Okay, folks, let’s dive into how I got my phone apps talking to ChatGPT. It wasn’t exactly straightforward, but I managed to cobble something together, and I’m here to share the messy, beautiful process.
First, I brainstormed what I actually wanted to achieve. I mean, “integrating” apps sounds cool, but what does that really mean? I decided I wanted to be able to quickly send stuff from my phone – notes, screenshots, maybe even voice memos – straight to ChatGPT for processing, and get responses back.
The Tools
This is where things got a bit… experimental. I’m no coding wizard, so I went with what I (sort of) knew:
- ChatGPT API: Obviously, I needed this to talk to the big brain itself. I already had an account, so that was easy.
- Tasker: I’ve used this Android app for years to automate random phone stuff. It’s kinda like a Swiss Army knife for your phone.
- Join (by joaoapps): Also I used this app for sending message between phone and PC.
The Messy Middle
This is where I spent most of my time, banging my head against the wall. I started by figuring out how to send a simple text message from Tasker to ChatGPT via the API. Lots of Googling, lots of trial and error. The API documentation was helpful, but it still took some fiddling to get the formatting right.
Once I could send a basic text prompt, I moved on to sending more complex data. Screenshots were tricky. I figured out I could have Tasker save the screenshot to a specific folder, then use Join send file to PC,then use python script to read the images send to ChatGPT. That took a lot of messing around with file paths and permissions.
Voice memos were even more of a pain. I ended up using a combination of Tasker’s built-in voice recording function and Google cloud, then send the file path to ChatGPT, and get result back, display by Tasker. Super clunky, but it kinda worked!
Getting Responses Back
Sending stuff to ChatGPT was only half the battle. I also wanted to see the responses on my phone, ideally without having to switch apps constantly. I played around with a few options here:
- Tasker, then join to get the response.
The (Sort of) Finished Product
After a few days of tinkering, I had a system that… well, it mostly worked. It wasn’t pretty, and it definitely wasn’t perfect. But I could:
- Take a screenshot of something and send it to ChatGPT with a question like, “What’s this about?”
- Record a voice memo and have ChatGPT summarize it or answer questions about it.
- Send text snippets from any app directly to ChatGPT for quick analysis.
It’s still a work in progress. I’m constantly tweaking it, finding new ways to break it, and then (hopefully) fixing it. It’s not something I’d recommend for everyone, but if you’re comfortable with a bit of technical jankiness and you’re willing to put in the time, it’s a pretty cool way to extend ChatGPT’s capabilities.
So, that’s my story! It’s a bit rough around the edges, but that’s the reality of DIY tech projects, right? Hope this gives you some ideas, or at least a good laugh at my struggles.