounds, prevents deep sleep                     |

### Living Room (Couple)

| Ability               | Description                                                                            |
| --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Settle It             | Game-show ruling with sound effects for trivial disagreements                          |
| Movie Matchmaker      | Each secretly states mood, speaker threads the needle without revealing preferences    |
| Dinner Decider        | One confident suggestion based on recent meals, preferences, and season                |
| Couple's Trivia       | Pub quiz for two, running all-time scoreboard across weeks                             |
| The Argument Cooldown | Detects heated voices, waits for pause, interjects with something disarming            |
| Weekend Planner       | Friday evening, single activity pitch based on weather + interests + local events      |
| Guest Mode            | Unfamiliar voices → suppresses personal notifications, switches to party behaviors     |
| Anniversary Vault     | Silently captures inside jokes, laughter, heartfelt moments. Compiles for anniversary. |
| Background Narrator   | Narrates mundane activities in nature-documentary or sports-broadcast style            |

### Kitchen

| Ability                    | Description                                                         |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Recipe Walkthrough         | Hands-free, pace-adaptive step-by-step with *"next"* and *"repeat"* |
| Grocery List Builder       | Overhears *"we're out of milk"* and silently adds to list           |
| Cooking Timer Orchestrator | Multiple named timers running simultaneously                        |
| Kitchen Radio DJ           | Plays music + gives brief news/weather during natural breaks        |
| Sous Chef Advisor          | *"Can I substitute X for Y?"* Quick one-shot answers                |

### Conference Room

| Ability                    | Description                                                        |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Decision Logger            | Extracts only decisions from discussion noise into a clean list    |
| Action Item Extractor      | Detects task assignments: owner + task + deadline                  |
| Meeting Recap              | 5-sentence executive summary within 60 seconds of meeting end      |
| Who Talked Most            | Speaking time per person via diarization                           |
| Pre-Meeting Briefer        | 15-second recap of last meeting's decisions and outstanding items  |
| Follow-Up Drafter          | Drafts post-meeting email with summary + action items + next steps |
| Agenda Enforcer            | Gentle chime when group drifts off-topic or overspends time        |
| Cross-Meeting Intelligence | Connects dots across different meetings in the same week           |

### College Dorm

| Ability                  | Description                                                                    |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Study Pomodoro Coach     | 25 min focus, break with fun fact, weekly study-hours log                      |
| Exam Countdown           | Daily casual drop: how many days until next exam                               |
| Cram Session Quiz Master | Infinite rapid-fire quiz adapting to weak spots                                |
| Budget Buddy             | Logs every spending mention, Sunday weekly total with categories               |
| Wake Up Enforcer         | Adapts aggression to class importance. Reads assignments if you keep snoozing. |
| Roommate Mediator        | Tracks shared responsibilities, produces fairness log                          |

### Home Office

| Ability              | Description                                                         |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Focus Guardian       | Blocks interruptions during deep work, only surfaces urgent items   |
| Standup Generator    | Summarizes what you worked on yesterday from ambient context        |
| Meeting Prep Briefer | Before each call, reads attendee context and last-interaction notes |
| End-of-Day Wrap      | *"Here's what you did today"* summary from overheard context        |

### Car / Commute

| Ability              | Description                                                      |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Commute Debrief      | Processes the day on the drive home, captures what went well     |
| Hands-Free Messenger | *"Tell Sarah I'm 10 minutes out"* with zero screen interaction   |
| Traffic-Aware ETA    | Proactively updates ETA as conditions change without being asked |
| Errand Optimizer     | Knows your to-do list + route, suggests optimal stop order       |

***

## By user

### Kids (ages 5–12)

| Ability            | Description                                                                |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Homework Helper    | Walks through problems step by step without giving the answer              |
| Would You Rather   | Endless escalating scenarios, remembers which got biggest laughs           |
| Animal Expert      | Any animal → 3 mind-blowing facts → *"want another or pick a new animal?"* |
| Story Builder      | Collaborative choose-your-own-adventure with AI as wildcard narrator       |
| Spelling Bee Coach | Gives word, uses in sentence, tracks mastery across sessions               |
| Mystery Detective  | Short mystery scene, kid asks yes/no questions to solve the case           |

### Kids games (ages 8–10)

| Ability            | Description                                                                    |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Boss Battle Trivia | Correct answers deal damage to bosses. Wrong = boss attacks. Loot drops.       |
| Monster Collector  | Correct answers catch randomly generated monsters. Common to legendary rarity. |
| Speed Round        | 3-second timer, dramatic streak counter, sports-commentator scoring            |
| Dungeon Crawler    | Persistent character, levels up across days, permadeath = real stakes          |
| Conspiracy Board   | One new clue per day. Solve the week-long mystery.                             |

### Parents

| Ability                    | Description                                                          |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Baby Sleep Tracker         | Logs sleep/wake cycles from ambient audio, surfaces patterns         |
| Toddler Vocabulary Tracker | Maps language development against milestones, flags potential delays |
| Family Calendar Sync       | *"Does anyone have anything Thursday?"* checks all family calendars  |
| Bedtime Routine Manager    | Guides kids through brush teeth → story → lights out sequence        |

### Elderly users

| Ability                  | Description                                                                    |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Medication Reminder      | Gentle, persistent, logs whether confirmation was given                        |
| Cognitive Wellness Check | Tracks word-finding difficulty and repetition over months                      |
| Family Connection        | *"Call your daughter"* with simplified voice dialing                           |
| Daily Companion          | Morning greeting, weather, news headlines, gentle check-in. Combats isolation. |

### Professionals

| Ability                | Description                                                            |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Executive Brief        | Morning synthesis of calendar, market moves, key emails, team updates  |
| Sales Call Scorer      | Post-call analysis of talk ratio, question quality, objection handling |
| Client Meeting Debrief | After client leaves: *"What did we learn? What do we owe them?"*       |

***

## By use case

### Health & wellness

| Ability                    | Description                                                                      |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Mood Logger                | Daily one-word check-in. Monthly patterns. Seasonal insights.                    |
| Guided Meditation Selector | Picks meditation from API based on time, mood, stress level                      |
| Breathing Exercise Coach   | Guided box breathing, 4-7-8, Wim Hof with voice timing                           |
| Symptom Tracker            | Logs mentions of how you feel. *"You've mentioned headaches 4 times this week."* |
| Voice Health Scanner       | Detects micro-changes in pitch, pace, breathiness → early-illness detection      |

### Productivity

| Ability                        | Description                                                                  |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Inbox Zero Coach               | Reads email subjects, you triage by voice: *"delete, reply later, urgent"*   |
| Voice-to-Task                  | *"Remind me to call the plumber Thursday"* → creates task in Todoist/Asana   |
| Weekly Review                  | Friday afternoon: what you accomplished, what carried over, what's next week |
| Voice Notes to Structured Docs | Rambling voice input → organized markdown/PDF output                         |

### Finance

| Ability                    | Description                                                        |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Portfolio Pulse            | Morning one-liner: how your investments moved overnight            |
| Spending Tracker           | Logs every mentioned purchase. Sunday summary with categories.     |
| Trending Stocks            | What retail traders are buzzing about. Top movers. Unusual volume. |
| Bank Balance Reality Check | *"Can I afford that?"* → pulls actual balance + upcoming bills     |

### Entertainment

| Ability                | Description                                                                       |
| ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Song of the Day        | Summarizes mood + events, sends to Suno API, generates unique song about YOUR day |
| Movie/Show Recommender | Learns taste over weeks, factors in mood, who's in the room, time of day          |
| Live Sports Companion  | Score updates, key plays, proactive alerts when it gets close                     |
| Spotify Time Machine   | *"What was I listening to a year ago today?"* → nostalgia playlist                |

### Shopping & logistics

| Ability             | Description                                                                 |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Price Watcher       | *"Watch that TV on Amazon"* → monitors → announces when price drops         |
| Grocery Auto-Order  | List builds passively from kitchen mentions → sends order for confirmation  |
| Package Tracker     | *"Where's my stuff?"* → consolidates all deliveries, proactive delay alerts |
| Gift Idea Collector | Logs when family mentions wanting something. Surfaces list before holidays. |

### Smart home & IoT

| Ability          | Description                                                                |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Scene Controller | *"Movie time"* → dims lights, sets thermostat, closes blinds, starts media |
| Morning Routine  | *"Good morning"* triggers lights, coffee, weather, calendar in sequence    |
| Security Check   | *"Is the house locked up?"* → checks all locks, cameras, alarm status      |

***

## Always-on and Watcher

Abilities that run as [Background Daemons](/building-abilities/background-abilities) — no wake word, continuous monitoring.

| Ability              | Description                                                     |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Life Logger          | Always-on ambient capture, daily summaries to dashboard         |
| Baby Monitor Plus    | Detects crying, unusual silence, sleep breathing. Alerts phone. |
| Meeting Scribe       | Auto-starts when 3+ voices heard, writes notes until silence    |
| Daily To-Do Compiler | Catches all *"I need to..."* mentions → to-do list by evening   |
| Gratitude Harvester  | Catches positive statements all day, weekly gratitude list      |
| Dream Recorder       | Captures sleep-talking, builds journal without lifting a finger |
| Profanity Jar        | Beeps on bad words. Running tally. Weekly fine announcement.    |

***

## Hot-mic and Deepgram showcase

Abilities that use [raw mic access + Deepgram](/building-abilities/hot-mic-deepgram):

| Ability                      | Description                                                                        |
| ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Meeting Notes                | Records the meeting, diarizes via Deepgram, returns speaker-labeled notes          |
| Interview Recorder           | Records full interview. Q\&A transcript, key quotes, candidate summary             |
| Argument Referee             | Neutral diarized summary: *"Speaker A's main point was X. Speaker B's was Y."*     |
| Language Practice Partner    | Records you in target language, flags low-confidence words for pronunciation       |
| Public Speaking Coach        | Pace, filler words, sentence variation → coaching notes                            |
| Dog Bark Detector            | Classifies barking frequency and timing. *"Buddy barked 12 times, mostly 2–3 PM."* |
| Doorbell Detector            | Percussive audio events. No smart doorbell needed.                                 |
| Appliance Sound Monitor      | Listens for buzzers — laundry, oven, dishwasher done signals                       |
| Glass Break / Alarm Detector | High-energy audio events, optionally sends WebSocket alert                         |
| Song ID                      | Records short ambient clip → music recognition API → title + artist                |
| Noise Level Monitor          | Analyzes raw PCM amplitude. No API needed. Reports spikes.                         |

***

## Creative & maker

| Ability             | Description                                                    |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Beat Maker          | Describe a vibe, AI generates beat via audio API for freestyle |
| Sound Effect Studio | *"Spaceship landing sound"* → ElevenLabs SFX API generates it  |
| Writing Prompt      | Daily creative prompt tailored to genre and current project    |
| Remix My Day        | Transcript of your day → generates lo-fi ambient track from it |
| Mood Playlist       | Detects mood from voice, generates Spotify playlist to match   |

***

## Niche & weird

| Ability            | Description                                                     |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Wine Pairing       | Describe dinner, AI suggests wine from sommelier API            |
| Dad Joke Engine    | Endless supply, progressively worse, groan-tracking scoreboard  |
| Plant Care         | *"How often water my fiddle leaf fig?"* + scheduled reminders   |
| Hot Take Generator | Spicy opinion generated, group debates, AI judges               |
| Life Narrator      | Morgan Freeman mode: narrates what you're doing in real-time    |
| Compliment Machine | Daily compliment on detection. Silly but surprisingly powerful. |
| Random Fact Cannon | Fires obscure fact at random meal times. Greatest-hits list.    |

***

## How to pick one

1. **Scan by your target location or user** — which table fits?
2. **Pick one that makes you smile or solves a real pain**
3. **Open [How to Build an Ability](/building-abilities/how-to-build)**
4. **Paste the row into an LLM** along with the [SDK Reference](/api-sdk/sdk-reference) and ask for a scaffold
5. **Ship to the [Marketplace](/marketplace)** when it works

> The best Ability does something the LLM can't, at a moment the user didn't expect, with information accumulated over time, delivered in fewer words than expected.