UPDATED VERSION: ruclips.net/video/_iylLGSDdcE/видео.html - This video has been updated. Please visit the previous link to watch a more recent version of this tutorial.
Really well done. This is the first tutorial I found that took a novice like myself through the process step by step using language a novice could understand. Thanks.
Steve this is so well done. We watched the previous one and then this helped so much for the rookies we are. My 9-year old and I made our first Fitness Facts skill. Already thinking what’s next. One thing: use “Virginia” instead of Ohio because something on the trigger options wasn’t available without... Do you have suggestions for easily adding dynamic content to keep a skill updated?
Thanks so much Hans. It's great to hear you're getting your son into building skills with you. I introduced my son to coding when he was about that age too. Also, yes, I forgot to mention that only some regions support Alexa. I'll be sure to include that in the next update. Thanks again!
Awesome, work fine. I was trying to extend it with 2 slots. The kind of stange thing is as soon as theres some kind of "room" name in the slot.. as office, kitchen etc... I just get: "I didn't find any Smart Home devices under Norman's account. To get started, go to the Smart Home section of the Alexa App." in the tests. Slots are even custom type...
Hey Steve, Great tutorial video! Clearly you are well versed with AWS and Alexa skill for you to be able to create a skill from start to finish in less than 15 minutes!! I will be referring to it tonight when I start working on my second Alexa skill. Glad you made an update...very helpful... THANKS!
Excellent tutorial! I tried to follow Amazon's docs for creating a skill but they all seemed frustratingly out of date. This tutorial was really clear and helpful. Thank you so much!
Hi Mark. Try changing your AWS region to 'N. Virginia' - here is a quick video that will show you how to do that if your not familiar with the process. ruclips.net/video/rg4xVs3JBSk/видео.html That should fix the issue.
You're very welcome - thanks for the nice comment. You can use Auna or any Alexa enabled device with any Alexa skill that you create. The only requirement is that the device uses Alexa but it doesn't have to be an Amazon device.
This was really useful thank you. I followed your example changing the name of the skill and replacing the list of space facts with quotes. When I test I'm getting quotes from the author/speaker but not the ones that are in my code! They also have the book reference (which always seems to be the same) for the quote and that is not in my code either. It's spooky. Searching around I see articles on how to add more content to keep users engaged. I would just like to have my favourite quotes read out and not ones I have no control over from somewhere else. I'm going to try to see if anyone in the dev forums has any ideas of what I've not done or not done correctly.
Hi Anne. Thanks for the comment and I'm glad to hear the video was useful. In the space facts skill, I believe it supports both US English and UK English - can you confirm that you update the facts for both? I suspect that might be the issue.
I recall there being a file for US English but not one for UK English. I know I only changed the facts in one file that's for sure. Surely if that was the problem I'd get a mixture of quotes and space facts? Here I'm getting quotes but not the ones I entered. My biggest question is where are these quotes being pulled from and how? lol I'll try to look into to this at the weekend. I'll test with just getting the space facts up and running first and try changing the data after. Today I want to concentrate on interactive story telling and to check out Storyline as an option.
Ah, OK. One more thought... perhaps another skill used the same invocation name that you're using and it's enabled on your account. Check the skill you have enabled and see if any might be causing the conflict. Also, make sure that you've enabled testing on your skill in the developer console.
Thanks for the video, it was so helpful to understand the process with the new UI. It's a shame, that I had to search for so many hours (even in Amazon's doc) for a tutorial with the newer UI.
Thanks for the comment, Michael. The good news is that the Alexa service and tools are getting better FAST. The bad news is, keeping tutorials and code examples current is really tricky. But, I'm going to continue trying to keep pace. Thanks again for the comment!
Hi DabbleLab! I got an Echo Dot on PrimeDay. I finally got into using it yesterday. While trying to fall in love with Alexa, I realized I have a need for a custom skill. Skill Wish: I want to ask Alexa what time I need to go to bed if I have to get up at x:xx. Question: Is it possible to create a skill that will tell you when you should go to bed to achieve ‘x’ number hours of sleep, given the need to wake up at ‘x:xx’? -Ex: “Alexa, ask [invocation name (? Haha-hope I’m getting this right?)] what time I need to go to bed if I have to wake up at 6:30am?” She’ll then ask something like, “That depends. How many hours of sleep do you require?” I’ll answer her, and she’ll quickly compute my ideal bedtime of “Hmmm. Looks like you should go to sleep by 11pm to wake up refreshed. Hope that helps and Sweet Dreams.” (Maybe once I get good enough, I could even add mixed endings instead of “sweet dreams” every night, like “don’t forget to brush your teeth!) Background: I have zero coding or computer skills. I’m generally a quick study, excellent at following directions, love language, and think your videos are fantastic! I’m tech-stupid, but I find your videos interesting and easy-to-follow. I hope that makes sense, and I look forward to your response!
Hi Lindsey! I love your skill idea - I totally need that skill too. It would be a fairly simple skill to build and if you're new to programming it would make the perfect project to start with. You could go through the course I've posted here on the Dabble Lab RUclips channel to get most of the functionality done and the only other thing you'd need to do is write a bit of Javascript to calculate the difference between two date/time values. So, you'd just add the hours they want to sleep to the time they want to wake up. Here is a link to generally how you'd do that in Javascript. www.w3resource.com/javascript-exercises/javascript-date-exercise-45.php. Let me know if you have any questions as you get into it. Again, I think this is a perfect skill idea to get started with and I bet you'll really enjoy learning how to build it. I hope this is helpful and keep me posted on your progress.
Hi Lo. Your AWS management console probably defaults to a region that doesn't support Alexa. Here is a video I did that shows how to fix that. ruclips.net/video/rg4xVs3JBSk/видео.html - I hope that helps!
Hi Margaux, yes we can build an Alexa skill for your business. Let's connect and we can discuss further. Here is a link you can use to schedule a meeting. dabblelab.com/schedule Thanks and I look forward to connecting!
This is SUCH a great tutorial - Thank you so much for helping the rest of us :-) I have a question concerning the list of facts (data) is there a limit to the number of facts that you can put in or a "best practices" number of facts?? Again, Thank You!!
Hi Megan. Thanks for the nice feedback and you're very welcome! On your question... there isn't a limit to the number of facts you could have although the way this skill works it's generating a random fact so if you had tons of questions I'd guess that most users would not hear most facts. This isn't really a best practice but my suggestion is perhaps 20-30 facts. I hope that helps.
Thanks! for the reply - I am making a kind of game where most users would not want to hear the random fact more than one - they would want a new one each time hence my question
Thanks! I’ve looked at creating skills in Python but mostly I’ve just been focused on using Node.js. I’ve stuck to Node because I like the Alexa Skills Kit SDK for Node and the Jovo Framework for building cross-platform skills for both Alexa and Google Assistant.
There is a project flask-ask for python, but your best bet would be to use the native sdk. Strangely enough, the last I read, I thought the IoT skills use python...but no python sdk
Thanks for the video, very helpful! I am trying to figure out if it is possible for the user to ask for a specific fact and not be getting random facts. Thank you again.
Hi Alexander. Thanks for the comment and I'm glad you found the video helpful. Yes, you can absolutely build a skill that will let the user ask for a specific fact. Here is a video I did that should get you pointed in the right direction for doing that ruclips.net/video/IsFUdJQVxLs/видео.html
Watched the video twice still can't figure out how to make my idea work. How would you approach making a skill that goes like this (example): User: Alexa, ask (invocation name) for a fact on mars. Alexa: Here's a fact about mars, blablabla. But being able to ask for any planet and getting a specific answer for each question. Let's say 20 different questions like this in the same skill.
Hi, I found your video very helpful, but when I went into AWS and Lambda, and then used the GitHub, it did not allow me to edit the code, do I need to for it to work with what I did in the ASK or no? Thanks
Hi there. Glad the video was helpful. I'm not sure I'm fully following your question - are you trying to update the code in GitHub or in the AWS web console?
Hey! It was pretty informative video, so if i want to make a custom skill that can access my university portal and tell me what assignments are due or when the exams are, if that is possible please let me know i would want to do it as a project, thank you
Hi Rushiraj, thanks for the comment. Yes, you could build a skill that accesses the data on your university portal. If they have an API than that would make it simple because it's easy to call external APIs in an Alexa skill - here is a video on how to do that ruclips.net/video/vsEaGjPPLqM/видео.html. If there isn't an API you'd need to scrape the data from the web portal which is a bit more work but still doable. I hope that helps and thanks again for the comment.
Dabble Lab thank you so much for the reply, I don’t think our university has an api, i guess ill have to scrape the data but i dont know if that’s doable, can you link me video that teaches about scraping from a university portal or if you can help in any way i would appreciate it, thanks again
Thank you so much for the tutorial. I am a little confused as to why the code that comes on fact-skill editor on aws.amazon is different from the code in the github repository's index.js (under custom). Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated!
You're very welcome. I think the reason for the difference has to do with the fact that there was recently an update to the Alexa Skills Kit SDK (new version is 2.0) and the code I have in this example is using the old SDK (1.0). Thanks for pointing this out. I'll check into it - might be time to update this video. Thanks again!
Hi, thank you for your prompt reply. Even though the code in the video is different from that on github, it runs and is what I got when I used the blueprint online. In fact, when I tried running the code on github's index.js, it didn't run. On the other hand, I tried doing the hello world example from the github code and that runs but when I tried writing it in the form of the boilerplate code from the blueprint (which seems easier to understand), it didn't run. I'm very confused and have been trying to convert one type of code into the other and vice versa but haven't been successful! :(
Hey Nick. I just published a new video that walks through creating a Flash Briefing skill. That's probably what you're looking for. Here is the link. ruclips.net/video/OqMwmXag7-Q/видео.html - I hope that helps.
Hi Pavel. I'm glad to hear you found the video helpful. Here is a link to another video that shows how to use .mp3 files to send a response. If you wanted to use your voice, you'd just need to record an .mp3 for each response. Here is the video link ruclips.net/video/pKlnpf0SsoE/видео.html - I hope it helps.
Thanks Dabble,Very Clearly Explained.But i am facing an issue,alexa is not taking my voice input and it shows no content when i speak with mic or when i type like alexa, tell me something...it is working only the invocation name-like->>> Knowledge fact....please help me out.Thanks
No, I have not done a video on that. I did do a video on useing Amazon Lex to create a basic chatbot but it does not show how to call the Lex API from a Lambda function which is what you'd need to do.
Hi Im am having problems with my IntentRequest, they are not being invoked. Only the invocations. I checked and tested on the Lambda, it works fine. Must be on my Developer Console.
Hi Steve, great video, If possible can you share some insight on the following info I received from Amazon dev certification team? Thanks in advance. See below: Your skill does not meet Example Phrase requirements listed below: The first example phrase must include both the wake word and invocation name of the skill. Actual: Alexa, open free things to do in Orlando Expected: Alexa open orlando free admission attractions
Hey Ty, thanks, glad you liked the video. For the example phrase, you need to format it in one of two ways. First, Alexa, [open | start] [invocation_name] or, Alexa, [ask | tell] [invocation_name] [utternace]. So, for example, if your invocation name was 'orlando free admission attractions' and you had and one of your utterances was 'to list attractions' you might have either of the following example phrases... 'Alexa, open orlando free admission attractions' or 'Alexa, ask orlando free admission attractions to list attractions' - Check out the docs for more details - here is a link developer.amazon.com/docs/custom-skills/understanding-how-users-invoke-custom-skills.html - I hope that helps.
Hi there. Sorry you're running into issues. Try changing your AWS region to 'N. Virginia' - here is a quick video that will show you how to do that if you're not familiar with the process. ruclips.net/video/rg4xVs3JBSk/видео.html That should fix the issue.
I wrote out the steps to his instructions below! Hope this helps you guys! :) ------------------------------------------------------ How to create an Alexa skill hosted in AWS using Lambda This example is how to create a skill that gives you facts about outer space 1. Create Amazon Developer account on developer.amazon.com 2. Create AWS account on aws.amazon.com 3. Log in to Amazon Developer account 4. Click on Your Alexa Consoles 5. Create Skill 1. Click on Create Skill 2. Give your skill a name 3. Select language 4. Select Custom 5. Click on Create skill 6. Click on Start from scratch 7. Click on Choose 6. Configure Skill 1. On the left pane, click on Invocation and write in a Skill Invocation Name (in this example we will use “space facts”) 2. Click on Save Model 3. On the left pane, click on CUSTOM to go to the home page of your new skill 4. Click on Sample Alexa Projects under the section that says Resources which is under the How to get started video 5. Click on skill-sample-nodejs-fact 6. Click on models 7. Click on en-US.json 8. Click on Raw 9. Copy all the lines of code to your clipboard 10. Go back to your web browser tab that is on the dashboard of your newly created skill 11. On the left pane, click on JSON Editor 12. Select all the code that is there and delete it 13. Now paste the code you had copied earlier from the other tab with the raw code from raw.githubusercontent.com/alexa/skill-sample-nodejs-fact/master/models/en-US.json 14. Click Build 7. Set up Endpoint 1. On the left pane, click on Endpoint 2. Select AWS Lambda ARN 3. Copy the Skill ID to your clipboard 4. open up a new web browser tab 5. Got to aws.amazon.com and log in 6. Search for the Lambda service and go to it 7. Click on Create a function 8. Click on Blueprints 9. Search for “Alexa” 10. Click on Alexa-skill-kit-sdk-factskill 11. Give your function a name (in this example, we will use “fact-skill”) 12. Under Role, click on custom role 13. Click Allow 14. Click on Create Function 15. Add Trigger 1. Click on Create Trigger 2. Click on Alexa Skills Kit 3. Click on Configuration required 4. Paste your skill’s ID that you had copied to your clipboard 5. Click Add 16. Click on Save at the top right of the page 17. Copy the ARN of your Lambda function that is at the top right of the page 18. Go back to your web browser tab on developer.amazon.com that you were setting up your skill on 19. Past the ARN of the Lambda function you just copied to where it says Default Region 20. Click Save Endpoints 8. Test the endpoint 1. Test with your Echo at home or on the web page by calling it with the invocation name 2. Say “Alexa, open up space facts”
I do not see Alexa Skills kit trigger in my trigger list. The only trigger available to choose are API gateway, AWS IoT, Cloudwatch events and logs, COde COmmit, Cognito, Dynoma..... so on...... Was there anyy update to the page after march 2018.
Hi Aarti. Alexa is not available in all AWS regions so I'm guessing that the region you're working in just needs to be changed. Here is a quick video that explains how to change it. ruclips.net/video/rg4xVs3JBSk/видео.html - I believe that will resolve the issue.
Hi Steve Sir, I was trying to create a basic fact skill using the predefined program which is being used for space facts. On changing the space facts to my facts, the index.js was showing 'Parsing error: Unterminated string constant' on some of my facts. Can you help me solve this problem?
Hi Ikjot. It sounds like you're missing a single or double quotation mark. Each string/fact needs to be inside single quotation marks like... 'this is my fact' or double quotation marks like... "this is another fact". If a word in your fact contains an apostrophe then you'll need to escape it if you're using single quotes. For example... 'this is steve\'s fact' but if you use double quotation marks you don't need to escape. For example... "this is steve's fact". You might also try adding your facts one-at-a-time to see which one is causing the error. I hope this helps!
so I have another question - how do I play a (mp3) sound effect from the sound library after Alexa says, "here's your fact" ? Thanks for your help - I TRULY appreciate it :-)
Hey Dabble, thanks for the great tutorial. I've noticed that the test simulator only responds with the correct data when I ask "alexa tell me a space fact". Any other utterance that is in the json editor such as: tell me a space trivia or give me some information only comes back with a and there is no input/output data in the skill I/O. Any help fixing this issue would be appreciated. Thanks!
No, this is also happening while testing on devices. I only get a response while saying "alexa tell me a space fact". Alexa stays silent to all other utterances. And thanks for the reply!
How about if you say: 'Alexa, open space facts'? or 'Alexa, tell me a space trivia'? Are you including the 'Alexa' wake word and are all of the utterances you're trying added to / included in the interaction model?
Yes I always start with alexa and only use utterances listed in the interaction model. When I say Alexa, open space facts it gives me a fact instead of the intro landing. And when I say Alexa give me(/tell me) a space trivia, I get this: then "Welcome to the Space trivia. Say start to start the trivia. Or say help to learn about the trivia." There is also no action in the Skill I/O during this event.
Okay, your skill might be conflicting with another skill you have enabled. Check out this video that walks through what you can try to fix that. ruclips.net/video/XH_wzjQa1bw/видео.html
Hey! Beginner here! I followed the steps and got it working great! But as a hit distribution and fill in the details under "Example Phrase 101 - I entered "Alexa, Tell me a space fact" - I keep getting "The example phrase must start with Alexa as the wake word." any idea why?
You're super close. You just need to enter something like "Alexa, ask space facts to tell me a fact" the utterance needs to include the "Alexa" for the wake word along with the invocation name for the skill ("space facts"). Make sense?
when i go to search for the blueprint, It will not show any results when I search "Alexa". Am I doing something wrong? I have followed all the steps so far and am stuck here. Someone please leave a helpful comment. Thanks!
Do you know why does the skill arn doesn't change even though I make more lambda function? Also it keep says that the role (lambda_basic_execution) already exists when I try to make a new custom role.
Hi, great tutorial. Everything worked for me until the last step i.e. the testing step. When I speak into the microphone (or even when I type) "alexa open space fact", nothing happens. I don't get a result back from lambda. Do you know how to resolve this. I'm using N. Virgina for lambda
Thanks, Karthik! This might be a small thing but could be causing the issue... the default invocation name is "space facts" (with an 's' on 'facts'). If you're just typing "alexa, open space fact" that might be the issue. can you confirm if it doesn't work with the 's' on 'facts'?
Hi Steve, No this isn't it. I tried many phrases, "alexa open space facts" , "alexa open space fact" , "space facts", "space fact" and nothing works. Thanks
Questions aren't limited here - ask away - as often as you like! I can't always promise a same day response but I try. On your question... I don't know of a tutorial for turning an FAQ into an Alexa skill. However, I'm working on a new online course that walks through building and FAQ/knowledge base skill as the example. If you register at learn.dabblelab.com you'll get a notification when that course is completed. I'm targeting early June.
I have already registered there LOL and taken your first (free) course - you have a great teaching style and I;m really looking forward to taking further courses from you if I can afford them. It sounds like what you have planned is EXACTLY what I need!. Cheers! :-)
Question, how can I also use the different utterance instead of just saying "Alexa open {my alexa skill}"? Or Once I say Alexa open {my alexa skill} and Alexa response how can I handle other prompts as well?
Hi Zahid. I go into that in other videos. Here is a link to a recent one that shows a simple example of what you're asking. ruclips.net/video/8QHnSSKbIH4/видео.html - let me know if that doesn't answer your question. Thanks!
Hi Steve, I have created a alexa skill , It working fine in Alexa Simulator but does not work in my echo plus device. Can you help me to get out from this issue?
Hi Steve, I have this Radio Streaming alexa skill and i use your audio-stream-starter-alexa template. I have this problem that after 30 mins of playing the stream, it suddenly stops. Do you have any idea what is going on? or do i have to configure something on the settings? I'm using Amazon Echo. THanks in advance. BTW, Great Video Tutorials...
Yes, It is always exactly at 30 mins. I have tested it more than five times already. I used our streaming url and also i tried using the streaming url on your audio-stream-starter-alexa template but still no luck, after 30 mins the stream stops. Thanks for the reply.. Appreciated much.
Hi Kristian. This is strange. I looked into it a bit more and I'm not sure it's an issue with Alexa. Could your Internet provider be limiting audio streaming to 30 minutes? You might try testing on a different network to see if the issue persists. Again, I don't think this is an issue with Alexa or the skill - my guess is that it's network or router related. Sorry I couldn't be more help.
Hi steve, can you please help me. im having a bit of problems right here. when i click "click create a custom role" it leads me to my dashboard unlike yours where it basically just pops up and leads you to that simple tab
ohh thank god after 25mins i finally found the solution lol just had to change my region to N. virginia, thanks steve i only saw it when you replied to a comment, everythings now going good again.
Dabble Lab my problem now is how do i actually create my own content/skill with the given alexa blueprint. Tried changing some codes through & obviously there has to a process coding put into there in which i really do have a hard time. Taking a break from it atm first, indeed frustrating haha
Question: I am completely new to Alexa Skills. My question is if say I build an Alexa Skill and was downloaded by 1 million people, do I EVER pay for AWS services. I am confused about aws services and its link to building and deploying Alexa skills.
Hi Gurtej. That's a good question. For starters the skills don't actually get 'downloaded' they live in the cloud and there are two parts to a skill. The voice user interface (that's created in developer.amazon.com) and code that provides the skills functionality (the "back-end") which we used AWS Lambda for in this tutorial. Hosting the voice user interface on developer.amazon.com is free. However, AWS Lambda is a paid service. But, AWS provides a "free tier" meaning you don't pay anything until your usage goes over a certain amount. In the case of Lambda that is 1 million requests per month. So, you wouldn't pay anything unless your skill was getting more than 1 million requests per month. Does that make sense?
@@dabblelab thank you very much. Just to clarify when you say over 1M requests, you mean 1M people using the skill in one given month? If answer is yes, my follow up question would be why am I paying for someone else using the skill since I am providing it free of cost to everyone. Also what is that 750 free hours thing on AWS.
@@GurtejSGrewal You're very welcome. No, it's not 1M people, it's 1M requests. So, you could have one person that makes multiple requests. On your question about why pay if you're not charging for the skill - you might want to charge for the skill if people like it and you're having to pay. On your last question, the 750 free hours apply to other services - Lambda is on a per request basis. Also, for more details on the AWS pricing, you'll probably want to contact Amazon directly - I'm not affiliated with Amazon in any way and I would not claim to be an expert on their pricing. So, I wouldn't want to unintentionally steer you in the wrong direction. I hope that helps.
Hey Robert, we might be a fit for that. If not we can find someone to help you for sure. You can use this URL to set up a time that works for a call. dabblelab.com/schedule - or if you'd prefer, shoot me an email to steve@dabblelab.com and we can discuss tit hat way. I look forward to connecting and possibily working together!
Hi Brandon. Are you interested in hiring someone to build a skill or are you looking for some guidance on doing it yourself? Either way, I'm happy to try and help. Also, when you say "turn something on and off" are you referring to hardward and if so is it a device you're building?
Dabble Lab I’m looking to do it myself but the research that I did it’s on able to happen....I wanted to make Alexa turn my PS4 on but this skill set e control and Of the software only works on Windows or android
You can but you'd still need to host the skill service someplace and there would likely be a cost. You can setup a new AWS account that provides a free tier for up to one million Lambda requests. Unless your skill is super popular that should cover you. You can check out the free tier at aws.amazon.com/free - I hope that helps.
Hey Jacob, the most likely reason for the error is that you have a typo in the json that you're editing. For example, you might have an extra quotation mark or you might be missing a comma. You might try validating your json code using an online validator like jsonlint.com/.
Hi Navya, that is a great question. The code that was copied from the json editor is referred to as the "interaction model" and it's used to train the Alexa service so that's it's able to recognize when a user is requesting functionality from your skill and how to collect the information your skill service will need to fulfill the user's request. Does that makes sense?
Hey there. Great tutorial, thanks a lot for this. I just have one problem. I did everything exactly as you did, but if I go to the Test section and when I either say "Alexa open space facts" or if I type it, it just doesn't work. Those "pending" bubbles stay there forever and I get no response at all. Do you have any idea what the problem could be?
Humm, that's strange. Try setting the skill id on the lambda trigger again. Seems like it cant' get to the lambda function. Also, it could just be a temporary issue with the test console.
Hi Dominik, thanks for the nice comment! On the problem, you're running into... Can you confirm that you copied and pasted the skill id when you set up the lambda function? Also, are you using en-US for the skill language?
Hi Allan, sorry to hear you're running into issues testing the skill. Can you confirm that you copied and pasted the skill id when you set up the lambda function? Also, are you using en-US for the skill language?
I would like to create a skill for my internet radio station. I am visually impaired, and would pay for the help. I would like the skill to be public so that asking Alexa to enable it would work. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Hunt, can you post the URL to your radio station feed? I’m sure we can assist but if we can take a look at the feed URL that will help determine what it would take to set it up. Thanks!
SOLUTION: If you have ADGUARD running in the background - TURN THAT SHIT OFF! I mean completely OFF! Dont just whitelist Amazon because it wont be enough.
This is great but I've followed this three times and it is still not calling _my_ space facts. I will follow up once I figure out what you are missing.
UPDATED VERSION: ruclips.net/video/_iylLGSDdcE/видео.html - This video has been updated. Please visit the previous link to watch a more recent version of this tutorial.
That was very helpful and straight to the point. Thank you.
I'm glad it was helpful, Anees. Thanks so much for watching and for the nice feedback!
Perfect tutorial - there are tons out there and they are all either too short or too long. This one was right on the money! Thanks!
Thanks for the nice feedback - I'm happy you liked the tutorial!
Followed each step and it worked exactly as explained - from zero to hero in 20 mins - awesome work !!
Thanks Sundesh! Glad it worked for you - keep building!
Really well done.
This is the first tutorial I found that took a novice like myself through the process step by step using language a novice could understand.
Thanks.
Thanks Curt! I'm glad to know the video was helpful.
Thank you for creating this video. I haven't programmed Alexa for 1-1/2 years and this got me up and running again with no frustration.
Hi Marty. Thanks for the great comment! I'm glad to hear the video got you up and running... frustration free.Thanks again.
Then I moved on to streaming audio, thanks to your excellent video and code!
Great video. Give shortest path to success in half the time.
Steve this is so well done. We watched the previous one and then this helped so much for the rookies we are. My 9-year old and I made our first Fitness Facts skill. Already thinking what’s next. One thing: use “Virginia” instead of Ohio because something on the trigger options wasn’t available without...
Do you have suggestions for easily adding dynamic content to keep a skill updated?
Thanks so much Hans. It's great to hear you're getting your son into building skills with you. I introduced my son to coding when he was about that age too. Also, yes, I forgot to mention that only some regions support Alexa. I'll be sure to include that in the next update. Thanks again!
Awesome, work fine. I was trying to extend it with 2 slots. The kind of stange thing is as soon as theres some kind of "room" name in the slot.. as office, kitchen etc... I just get: "I didn't find any Smart Home devices under Norman's account. To get started, go to the Smart Home section of the Alexa App." in the tests. Slots are even custom type...
Thanks a ton so happy to find a newer video with all the recent changes
You're very welcome! Thanks for the nice comment.
Good tutorial, thanks!
If you can't choose Alexa as trigger on the AWS site, change your location (on the top) to N. Virginia
Hey Steve, Great tutorial video! Clearly you are well versed with AWS and Alexa skill for you to be able to create a skill from start to finish in less than 15 minutes!! I will be referring to it tonight when I start working on my second Alexa skill. Glad you made an update...very helpful... THANKS!
Thanks so much for the comment! I'm very glad you like the video and found it helpful. Thanks again!
Excellent tutorial! I tried to follow Amazon's docs for creating a skill but they all seemed frustratingly out of date. This tutorial was really clear and helpful. Thank you so much!
Liked and subscribed!
Thanks for the great feedback James - I'm glad it was helpful!
Thanks for updating this video. Really helpful to figure out where I was going wrong.
You're welcome Robert, I'm glad it was helpful and you were able to get things working.
I'm trying to add the trigger on lambda but alexa skills kit isint showing up..?
Hi Mark. Try changing your AWS region to 'N. Virginia' - here is a quick video that will show you how to do that if your not familiar with the process. ruclips.net/video/rg4xVs3JBSk/видео.html That should fix the issue.
@@dabblelab I tried to change the region but no luck! I didn't get it!
Same here, did you find a solution?
Thank you for a great tutorial I have a question about can we open web browser?
Thank you for the tutorial.
I would like to know how to use an external alexa device (Auna for example) to communicate with the alexa skills ?
You're very welcome - thanks for the nice comment. You can use Auna or any Alexa enabled device with any Alexa skill that you create. The only requirement is that the device uses Alexa but it doesn't have to be an Amazon device.
This was really useful thank you. I followed your example changing the name of the skill and replacing the list of space facts with quotes. When I test I'm getting quotes from the author/speaker but not the ones that are in my code! They also have the book reference (which always seems to be the same) for the quote and that is not in my code either. It's spooky. Searching around I see articles on how to add more content to keep users engaged. I would just like to have my favourite quotes read out and not ones I have no control over from somewhere else. I'm going to try to see if anyone in the dev forums has any ideas of what I've not done or not done correctly.
Hi Anne. Thanks for the comment and I'm glad to hear the video was useful. In the space facts skill, I believe it supports both US English and UK English - can you confirm that you update the facts for both? I suspect that might be the issue.
I recall there being a file for US English but not one for UK English. I know I only changed the facts in one file that's for sure. Surely if that was the problem I'd get a mixture of quotes and space facts? Here I'm getting quotes but not the ones I entered. My biggest question is where are these quotes being pulled from and how? lol I'll try to look into to this at the weekend. I'll test with just getting the space facts up and running first and try changing the data after. Today I want to concentrate on interactive story telling and to check out Storyline as an option.
Ah, OK. One more thought... perhaps another skill used the same invocation name that you're using and it's enabled on your account. Check the skill you have enabled and see if any might be causing the conflict. Also, make sure that you've enabled testing on your skill in the developer console.
Thanks for the video, it was so helpful to understand the process with the new UI. It's a shame, that I had to search for so many hours (even in Amazon's doc) for a tutorial with the newer UI.
Thanks for the comment, Michael. The good news is that the Alexa service and tools are getting better FAST. The bad news is, keeping tutorials and code examples current is really tricky. But, I'm going to continue trying to keep pace. Thanks again for the comment!
Got it, Thanks Steve! I Overlooked it.
Thank you this saved me hours of time and work. Great job.
Thanks Patrick! I'm glad to hear it was helpful and I appriciate the comment.
very nice intro sir. You make it look easy
Thanks, George! Be sure to watch the updated version. It's actually gotten a lot easier. Here is the link ruclips.net/video/_iylLGSDdcE/видео.html
Hi DabbleLab! I got an Echo Dot on PrimeDay. I finally got into using it yesterday. While trying to fall in love with Alexa, I realized I have a need for a custom skill.
Skill Wish: I want to ask Alexa what time I need to go to bed if I have to get up at x:xx.
Question: Is it possible to create a skill that will tell you when you should go to bed to achieve ‘x’ number hours of sleep, given the need to wake up at ‘x:xx’?
-Ex: “Alexa, ask [invocation name (? Haha-hope I’m getting this right?)] what time I need to go to bed if I have to wake up at 6:30am?” She’ll then ask something like, “That depends. How many hours of sleep do you require?” I’ll answer her, and she’ll quickly compute my ideal bedtime of “Hmmm. Looks like you should go to sleep by 11pm to wake up refreshed. Hope that helps and Sweet Dreams.” (Maybe once I get good enough, I could even add mixed endings instead of “sweet dreams” every night, like “don’t forget to brush your teeth!)
Background: I have zero coding or computer skills. I’m generally a quick study, excellent at following directions, love language, and think your videos are fantastic! I’m tech-stupid, but I find your videos interesting and easy-to-follow.
I hope that makes sense, and I look forward to your response!
Hi Lindsey! I love your skill idea - I totally need that skill too. It would be a fairly simple skill to build and if you're new to programming it would make the perfect project to start with. You could go through the course I've posted here on the Dabble Lab RUclips channel to get most of the functionality done and the only other thing you'd need to do is write a bit of Javascript to calculate the difference between two date/time values. So, you'd just add the hours they want to sleep to the time they want to wake up. Here is a link to generally how you'd do that in Javascript. www.w3resource.com/javascript-exercises/javascript-date-exercise-45.php. Let me know if you have any questions as you get into it. Again, I think this is a perfect skill idea to get started with and I bet you'll really enjoy learning how to build it. I hope this is helpful and keep me posted on your progress.
Just followed your tutorial through and this is brilliant, hmmmm what can I build, though I need an Alexa, mine arrives tomorrow!
Thanks Nick! Keep me posted on what you decide to build.
When i went to add the triggers the Alexa Skills Kit trigger was not available. How do i move forward from there? Thanks
Hi Lo. Your AWS management console probably defaults to a region that doesn't support Alexa. Here is a video I did that shows how to fix that. ruclips.net/video/rg4xVs3JBSk/видео.html - I hope that helps!
Can you develop alexa skill for my business ?
Hi Margaux, yes we can build an Alexa skill for your business. Let's connect and we can discuss further. Here is a link you can use to schedule a meeting. dabblelab.com/schedule Thanks and I look forward to connecting!
This is SUCH a great tutorial - Thank you so much for helping the rest of us :-) I have a question concerning the list of facts (data) is there a limit to the number of facts that you can put in or a "best practices" number of facts?? Again, Thank You!!
Hi Megan. Thanks for the nice feedback and you're very welcome! On your question... there isn't a limit to the number of facts you could have although the way this skill works it's generating a random fact so if you had tons of questions I'd guess that most users would not hear most facts. This isn't really a best practice but my suggestion is perhaps 20-30 facts. I hope that helps.
Thanks! for the reply - I am making a kind of game where most users would not want to hear the random fact more than one - they would want a new one each time hence my question
Great videos! By any chance, do you know how to make Alexa Skills using other languages like Python or Java?
Thanks! I’ve looked at creating skills in Python but mostly I’ve just been focused on using Node.js. I’ve stuck to Node because I like the Alexa Skills Kit SDK for Node and the Jovo Framework for building cross-platform skills for both Alexa and Google Assistant.
Ah ok sounds good thank you! Keep it up with the videos!
There is a project flask-ask for python, but your best bet would be to use the native sdk. Strangely enough, the last I read, I thought the IoT skills use python...but no python sdk
Thanks for the video, very helpful! I am trying to figure out if it is possible for the user to ask for a specific fact and not be getting random facts. Thank you again.
Hi Alexander. Thanks for the comment and I'm glad you found the video helpful. Yes, you can absolutely build a skill that will let the user ask for a specific fact. Here is a video I did that should get you pointed in the right direction for doing that ruclips.net/video/IsFUdJQVxLs/видео.html
Thanks Steve, I will look into that!
Watched the video twice still can't figure out how to make my idea work. How would you approach making a skill that goes like this (example):
User: Alexa, ask (invocation name) for a fact on mars.
Alexa: Here's a fact about mars, blablabla.
But being able to ask for any planet and getting a specific answer for each question. Let's say 20 different questions like this in the same skill.
Hi, I found your video very helpful, but when I went into AWS and Lambda, and then used the GitHub, it did not allow me to edit the code, do I need to for it to work with what I did in the ASK or no? Thanks
Hi there. Glad the video was helpful. I'm not sure I'm fully following your question - are you trying to update the code in GitHub or in the AWS web console?
Hey! It was pretty informative video, so if i want to make a custom skill that can access my university portal and tell me what assignments are due or when the exams are, if that is possible please let me know i would want to do it as a project, thank you
Hi Rushiraj, thanks for the comment. Yes, you could build a skill that accesses the data on your university portal. If they have an API than that would make it simple because it's easy to call external APIs in an Alexa skill - here is a video on how to do that ruclips.net/video/vsEaGjPPLqM/видео.html. If there isn't an API you'd need to scrape the data from the web portal which is a bit more work but still doable. I hope that helps and thanks again for the comment.
Dabble Lab thank you so much for the reply, I don’t think our university has an api, i guess ill have to scrape the data but i dont know if that’s doable, can you link me video that teaches about scraping from a university portal or if you can help in any way i would appreciate it, thanks again
Thank you so much for the tutorial. I am a little confused as to why the code that comes on fact-skill editor on aws.amazon is different from the code in the github repository's index.js (under custom). Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated!
You're very welcome. I think the reason for the difference has to do with the fact that there was recently an update to the Alexa Skills Kit SDK (new version is 2.0) and the code I have in this example is using the old SDK (1.0). Thanks for pointing this out. I'll check into it - might be time to update this video. Thanks again!
Hi, thank you for your prompt reply. Even though the code in the video is different from that on github, it runs and is what I got when I used the blueprint online. In fact, when I tried running the code on github's index.js, it didn't run. On the other hand, I tried doing the hello world example from the github code and that runs but when I tried writing it in the form of the boilerplate code from the blueprint (which seems easier to understand), it didn't run. I'm very confused and have been trying to convert one type of code into the other and vice versa but haven't been successful! :(
I'm still totally lost as to how we'd make a normal breifing, that we update daily.
Hey Nick. I just published a new video that walks through creating a Flash Briefing skill. That's probably what you're looking for. Here is the link. ruclips.net/video/OqMwmXag7-Q/видео.html - I hope that helps.
Hi Steve, helpful video. What if I want to have my voice talking to the user and not Alexa. Can you help?
Hi Pavel. I'm glad to hear you found the video helpful. Here is a link to another video that shows how to use .mp3 files to send a response. If you wanted to use your voice, you'd just need to record an .mp3 for each response. Here is the video link ruclips.net/video/pKlnpf0SsoE/видео.html - I hope it helps.
Thanks Dabble,Very Clearly Explained.But i am facing an issue,alexa is not taking my voice input and it shows no content when i speak with mic or when i type like alexa, tell me something...it is working only the invocation name-like->>> Knowledge fact....please help me out.Thanks
I love it, could you please tell me how to intégrate a aws chat bot with Alexa skills?
Thanks Neftaly! To integrate with Amazon Lex (chatbot) you'd call the Lex API from within the Alexa Lambda function. Does that make sense?
Do you have a video?, i have seen videos for create a Chatbot but i didnt see that how to integrate like Alexa Skill
No, I have not done a video on that. I did do a video on useing Amazon Lex to create a basic chatbot but it does not show how to call the Lex API from a Lambda function which is what you'd need to do.
Hi Im am having problems with my IntentRequest, they are not being invoked. Only the invocations. I checked and tested on the Lambda, it works fine. Must be on my Developer Console.
Hi Steve, great video, If possible can you share some insight on the following info I received from Amazon dev certification team? Thanks in advance. See below:
Your skill does not meet Example Phrase requirements listed below:
The first example phrase must include both the wake word and invocation name of the skill.
Actual: Alexa, open free things to do in Orlando
Expected: Alexa open orlando free admission attractions
Hey Ty, thanks, glad you liked the video. For the example phrase, you need to format it in one of two ways. First, Alexa, [open | start] [invocation_name] or, Alexa, [ask | tell] [invocation_name] [utternace]. So, for example, if your invocation name was 'orlando free admission attractions' and you had and one of your utterances was 'to list attractions' you might have either of the following example phrases... 'Alexa, open orlando free admission attractions' or 'Alexa, ask orlando free admission attractions to list attractions' - Check out the docs for more details - here is a link developer.amazon.com/docs/custom-skills/understanding-how-users-invoke-custom-skills.html - I hope that helps.
Thank you for the knowledge sharing. Good Presentation.
You're very welcome and thanks for the nice feedback!
"Alexa skills kit" isn't available in the menu for me :( @10:54
Hi there. Sorry you're running into issues. Try changing your AWS region to 'N. Virginia' - here is a quick video that will show you how to do that if you're not familiar with the process. ruclips.net/video/rg4xVs3JBSk/видео.html That should fix the issue.
I wrote out the steps to his instructions below! Hope this helps you guys! :)
------------------------------------------------------
How to create an Alexa skill hosted in AWS using Lambda
This example is how to create a skill that gives you facts about outer space
1. Create Amazon Developer account on developer.amazon.com
2. Create AWS account on aws.amazon.com
3. Log in to Amazon Developer account
4. Click on Your Alexa Consoles
5. Create Skill
1. Click on Create Skill
2. Give your skill a name
3. Select language
4. Select Custom
5. Click on Create skill
6. Click on Start from scratch
7. Click on Choose
6. Configure Skill
1. On the left pane, click on Invocation and write in a Skill Invocation Name (in this example we will use “space facts”)
2. Click on Save Model
3. On the left pane, click on CUSTOM to go to the home page of your new skill
4. Click on Sample Alexa Projects under the section that says Resources which is under the How to get started video
5. Click on skill-sample-nodejs-fact
6. Click on models
7. Click on en-US.json
8. Click on Raw
9. Copy all the lines of code to your clipboard
10. Go back to your web browser tab that is on the dashboard of your newly created skill
11. On the left pane, click on JSON Editor
12. Select all the code that is there and delete it
13. Now paste the code you had copied earlier from the other tab with the raw code from raw.githubusercontent.com/alexa/skill-sample-nodejs-fact/master/models/en-US.json
14. Click Build
7. Set up Endpoint
1. On the left pane, click on Endpoint
2. Select AWS Lambda ARN
3. Copy the Skill ID to your clipboard
4. open up a new web browser tab
5. Got to aws.amazon.com and log in
6. Search for the Lambda service and go to it
7. Click on Create a function
8. Click on Blueprints
9. Search for “Alexa”
10. Click on Alexa-skill-kit-sdk-factskill
11. Give your function a name (in this example, we will use “fact-skill”)
12. Under Role, click on custom role
13. Click Allow
14. Click on Create Function
15. Add Trigger
1. Click on Create Trigger
2. Click on Alexa Skills Kit
3. Click on Configuration required
4. Paste your skill’s ID that you had copied to your clipboard
5. Click Add
16. Click on Save at the top right of the page
17. Copy the ARN of your Lambda function that is at the top right of the page
18. Go back to your web browser tab on developer.amazon.com that you were setting up your skill on
19. Past the ARN of the Lambda function you just copied to where it says Default Region
20. Click Save Endpoints
8. Test the endpoint
1. Test with your Echo at home or on the web page by calling it with the invocation name
2. Say “Alexa, open up space facts”
Thanks Erick! This is really awesome - I appreciate you taking the time to do that and for sharing it with the community!
I have no experience in coding. Should I learn node js before building a skill?
I do not see Alexa Skills kit trigger in my trigger list. The only trigger available to choose are API gateway, AWS IoT, Cloudwatch events and logs, COde COmmit, Cognito, Dynoma..... so on......
Was there anyy update to the page after march 2018.
Hi Aarti. Alexa is not available in all AWS regions so I'm guessing that the region you're working in just needs to be changed. Here is a quick video that explains how to change it. ruclips.net/video/rg4xVs3JBSk/видео.html - I believe that will resolve the issue.
Hi Steve Sir, I was trying to create a basic fact skill using the predefined program which is being used for space facts. On changing the space facts to my facts, the index.js was showing 'Parsing error: Unterminated string constant' on some of my facts. Can you help me solve this problem?
Hi Ikjot. It sounds like you're missing a single or double quotation mark. Each string/fact needs to be inside single quotation marks like... 'this is my fact' or double quotation marks like... "this is another fact". If a word in your fact contains an apostrophe then you'll need to escape it if you're using single quotes. For example... 'this is steve\'s fact' but if you use double quotation marks you don't need to escape. For example... "this is steve's fact". You might also try adding your facts one-at-a-time to see which one is causing the error. I hope this helps!
so I have another question - how do I play a (mp3) sound effect from the sound library after Alexa says, "here's your fact" ? Thanks for your help - I TRULY appreciate it :-)
ok I found you had answered my question already here ruclips.net/video/pKlnpf0SsoE/видео.html so Thanks! :-)
Hey Dabble, thanks for the great tutorial. I've noticed that the test simulator only responds with the correct data when I ask "alexa tell me a space fact". Any other utterance that is in the json editor such as: tell me a space trivia or give me some information only comes back with a and there is no input/output data in the skill I/O. Any help fixing this issue would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hey Austin. Is this just happening in the test simulator? Asked another way, do the utterances work when you test them using a device?
No, this is also happening while testing on devices. I only get a response while saying "alexa tell me a space fact". Alexa stays silent to all other utterances.
And thanks for the reply!
How about if you say: 'Alexa, open space facts'? or 'Alexa, tell me a space trivia'? Are you including the 'Alexa' wake word and are all of the utterances you're trying added to / included in the interaction model?
Yes I always start with alexa and only use utterances listed in the interaction model.
When I say Alexa, open space facts it gives me a fact instead of the intro landing. And when I say Alexa give me(/tell me) a space trivia, I get this: then "Welcome to the Space trivia. Say start to start the trivia. Or say help to learn about the trivia." There is also no action in the Skill I/O during this event.
Okay, your skill might be conflicting with another skill you have enabled. Check out this video that walks through what you can try to fix that. ruclips.net/video/XH_wzjQa1bw/видео.html
Hey! Beginner here! I followed the steps and got it working great! But as a hit distribution and fill in the details under "Example Phrase 101 - I entered "Alexa, Tell me a space fact" - I keep getting "The example phrase must start with Alexa as the wake word."
any idea why?
You're super close. You just need to enter something like "Alexa, ask space facts to tell me a fact" the utterance needs to include the "Alexa" for the wake word along with the invocation name for the skill ("space facts"). Make sense?
when i go to search for the blueprint, It will not show any results when I search "Alexa". Am I doing something wrong? I have followed all the steps so far and am stuck here. Someone please leave a helpful comment. Thanks!
Do you know why does the skill arn doesn't change even though I make more lambda function? Also it keep says that the role (lambda_basic_execution) already exists when I try to make a new custom role.
Each skill should have just one Lambda function. You would then make changes to that lambda function to change the skill. Does that make sense?
Will it work on echo dot too?
Hi, great tutorial. Everything worked for me until the last step i.e. the testing step. When I speak into the microphone (or even when I type) "alexa open space fact", nothing happens. I don't get a result back from lambda. Do you know how to resolve this. I'm using N. Virgina for lambda
Thanks, Karthik! This might be a small thing but could be causing the issue... the default invocation name is "space facts" (with an 's' on 'facts'). If you're just typing "alexa, open space fact" that might be the issue. can you confirm if it doesn't work with the 's' on 'facts'?
Hi Steve, No this isn't it. I tried many phrases, "alexa open space facts" , "alexa open space fact" , "space facts", "space fact" and nothing works. Thanks
Also when I try any of the above phrases, I get a gray box with 3 blue dots that move from left to right and back.
I am having the same issue, please help. I want to move forward on this. The video is very good
Last question (I promise) do you know of any tutorial for turning an FAQ into an Alexa Skill?? thanks!!
Questions aren't limited here - ask away - as often as you like! I can't always promise a same day response but I try. On your question... I don't know of a tutorial for turning an FAQ into an Alexa skill. However, I'm working on a new online course that walks through building and FAQ/knowledge base skill as the example. If you register at learn.dabblelab.com you'll get a notification when that course is completed. I'm targeting early June.
I have already registered there LOL and taken your first (free) course - you have a great teaching style and I;m really looking forward to taking further courses from you if I can afford them. It sounds like what you have planned is EXACTLY what I need!. Cheers! :-)
Question, how can I also use the different utterance instead of just saying "Alexa open {my alexa skill}"? Or Once I say Alexa open {my alexa skill} and Alexa response how can I handle other prompts as well?
Hi Zahid. I go into that in other videos. Here is a link to a recent one that shows a simple example of what you're asking. ruclips.net/video/8QHnSSKbIH4/видео.html - let me know if that doesn't answer your question. Thanks!
Hi Steve, I have created a alexa skill , It working fine in Alexa Simulator but does not work in my echo plus device. Can you help me to get out from this issue?
Hey Rahul. Is you're echo using the same email address as the email you're using for your Amazon developer account?
Hi Steve, I have this Radio Streaming alexa skill and i use your audio-stream-starter-alexa template. I have this problem that after 30 mins of playing the stream, it suddenly stops. Do you have any idea what is going on? or do i have to configure something on the settings? I'm using Amazon Echo. THanks in advance. BTW, Great Video Tutorials...
Hi Kristian. Regarding the problem you're having... is it always exactly 30 minutes before it stops? Also, does this happen with all streams?
Yes, It is always exactly at 30 mins. I have tested it more than five times already. I used our streaming url and also i tried using the streaming url on your audio-stream-starter-alexa template but still no luck, after 30 mins the stream stops. Thanks for the reply.. Appreciated much.
Hi Steve, any idea about the problem? or any tip to solve this? thanks.. :)
Hi Kristian. This is strange. I looked into it a bit more and I'm not sure it's an issue with Alexa. Could your Internet provider be limiting audio streaming to 30 minutes? You might try testing on a different network to see if the issue persists. Again, I don't think this is an issue with Alexa or the skill - my guess is that it's network or router related. Sorry I couldn't be more help.
Thanks Steve, I will try what you suggest. Thank you for the tutorials and your suggestions. More power!
Thank you! Subscribed!
You're very welcome and thanks for subscribing!
Hi steve, can you please help me. im having a bit of problems right here. when i click
"click create a custom role" it leads me to my dashboard unlike yours where it basically just pops up and leads you to that simple tab
and i also dont see the alexa skills kit etc. in the configuration/triggers after creating a function
ohh thank god after 25mins i finally found the solution lol
just had to change my region to N. virginia, thanks steve i only saw it when you replied to a comment, everythings now going good again.
I'm glad you got it figured out Marc. Something those little things can be frustrating.
Dabble Lab my problem now is how do i actually create my own content/skill with the given alexa blueprint. Tried changing some codes through & obviously there has to a process coding put into there in which i really do have a hard time. Taking a break from it atm first, indeed frustrating haha
Great tutorial
Thanks, Frank! I'm glad you liked the tutorial. Please let me know when you get your first skill published!
can you set up a skill for me
Question: I am completely new to Alexa Skills. My question is if say I build an Alexa Skill and was downloaded by 1 million people, do I EVER pay for AWS services. I am confused about aws services and its link to building and deploying Alexa skills.
Hi Gurtej. That's a good question. For starters the skills don't actually get 'downloaded' they live in the cloud and there are two parts to a skill. The voice user interface (that's created in developer.amazon.com) and code that provides the skills functionality (the "back-end") which we used AWS Lambda for in this tutorial. Hosting the voice user interface on developer.amazon.com is free. However, AWS Lambda is a paid service. But, AWS provides a "free tier" meaning you don't pay anything until your usage goes over a certain amount. In the case of Lambda that is 1 million requests per month. So, you wouldn't pay anything unless your skill was getting more than 1 million requests per month. Does that make sense?
@@dabblelab thank you very much. Just to clarify when you say over 1M requests, you mean 1M people using the skill in one given month? If answer is yes, my follow up question would be why am I paying for someone else using the skill since I am providing it free of cost to everyone. Also what is that 750 free hours thing on AWS.
@@GurtejSGrewal You're very welcome. No, it's not 1M people, it's 1M requests. So, you could have one person that makes multiple requests. On your question about why pay if you're not charging for the skill - you might want to charge for the skill if people like it and you're having to pay. On your last question, the 750 free hours apply to other services - Lambda is on a per request basis. Also, for more details on the AWS pricing, you'll probably want to contact Amazon directly - I'm not affiliated with Amazon in any way and I would not claim to be an expert on their pricing. So, I wouldn't want to unintentionally steer you in the wrong direction. I hope that helps.
@@dabblelab Thank you very much. That was very helpful indeed.
Hi Steve. I'd love to hire someone to develop an Alexa skill for me. Do you recommend anyone?
Hey Robert, we might be a fit for that. If not we can find someone to help you for sure. You can use this URL to set up a time that works for a call. dabblelab.com/schedule - or if you'd prefer, shoot me an email to steve@dabblelab.com and we can discuss tit hat way. I look forward to connecting and possibily working together!
Hello Steve I need your help building an app that will turn something on and off hope to hear back from you ..thanks
Hi Brandon. Are you interested in hiring someone to build a skill or are you looking for some guidance on doing it yourself? Either way, I'm happy to try and help. Also, when you say "turn something on and off" are you referring to hardward and if so is it a device you're building?
Dabble Lab I’m looking to do it myself but the research that I did it’s on able to happen....I wanted to make Alexa turn my PS4 on but this skill set e control and Of the software only works on Windows or android
So helpful. thanks!
Glad it was helpful Michael. Thanks for the comment!
Hi, Is it possible to make an Alexa skill without using AWS Lambda?
Because I'm using my dad's account for this and I don't want to pay for AWS.
You can but you'd still need to host the skill service someplace and there would likely be a cost. You can setup a new AWS account that provides a free tier for up to one million Lambda requests. Unless your skill is super popular that should cover you. You can check out the free tier at aws.amazon.com/free - I hope that helps.
Hey Dabble,
i am trying to change the data strip in the AWS and when i change the facts and test, i get a communication error? please help
Hey Jacob, I'm not sure I understand the issue you're having. What do you mean by "data strip" in AWS?
Hey Dabble
When you try and change the facts the AWS out puts to the Developer
Hey Jacob, the most likely reason for the error is that you have a typo in the json that you're editing. For example, you might have an extra quotation mark or you might be missing a comma. You might try validating your json code using an online validator like jsonlint.com/.
thank you so much for your video
You're very welcome Johnny!
What exactly does the copied code for json editor do?
Hi Navya, that is a great question. The code that was copied from the json editor is referred to as the "interaction model" and it's used to train the Alexa service so that's it's able to recognize when a user is requesting functionality from your skill and how to collect the information your skill service will need to fulfill the user's request. Does that makes sense?
When i try to test it says "A valid interaction model is required to test your skill.", I don't know what to do!
You're very close. All you need to do is 'save' and 'build' the interaction model before testing. That should take care of it.
FYI: My free accounts on aws, under lamda and selecting blue print - search for Alexa lead to zero searches.
This tutorial has been updated. Please see the most recent version at: ruclips.net/video/_iylLGSDdcE/видео.html
Hey there. Great tutorial, thanks a lot for this. I just have one problem. I did everything exactly as you did, but if I go to the Test section and when I either say "Alexa open space facts" or if I type it, it just doesn't work. Those "pending" bubbles stay there forever and I get no response at all.
Do you have any idea what the problem could be?
Humm, that's strange. Try setting the skill id on the lambda trigger again. Seems like it cant' get to the lambda function. Also, it could just be a temporary issue with the test console.
same problem with me.
Same problem with me :(
Hi Dominik, thanks for the nice comment! On the problem, you're running into... Can you confirm that you copied and pasted the skill id when you set up the lambda function? Also, are you using en-US for the skill language?
Hi Allan, sorry to hear you're running into issues testing the skill. Can you confirm that you copied and pasted the skill id when you set up the lambda function? Also, are you using en-US for the skill language?
I would like to create a skill for my internet radio station. I am visually impaired, and would pay for the help. I would like the skill to be public so that asking Alexa to enable it would work. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Hunt, can you post the URL to your radio station feed? I’m sure we can assist but if we can take a look at the feed URL that will help determine what it would take to set it up. Thanks!
162.251.160.115:2199/tunein/peachtre.asx
162.251.160.115:2199/tunein/peachtre.pls
I don't know which one will work. Keep me posted, and thank you!
I tried sending you the link to the station. Will you let me know if you get this message?
Yes, I see the message did come through. It was blocked because it contained a URL but I can see it so I'll check out the stream.
Do you need any further information? I already have a developer account.
i thought you'd make an example with your amazon alexa to show us
Anyone else getting no response from the tester? The chat bubbles just "hang" in there and I'm getting no sound or info on the right tabs...
SOLUTION: If you have ADGUARD running in the background - TURN THAT SHIT OFF! I mean completely OFF! Dont just whitelist Amazon because it wont be enough.
just when your build finished, my build finished at the same time lmao
Thanks Steve!
You're very welcome Folko!
Nice ! :)
Thanks, Timothee!
This is great but I've followed this three times and it is still not calling _my_ space facts. I will follow up once I figure out what you are missing.
Hey Oscar, did you ever get this issue figured out?
Cool
No I didn’t.