Welcome to Alexa. In this lesson you are going to learn how to create your very own Alexa Skill. 

Build Your First Alexa Skill

Let's say we want to create a Codecademy skill that will do just one thing &mdash; respond with a "Hello, Codecademy" message.

---
#### Intents

Before we get into designing the frontend and the backend, it's a good practice to think of the features or behaviors your skill will have. We call these behaviors *intents*.

Our Codecademy skill is pretty basic. It will have only one intent &mdash; a "HelloIntent" that responds with a greeting. As we will see in later exercises, a typical skill will have multiple intents. Each intent defines a specific behavior, like buttons on a web page. An intent takes user input and executes some code based on it.

---
#### Sample Utterances

Speaking of user input, let's now think through some phrases our users might say which our skill should be able to respond to with a greeting. For example, our skill should give a response to the following greetings &mdash;

_hello_

_how are you_

_howdy_

_what's up_

These are what we call sample utterances. They help Alexa connect the intents to phrases spoken by the user. In this case, these sample utterances will help Alexa map the spoken user input to our "HelloIntent". 

Intents & Utterances

To start building a skill, click on the **Create Skill** button in the top right corner. This will bring you to the "Create a new Alexa Skill" wizard. We will walk through this wizard step by step.

---
#### Step 1: Skill Information
---
Follow the steps below to complete the **Skill Information**:

1. **Skill Name** &mdash; The name of the skill as the Alexa skills store will display it. Name your skill **Codecademy**.
2. **Skill Model** &mdash; While there are a few different models, including Flash Briefing, Smart Home, and Video, we will focus on the Custom Interaction Model in this course. Select the **Custom** Skill Model and click **Create skill**. 

---
#### Step 2: Skill Template
---

You can use templates to get a predefined skill up and running. In this case we will start our skill from scratch.

1. **Choose a Template** &mdash; Select **Start from scratch** or **Fact Skill** (whichever is available), then click **Choose**.

---
#### Step 3: Skill Builder
---
Once the skill is created, you will be taken to the Skill Builder. 

1. **Interaction Model** &mdash; In the menu to the left, under **Interaction Model**, click on **Invocation**.
2. **Skill Invocation Name** &mdash; This is the name that users will say to launch the skill. As a general rule, you want the invocation name to be easy to pronounce, not too long, and at least two words. Here are some [guidelines for choosing an invocation name](https://developer.amazon.com/docs/custom-skills/choose-the-invocation-name-for-a-custom-skill.html?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=%20BuildYourFirstSkill&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_%20BuildYourFirstSkill_Codecademy_Content_Visit_WW_CodecademyDevs_RD_C1L1&sc_segment=CodecademyDevs&sc_trackingcode=RD_C1L1). Because Codecademy is invalid, set the invocation name to **{YOUR-FIRST-NAME} {LAST INITIAL}'s code academy**  &mdash; (In most cases, Alexa doesn't allow one-word invocation names). Here's an example of an invocation name, using the invocation name template above: **Aubrey W's code academy**

3. Click on **Save Model**. 

Create Skill

The interactive test simulator on the right will help us understand the process of requests and responses. 
1. In the text box labeled **Enter an utterance**, type "tell {YOUR-FIRST-NAME} {LAST-INITIAL}'s code academy hello".
2. Click **Enter**.

---
#### How it Works
---

1. When we said "tell {YOUR-FIRST-NAME} {LAST-INITIAL}'s code academy hello", our speech was sent to Alexa in the cloud. 
2. Alexa used *Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)*, and *Natural Language Understanding (NLU)* technologies to parse our speech, matching it to `HelloIntent`. 
3. It then sent a request in the form of a JSON object, as shown in the **JSON Input** box. If you can understand JavaScript objects in a program, then you can read JSON similarly (JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation). The request includes the intent to our Lambda function. In our case, the JSON request includes the `HelloIntent`. (Scroll down to see this.)
4. Our Lambda function received the request and responded to Alexa with another JSON object, which included the output speech  "Hello Codecademy" in text format. You can see that JSON response in the **JSON Output** box.
5. Using this response, Alexa replies correctly to our request.

Test Simulator

Now that we have created the interaction model (the frontend), it’s time to connect that to our programming logic (the backend). 

For this course, we will be using **AWS Lambda** functions to host our programming logic. Lambda is a server-less computer service from **Amazon Web Services (AWS)** that runs your code in response to events. For our Alexa skill, you will trigger the Lambda function when you start the new skill. 

---
#### For Now, Use our Lambda function
---

On the right, we have included the JavaScript code that this Lambda function contains. We will walk through this code in our course <a href="https://www.codecademy.com/courses/learn-alexa-lambda/lessons/create-lambda-function/exercises/copy-arn?action=resume_content_item&course_redirect=learn-alexa" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Create Your Lambda Function</a>. 

As you will see by the end of this lesson, when we launch the skill, Alexa will respond with what’s on line 22 &mdash; which is currently set to "Hello, Codecademy". In the response sent from Lambda, this phrase is called *output speech*.

---
#### Connecting to the Lambda Function
---

To connect the frontend to a Lambda function (the backend) you must provide its **Amazon Resource Name (ARN)**, which is a unique identifier that represents our Lambda function. 

The ARN for our Lambda function is:
```
arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:776991280512:function:codecademyLearnAlexaIntro-ii
 ```

We will be using this ARN to connect our skill's frontend to our Lambda function in the next exercise. When a user interacts with your skill, Alexa will send the request to the Lambda function with that name.

Connect Lambda Function

As we saw in the previous exercise, to begin a conversation with Alexa-Enabled devices, like the Amazon Echo, you say the word "Alexa", followed by the request, like:  

 _Alexa, ask History Buff what happened on December seventh_ 

---
#### Wake Word

Here, "Alexa" is the default *wake word*. It wakes up the device and tells it that the user wants to talk to Alexa.

---
#### Starting Phrase

Following the "Alexa" wake word, users can use a *starting phrase* &mdash; in this case "ask" &mdash; to specify the type of request they are using. Visit the <a href="https://developer.amazon.com/docs/custom-skills/understanding-how-users-invoke-custom-skills.html#invoking-a-skill-with-no-specific-request-no-intent?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=BuildYourFirstSkill&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_segment=C1L1&sc_trackingcode=RD_CodecademyDevs&sc_medium=Earned_RD_BuildYourFirstSkill_Codecademy_Content_Visit_WW_C1L1_RD_CodecademyDevs
" target="_blank">Alexa developer documentation</a> for a list of other starting phrases. 

---
#### Invocation Name

In the example above, "History Buff" is the *invocation name*. The user says "History Buff" to instruct Alexa to invoke the History Buff skill, a skill that retrieves historical events. 

Every skill, custom or built-in, has a unique invocation name.

---

In the next exercise, you will learn about the final piece of this statement, utterances. 

Interacting with an Alexa Skill

All skills, like web or mobile applications, contain two parts: *Interaction Model* (the frontend) and the *Hosted Service* (the backend). 

* Interaction Model (frontend) &mdash; Much like the graphical user interface (appearance) of a mobile app, Alexa skills need a Voice User Interface (VUI). We'll refer to the VUI as the interaction model &mdash; it defines what functionalities or behaviors the skill is able to handle. 
* Hosted Service (backend) &mdash; The programming logic, hosted on the internet, that responds to a user's requests. 

In this lesson, we will walk you through the steps to build a basic interaction model. Let's start with intents and utterances. 






Building an Alexa Skill

Let's connect the frontend to a Lambda function (the backend) using its Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

1. Copy this ARN: 
```
arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:776991280512:function:codecademyLearnAlexaIntro-ii
 ```
2. 
Back on the **Build** tab for our skill on <a href="https://developer.amazon.com/edw/home.html#/skills?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign= BuildYourFirstSkill&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_ BuildYourFirstSkill_Codecademy_Content_Visit_WW_CodecademyDevs_RD_C1L1&sc_segment=CodecademyDevs&sc_trackingcode=RD_C1L1" target="_blank">developer.amazon.com</a>, click on the **Endpoint** section on the left side of the page.
3. Choose AWS Lambda ARN as the **Service Endpoint Type**.
4. Paste the ARN in the **Default Region** text box as shown to the right.
5. Leave other options at their default state, and click on **Save Endpoints**.

We are now ready to test our skill.  

Connect Lambda Function II

In Exercise 4, you came up with unique utterances that map to your skill's "HelloIntent". Some of your utterances may include "hello", "how are you", "howdy", and "what's up".

It’s time to put your planning to use by building your first interaction model. 

If you are not there already, go to the **Build** tab of the Skill Builder Dashboard. 

---
#### Create Intent
---
Follow the instructions to create your "HelloIntent":
1. Inside the Skill Builder Dashboard, click on the **Add** button in the **Intents** section on the left side of the page.
2. Choose **Create custom intent**, and type in "HelloIntent" in the text box next to it.
3. Press **enter** or click on **Create custom intent** button

Congratulations, you've just created your first intent!

---
#### Add Sample Utterances
---
Follow the steps below to map a few sample utterances to your "HelloIntent":
1. With **HelloIntent** selected on the left side bar, type in the sample utterances one by one &mdash; *hi*, *hey*, *hello*, *how are you*, pressing <kbd>enter</kbd> after each one. Feel free to add more utterances if you like. 
2. Click **Save Model** on the top navigation bar.
3. Click **Build Model** on the top navigation bar (this might take a few minutes to complete).


You have now built your first Voice User Interface (VUI). We are ready to link this to our backend &mdash; programming logic that produces a response to our user.  


Create the Interaction Model

Nice work, you just built and tested your first Alexa Skill! Let's review the main topics from this lesson:
- _Alexa_ is the cloud based service that handles all the speech recognition, machine learning, and natural language understanding for Alexa enabled devices, like Amazon Echo, Echo Show, Echo Dot, Echo Spot, and Amazon Tap. 
- Alexa provides a set of built-in capabilities, referred to as _skills_.
- You can program custom skills by using the _Alexa Skills Kit (ASK)_. 
- All skills, like web or mobile applications, contain two parts: a *voice user interface (VUI)*, which is our frontend interaction model, and a *hosted service* (the backend).
- _Alexa_ is the default wake word for all voice-enabled Amazon devices.
- _Intents_ are the behaviors your skill will have. A skill can and probably will have multiple intents.
- _Sample Utterances_ help Alexa connect the intents to likely spoken phrases from our users. 
- Creating a skill has two parts: Building the VUI at <a href="https://developer.amazon.com/alexa-skills-kit?&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=codeacademy&sc_detail=C1&sc_segment=codeacademydevs&sc_publisher=codeacademyc1&sc_country=US&sc_medium=RD_codeacademy_C1_codeacademydevs_codeacademyc1_US_RD_C1E13a&sc_trackingcode=RD_C1E13a" target="_blank">developer.amazon.com</a>, and writing backend logic using <a href="https://aws.amazon.com/" target="_blank">aws.amazon.com</a>.
- _Amazon Resource Name (ARN)_ is the unique identifier we use to connect our Lambda function to our Voice User Interface.
- You can also test your skill by typing the commands into the Service Simulator. 

If you're interested in how to build the Lambda function we used in this lesson, take our course <a href="https://www.codecademy.com/courses/learn-alexa-lambda/lessons/create-lambda-function/exercises/copy-arn?action=resume_content_item&course_redirect=learn-alexa" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Create Your Lambda Function</a>.


Review

As you continue to learn about Alexa Skills Development, being able to access the contents of a skill's requests and responses will help you troubleshoot bugs. 

Amazon provides developers a way to test skills quickly by typing (instead of speaking) the commands through the **Service Simulator**, available on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://developer.amazon.com?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign= BuildYourFirstSkill&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_ BuildYourFirstSkill_Codecademy_Content_Visit_WW_CodecademyDevs_RD_C1L1&sc_segment=CodecademyDevs&sc_trackingcode=RD_C1L1">developer.amazon.com</a>. 

---
#### Using the Service Simulator
---

1. Navigate to the **Test** tab of your skill.
2. Enable skill testing.
3. Type *tell {YOUR-FIRST-NAME} {LAST-INITIAL}'s code academy hello* in the text box.
3. Hit <kbd>Enter</kbd> on your keyboard. You will see the JSON request that was sent to our Lambda function on the left, and the response from our Lambda function on the right. 

Don't forget to turn up the volume! You can also listen to the response when it is shown on screen.

---
#### Troubleshooting
---

As always, you might have to do some troubleshooting to get everything working right. A few things we have discovered include:
1. Make sure that the skill is completely built before testing. You should see a "Build Successful" message.
2. Try using a full last name for your invocation name such as "peter paul's code academy" instead of "peter p's code academy". The simulator sometimes adds periods after initials.
3. Check to be sure your Hosting Region is US East (N. Virginia), EU (Ireland), or US West (Oregon). These are the three regions that host Alexa skills. 

Good luck and as always when troubleshooting, reach out for support. Someone else has almost always encountered the same problem. 
Good places to check are the [Codecademy Forums](https://discuss.codecademy.com/) and the  [Amazon Alexa Developer Forums](https://forums.developer.amazon.com/spaces/165/index.html?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=%20BuildYourFirstSkill&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_medium=Earned_RD_%20BuildYourFirstSkill_Codecademy_Content_Visit_WW_CodecademyDevs_RD_C1L1&sc_segment=CodecademyDevs&sc_trackingcode=RD_C1L1). 

Happy building!

Service Simulator II

You may have heard of _Amazon Echo_, the voice-enabled speaker from Amazon that allows you to get things done, by using your voice. 

The brain behind Echo and other Amazon voice-enabled devices like Echo Show, Echo Dot, Echo Spot, and Amazon Tap is *Alexa* &mdash; the cloud based service that handles all the speech recognition, machine learning, and Natural Language Understanding for all Alexa enabled devices.

Alexa provides a set of built-in capabilities, referred to as _skills_, that define how you can interact with the device. For example, Alexa’s built-in skills include playing music, reading the news, getting a weather forecast, and querying Wikipedia. So, you could say things like:

_Alexa, play Michael Jackson_

_Alexa, what's the weather in New York_

In addition to these built-in skills, you can program custom skills by using the _Alexa Skills Kit (ASK)_. An Alexa user can then access these new abilities by asking Alexa questions or making requests. 

In this lesson, you will create an Amazon developer account and use it to create your own skill! 

What is Alexa?

We are now ready to create our first Alexa skill.

The first thing we will do is create the interaction model, also called the Voice User Interface (VUI) for our skill. We will do that using the Alexa Developer Console. 

If you don't have an Amazon Developer Account, <a href="https://alexa.design/2wzqe5u?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=BuildYourFirstSkill&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_segment=C1L1&sc_trackingcode=RD_CodecademyDevs&sc_medium=Earned_RD_BuildYourFirstSkill_Codecademy_Content_Visit_WW_C1L1_RD_CodecademyDevs
" target="_blank">sign up</a> for a **free** account. 

Access the **Alexa Developer Console** using either method below:

Via <a href="https://developer.amazon.com/alexa-skills-kit?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=BuildYourFirstSkill&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_segment=C1L1&sc_trackingcode=RD_CodecademyDevs&sc_medium=Earned_RD_BuildYourFirstSkill_Codecademy_Content_Visit_WW_C1L1_RD_CodecademyDevs
" target="_blank">developer.amazon.com</a>:
1. <a href="https://developer.amazon.com/alexa-skills-kit?&sc_category=Earned&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=BuildYourFirstSkill&sc_publisher=Codecademy&sc_content=Content&sc_funnel=Visit&sc_country=WW&sc_segment=C1L1&sc_trackingcode=RD_CodecademyDevs&sc_medium=Earned_RD_BuildYourFirstSkill_Codecademy_Content_Visit_WW_C1L1_RD_CodecademyDevs" target="_blank">**Sign in**</a> to your Amazon Developer Account.
2. Mouse over  **Your Alexa Consoles** in the top navigation bar. 
3. In the dropdown menu, click on **Skills**.

Via <a href="https://www.amazon.com/ap/signin?openid.return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.amazon.com%2Fap_login.html&openid.identity=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0%2Fidentifier_select&openid.assoc_handle=mas_dev_portal&openid.mode=checkid_setup&openid.claimed_id=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0%2Fidentifier_select&pageId=amzn_developer_portal&openid.ns=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0&language=en_US&openid.pape.max_auth_age=1?&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=codeacademy&sc_detail=C1&sc_segment=codeacademydevs&sc_publisher=codeacademyc1&sc_country=US&sc_medium=RD_codeacademy_C1_codeacademydevs_codeacademyc1_US_RD_C1E5c&sc_trackingcode=RD_C1E5c" target="_blank">developer.amazon.com/home.html</a>:
1. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/ap/signin?openid.return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.amazon.com%2Fap_login.html&openid.identity=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0%2Fidentifier_select&openid.assoc_handle=mas_dev_portal&openid.mode=checkid_setup&openid.claimed_id=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0%2Fidentifier_select&pageId=amzn_developer_portal&openid.ns=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0&language=en_US&openid.pape.max_auth_age=1?&sc_channel=RD&sc_campaign=codeacademy&sc_detail=C1&sc_segment=codeacademydevs&sc_publisher=codeacademyc1&sc_country=US&sc_medium=RD_codeacademy_C1_codeacademydevs_codeacademyc1_US_RD_C1E5c&sc_trackingcode=RD_C1E5c" target="_blank">**Sign in**</a> to your Amazon Developer Account.
2. Click on  **Alexa Skills Kit** in the top navigation bar. 