How to Build Alexa Skill Blueprints

Create your own new Alexa skills (you don't even need to write code!)

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Updated on January 6, 2020

Amazon Echo and other Alexa-enabled devices can do loads of cool and helpful things, thanks to the many useful skills provided by Amazon and other developers. However, if you have been waiting hopefully for someone to develop a skill that would meet a certain want or need, you don't have to wait any longer. You can create your own, personalized Alexa skills using Alexa Skills Blueprints.

Build your own personal Alexa skills to truly customize your experience with this virtual assistant. If you choose, you can even share or publish the Alexa skills you create, so other users might benefit from them, as well.

What Are Alexa Skills Blueprints?

Essentially, Alexa Skills Blueprints are templates you can customize to teach Alexa to perform a certain task. There are currently seven blueprint types from which to choose.

At Home: Includes blueprints such as Whose Turn, Task Tracker, and Chore Chart.
Learning and Knowledge: Includes blueprints such as Quiz, Flashcards, and Facts.
Fun and Games: Includes blueprints such as Game Show, Family Jokes, and Fortune Teller.
Storyteller: Includes blueprints such as Fairy Tale, Sci-Fi, and Adventure.
Greetings and Occasions: Includes blueprints such as Celebrate, Thinking of You, and Birthday Wishes.
Communities and Organizations: Includes blueprints such as Flash Briefing, Blog, and Spiritual Talks.
Business: Includes blueprints such as Business Q&A and Onboard Guide.

There are dozens of blueprints across these categories and potentially more to come. No coding or special skills are required to create a skill using the templates.

By default, any skills you create using blueprints are only available to the Echo devices associated with your account. However, you can make them public if you choose (more on that below).

How to Create an Alexa Skill

After logging in to the Alexa Skill Blueprint website, you can browse templates, read the details and create a skill-based on the blueprint that best suits your needs.

Go to the Amazon blueprints page at blueprints.amazon.com.
Select Sign In in the upper-right corner of the page.
Enter your Amazon user name and password, then select Sign In.
Select a template to learn more about that blueprint. The detail page displays information including instructions on how to create and use the template as well as a sample skill based on the blueprint.
Select Make Your Own to start creating a skill using the blueprint of your choice. The template will open.

If you choose a greeting template, you will select Pick a Theme instead.
In Step 1: Content populate the fields in the blueprint by typing in the responses you want to use for the skill.
Select Next: Experience to move to the next step in creating the skill.
In Step 2: Experience select the options you want to use to customize the experience. These can be sounds, background images, or other options, depending on the skill you chose to create. Once you've made your selections, select Next: Name.
In Step 3: Name enter a name for the skill. You can use the default name or change it by selecting the default text and typing over it.
Select Next: Create Skill to create the new custom Alexa skill.

In a few minutes, your skill will be ready to use. Your Alexa-enabled device will display a notification alert indicating that the new skill is ready, and it will be available to use on any Echo or other Alexa device linked to your Amazon account.

To launch the skill, simply say, "Alexa, open (your skill name)."

You can access the skill at any time to check on or edit your skill by selecting Skills You've Made at the top of the home screen on the Alexa Skill Blueprints page.

Make a Skill Available to Others

If you would like to make your skill available for others to use, you can share it via email and social media, or publish it to the Alexa Skills Store.

Share a Skill

Share the skill with people you know.

Select Skills You've Made at the top of the home screen on the Alexa Skill Blueprints page.
Select Details next to the skill you want to share.
Select Share with Others.
Answer Yes or No on the prompt window asking if the skill is intended for kids under 13.
Select how you want to share the skill.
Copy the link to share the skill or post it on social media.

Publish a Skill

When you publish a skill, you make it available to all Alexa users.

If you previously shared a skill, you must revoke sharing before you can publish it.

Select Skills You've Made at the top of the home screen on the Alexa Skill Blueprints page.
Select Details next to the skill you want to publish.
Select Publish to Skills Store.

If you previously shared a skill, you must revoke sharing before you can publish it.
In Step 1: Name and Test, enter the Opening phrase. That's the phrase users will say to initiate the skill. You may have already entered this information when you created the skill, but this is your chance to change it if you like.
Enter the Alexa Skills Store name. This is how customers will find skills you have created and published in the Alexa Skills Store.

The name of your Skills Store can be different from the name of your skill.
Then enter the Create by name you would like to appear as the owner of the skill and click Next: Details.
In Step 2: Details elect the Category for your skill as well as Keywords that will help people find it.
Next, click Create in the Skill icon section to make a skill icon that will display in the Alexa Skills Store.
Use the icon creator to build an icon that is representative of the Alexa Skill you have created. You can choose the image, color, fill, border, shadow, and size of the icon you're creating. When you've finished creating the icon, click Save.
Finally, add both a Short description of the skill and a Detailed description of the skill. Then, select Next: Policy.
In Step 3: Policy Details, review the policy details and answer the questions about age and advertising. If you have a Terms of use URL enter it in the field provided, and then select Next: Review.
In Step 4: Review and Submit, review the information you entered during the first three steps of the process, and then click Publish To Store. You will receive a notification email when your skill has been approved.

You can delete a skill or revoke sharing at any time by selecting the appropriate option on the details page for that skill.