Build Your Skill
Use the Build page in the Alexa developer console to configure your skill, specify the endpoints for your skill service, and more. For custom skills, you define the custom voice interaction model, add multi-model responses, and select the interfaces that your skill uses. For skills that use the prebuilt voice interaction model, you define account linking and permissions on the Build page.
Configuration options for your skill are available on the Build page in left pane of the developer console. Some items are required and some items are optional. The items that you see in the pane depend on the model that you selected when you created your skill.
Custom model
For skills that use the custom voice interaction model, the Build page displays a list of the minimum steps to configure your skill and get it ready to test. You must complete the required steps. For more details about custom skills, see Understand Custom Skills.

The following table summarizes the configuration options for a skill with the custom model. You can find the options in the left pane under CUSTOM.
Option | Description |
---|---|
Invocations |
Define your skill invocation name, launch phrases, and intent launch phrases. For more details, see Choose the Invocation Name for a Custom Skill. |
Interaction Model |
Create a custom voice interaction model. |
Assets |
Create custom slot types and search for built-in slot types to use in your intents. Every slot included in your interaction model has a type that determines how Alexa handles the spoken data that the user provides. For more details, see Create and Edit Custom Slot Types, Use Slot Types in Alexa Conversations and Slot Type Reference. |
Multimodal Responses |
Define visual and audio responses for Alexa-enabled multimodal devices. For more details, see Add Visuals and Audio to Your Skill. |
Interfaces |
Add additional directives and requests for specific features. |
Endpoint |
Define the endpoint that hosts your service as an Amazon Web Service (AWS) Lambda function or a web service.
|
Build History |
View previous build versions of your interaction models. Here, you can compare the current model build to a previous build, and copy the previous version of your interaction models to the current version. For more details, see Build history. |

Build your skill
After you create the invocation name for your skill and define intents, samples, and slots for your voice interaction model, you save and build your skill. To build your skill in the languages and locales that you defined, on the top right, click the Build button.

To see the build progress, on the top right click View build status. On the Build in progress panel, you can see the build status for each locale. If the build encounters errors in the interaction model, the console displays the errors and warnings on the bottom of the Build page.

Build history
To view previous builds, select CUSTOM > Build History. Here you can view the latest successful builds. To compare previous interaction models with the current version, under ACTIONS, select View diff. To keep a copy of the current version, make sure that you build the current version. To restore a previous version of your interaction models, under ACTIONS, select Copy build.

Pre-built models
For prebuilt models, such as connected vehicle, music, smart home, and video skills, the Build page shows the configuration options for the skill. All models support the en-US
locale and some models aren't supported in certain locales. Each model requires that you have an AWS Lambda ARN endpoint for the corresponding Endpoint section. Choose the options in the left pane to configure additional information for your skill. Some models require account linking, while account linking is optional or not supported for others. Some models support enabling permissions to obtain customer consent so that your skill can get access to customer information or send information to Alexa.
The following table summarizes the a prebuilt models and provides references for more details.
Model | Description |
---|---|
Connected vehicle |
With a connected vehicle skill, users can control their vehicle remotely. For more details, see Connected Vehicle Skills for Alexa. |
Flash Briefing |
A Flash Briefing skill gives users control over their news feeds. They can control the updates they want to hear. For more details, see Steps to Create a Flash Briefing Skill. |
Music |
A music skill give users complete control of their audio streaming service. Users can play, search, pause, skip, or shuffle music, radio, and podcasts from your catalog. For more details, see: |
Smart home |
A smart home skill gives users control of their smart home devices. They can remotely manage their lights and other devices. For more details, see: |
Video |
A video skill lets users find and consume video content. Users can do content searches, and your skill can provide content suggestions. |

Models
In the left pane, select MODELS to add or remove eligible models to your skill. You can add pre-built models to your custom skill or extend your smart home skill with the custom model and add custom utterances. You can't combine the Flash briefing model with any other model. For more details, see About Multi-Capability Skills .
To select additional models to include, on the Models page, under STATUS, toggle, and then click Save. To remove a model and all its data, Models page, under STATUS, toggle to deselect a model, and then click Save.
Tools
In the left pane, open TOOLS to view the options available to your skill model.
Monetize your skill
You can earn money with an Alexa custom skill by offering in-skill purchasing (ISP), paid skills, and Alexa skill deals. To monetize your skill, click TOOLS > Monetize Your Skill, and then select the option that you want to add. For more details, see Earn Money with an Alexa Skill.
Account linking
In the left pane, select TOOLS > Account linking or ACCOUNT LINKING to configure security information to link the identity of the Alexa user with the user's identity in your system. Account linking is optional for skills with a custom or music model, and required for connected vehicle, smart home, and video models. Account linking doesn't apply to Flash Briefing skills.
The account linking configuration is similar for different model types, with the following minor differences:
- For a skill that includes a custom model:
- Account linking is optional.
- The skill can use either authorization code grant (recommended) or implicit grant.
- For a skill that includes the connected vehicle, smart home, or video model:
- Account linking is required.
- The skill must use authorization code grant.
- For a skill that includes the music model:
- Account linking is optional.
- The skill must use authorization code grant.
For a skill that includes a custom model and either the smart home or video model, the same smart home and video requirements apply.
For more details about how account linking works, see the following:
- Understand Account Linking
- Account Linking for Custom Skills
- Account Linking for Smart Home and Other Domains
For details about how you configure account linking, see:
- Configure Authorization Code Grant
- Configure Implicit Grant (custom skills only)

Permissions
In the left pane, select TOOLS > Permissions or PERMISSIONS to enable your skill to ask the user for permission to access specific information or perform a task, depending on the information that your skill requires. The available permissions depend on the model that you selected when you created your skill.
After you enable a permission, your skill can ask permission of the user to access that information or perform that task. The skill doesn't obtain this permission until the skill user consents to it.
Flash Briefing and music models don't support permissions.
Permissions for custom skills
The following table shows permissions available to custom skills.
Permission Setting | Description |
---|---|
Notifications |
If enabled, your skill can request the customer to provide permission in the Alexa app to send notifications to the customer. The Notifications permission isn't visible unless you open an existing skill that uses proactive events. To enable proactive events in your skill, you must use Alexa Skills Kit Command Line Interface (ASK CLI) and modify the skill manifest to include this permission scope. For more details, see Proactive Events API Reference. |
Device Address |
If enabled, your skill can ask the user for access to the address information configured for the device. Your skill can request either Full Address or Country/Region & Postal Code Only, depending on the information that your skill requires. For more details, see Device Address API. |
Customer Name |
If enabled, your skill can ask the user for access to the customer name information configured for the device. Your skill can request either Full Name or Given Name, depending on the information that your skill requires. For more details, see Request Customer Contact Information for Use in Your Skill. |
Customer Email Address |
If enabled, your skill can ask the user for access to the email address configured for the device. For more details, see Request Customer Contact Information for Use in Your Skill. |
Customer Phone Number |
If enabled, your skill can ask the user for access to the phone number configured for the device. For more details, see Request Customer Contact Information for Use in Your Skill. |
Lists Read and Lists Write |
If enabled, the skill can request access to the customer's shopping and to-do lists. You can enable one or both of these, depending on the requirements of your skill. For more details, see Access the Alexa Shopping and To-Do Lists. |
Reminders |
If enabled, your skill can ask the user for permission to send reminders. For more details, see Alexa Reminders Overview. |
Location Services |
If enabled, your skill can ask the user for permission to obtain and use the user's location. This differs from the Device Address information, because Location Services refers to the user's dynamic location, rather than the address information in the user's account. For more details, see Location Services for Alexa Skills. |
Alexa Skill Messaging |
Alexa Skill Messaging appears only when one of the other permissions is enabled, and you can't enable Alexa Skill Messaging directly. If visible, Alexa Skill Messaging provides the Client Id and Client Secret values needed to send messages to your skill. For details, see the following topics: |
Permissions for connected vehicle, smart home, and video skills
The following table shows permissions available to skills with the prebuilt models.
Permission Setting | Description |
---|---|
Send Alexa Events |
If enabled and the user grants permission, your skill can send events to the Alexa event gateway. You can use this interface to respond asynchronously to Alexa directives and send proactive state reports to Alexa. |
Alexa Skill Messaging |
After you enable Send Alexa Events, the console displays the Client Id and Client Secret values to authenticate your skill. For details about how to use these values, see Send Events to the Alexa Gateway. |
Languages
For custom skills, you can define your interaction model in multiple languages and enable your skill in new locales. For more details, see Develop Skills in Multiple Languages and Add Additional Locales of the Same Language to Custom Skills.
To add new languages and locales to your custom skill
- On the left pane, select TOOLS > Languages.
- On the Language settings page, scroll to the bottom, and then click Add new language.
- Select the languages that you want to add.
- To enable your skill across locales that support the same language, click toggle Sync Locales.
- To save the language settings, click Save.
- To build your skill in the new languages, on the left panel select CUSTOM, and then click Build skill.
Related topics
- Manage Skills in the Developer Console
- Create a Skill and Choose the Interaction Model
- Test Your Skill
- Define Skill Store Details and Availability
- Test and Submit Your Skill for Certification
- View Skill Usage Analytics
- View Your Payments and Earnings
Last updated: Nov 23, 2023