Test Your Custom Task with Alexa Routines

Alexa users expect a high quality and consistent experience across Alexa routines. The Alexa skill validation and certification processes check that your custom task meets the requirements to integrate with Alexa routines.

Before you send your skill for certification, you can create a routine with a development-stage task. Then, you can preview the routine to make sure that the end-to-end routine experience works as you expect.

Prerequisites

Before testing your skill in the development stage, do the following tasks:

  • Deploy any task updates that you have saved locally.
  • Validate your skill using by using the Alexa developer console Certification tab or by using the Alexa Skills Kit Command-Line Interface (ASK CLI). The validation checks whether the custom task adheres to the standards required for it to integrate with Alexa routines.
  • Publish your skill to the live stage at least once. This is required to integrate with routines.

Steps to test a custom task in a routine

After you create or update a custom task and deploy your changes to the Alexa Skill Store, you can test the task in a routine by using the following steps.

  1. Enable the development stage for your skill.
  2. Create a routine that uses the custom task.
  3. Enable the live stage for your skill.

Step 1: Enable the development stage for your skill

You can enable the development stage of your skill for your Amazon account by using the following steps.

To enable your skill in the development stage

  1. Sign in to the Alexa app using the same Amazon account you used to create your skill.
  2. From the home screen of the Alexa app, select More.
  3. Select Skills & Games.
  4. At the top, select Your Skills.
  5. In the card list, scroll to the left, and then select the card that says Dev.
    Dev skill card in Alexa app.
  6. Select the skill you want to enable in the development stage.
  7. Select Launch or Enable to Use, whichever option you see.
    If the skill is already enabled, you see a Disable Skill button instead of a Launch or Enable to Use button.

Step 2: Create a routine that uses the custom task

You can now test the custom task experience in Alexa routines as if you are a user.

To test the custom task experience

  1. Sign in to the Alexa app using the same Amazon account you used to create your skill.
  2. From the home screen of the Alexa app, select More.
  3. Select Routines.
  4. At the top right, select the plus (+) icon.
  5. For Name, enter a routine name.
  6. For When this happens, select a trigger.
  7. For Add action, scroll down, and then select Skills.
  8. Select Your Skills.
    You see the development-stage skills that are enabled for your Amazon account. Skills in the development stage have a badge that differentiates development-stage skills from live-stage skills.
  9. Select your skill.
    The Alexa app shows a list of custom tasks that the selected skill stage supports.
  10. To make sure you have the latest list of tasks, pull down to refresh the custom task page or restart the Alexa app.
  11. Select a task, and save the routine.
  12. Trigger the routine with the trigger you selected.
  13. After you finish testing the custom task in the routine, delete the routine.

Step 3: Enable the live stage for your skill

After you test your skill, you can enable the live stage for your skill again.

To enable your skill in the live stage

  1. From the home screen of the Alexa app, select More.
  2. Select Skills & Games.
  3. At the top, use the Discover Alexa search bar to search for your skill.
  4. Select your skill.
  5. Select Launch or Enable to Use, whichever option you see.
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Last updated: Nov 27, 2023