Create and Manage Skills with AWS Tools

You can create, build, and manage Alexa skills with cloud-based tools from Amazon Web Services (AWS) including AWS CodeStar, AWS CodePipeline, and AWS CloudFormation.

Use AWS CodeStar for an entire CI/CD toolchain

You can use AWS CodeStar to create and build Alexa skills from within AWS. AWS CodeStar is a cloud‑based development service that provides tools to develop, build, and deploy applications on AWS. With AWS CodeStar, you can set up your entire continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) toolchain in minutes, allowing you to focus on your skill's code and start releasing code faster.

AWS CodeStar provides templates that you can use to create a simple "hello world" Alexa skill from within your AWS account with just a few clicks. The templates create a basic deployment pipeline using AWS CodePipeline that gets you started with a continuous delivery workflow for skill development. You also get a repository, using AWS CodeCommit or GitHub, with all the source code for the project. You can configure this repository to work with the AWS Cloud9 IDE, Eclipse, Visual Studio, or you can use the command line tools to integrate with any other IDE you prefer.

If you're already familiar with AWS, AWS CodeStar can help you get started with Alexa skill development in a familiar setting. You can connect your Amazon developer account to the AWS CodeStar project to deploy to your Alexa skill's development stage directly from within AWS.

For a tutorial that can help you get started with Alexa skill development using AWS CodeStar, see Tutorial: Create an Alexa Skill Project in AWS CodeStar in the AWS CodeStar documentation.

Use AWS CodePipeline for continuous delivery

If you already have an existing Alexa skill and an AWS CodeCommit repository, you can use AWS CodePipeline to create a workflow that continuously deploys your Alexa skill from your source code repository. You can connect your Amazon developer account to AWS CodePipeline to deploy to your Alexa skill's development stage directly from within AWS.

For a tutorial that can help you get started with a pipeline that uses Alexa Skills Kit as a deployment action provider, see Tutorial: Create a Pipeline that Deploys an Amazon Alexa Skill in the AWS CodePipeline documentation.

Use AWS CloudFormation to model your infrastructure as code

You can use AWS CloudFormation to model all of your AWS resources in a text file. You can use this text file as the single source of truth for your infrastructure. With AWS CloudFormation, you can provision AWS resources in a safe and repeatable manner, allowing you to build and rebuild your infrastructure without the need for manual actions or custom scripts.

AWS CloudFormation provides a resource type specifically for Alexa skills using the skill package format. You can use this resources type to create a template that you can reuse to create multiple Alexa skills and the related AWS resources. With AWS CloudFormation, you can manage your AWS infrastructure and Alexa skill code together as a single stack.

For more information about the Alexa skill resource type in AWS CloudFormation, see Alexa::ASK::Skill in the AWS CloudFormation template reference.

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Last updated: Oct 13, 2023