Skill Manifest File for Alexa Conversations

The skill manifest contains all the metadata of your skill: supported interfaces, publishing information, and settings. All custom skills have a skill manifest.

File location

When you create a skill by using the Alexa Skills Kit Command-Line Interface (ASK CLI), the skill manifest is in the root directory of the skill: <skill-directory>/skill.json.

File contents

The skill manifest contains the dialog management settings, endpoint settings, and other skill metadata information. For details about the skill manifest for all skills, see Skill Manifest Schema.

Notes for Alexa Conversations skills

Within the skill manifest, Alexa Conversations skills have an additional section for dialog management settings inside the manifest.apis.custom section.

{
  "manifest" : {
    ..
    "apis" : {
      "custom" : {
        ..
        "dialogManagement": {
          "sessionStartDelegationStrategy": {
            "target": "AMAZON.Conversations"
          },
          "dialogManagers": [{
            "type": "AMAZON.Conversations"
          }]
        }
      }
    }
    ..
  }
}

dialogManagement object

Field Description Required

sessionStartDelegationStrategy.target

The initial dialog manager to handle requests when a new skill session starts. This field determines whether Alexa Conversations is the default dialog manager.

Valid values:

  • AMAZON.Conversations: Alexa Conversations is the default dialog manager. Alexa Conversations receives all the requests by default, and invokes the skill by using Dialog.API.Invoked requests.
  • skill: The skill is the default dialog manager.

Yes, when the dialogManagement object is present.

dialogManagement.dialogManagers

A list of dialog managers for the skill, other than the skill.

Valid value: AMAZON.Conversations

Yes, when the dialogManagement object is present.

Example

The following example shows the skill manifest of an Alexa Conversations skill.

{
  "manifest": {
    "publishingInformation": {
      "locales": {
        "en-US": {
          "summary": "Sample short description.",
          "examplePhrases": [
            "Alexa open hello world",
            "hello",
            "help"
          ],
          "name": "weather_bot_acdl_template",
          "description": "Sample full description"
        }
      },
      "isAvailableWorldwide": true,
      "testingInstructions": "Sample testing instructions.",
      "category": "KNOWLEDGE_AND_TRIVIA",
      "distributionCountries": []
    },
    "apis": {
      "custom": {
        "dialogManagement": {
          "sessionStartDelegationStrategy": {
            "target": "AMAZON.Conversations"
          },
          "dialogManagers": [
            {
              "type": "AMAZON.Conversations"
            }
          ]
        },
        "endpoint": {
          "uri": "arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789:function:example-arn-of-lambda-function"
        }
      }
    },
    "manifestVersion": "1.0"
  }
}
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Last updated: Nov 27, 2023