Alexa Gadgets Toolkit Features
This topic lists the features that the Alexa Gadgets Toolkit supports, and which interface or process your gadget must implement to use each feature.
The last column of the table notates whether the features are required or optional, defined as follows:
- Required – These features are needed for your gadget to function. For example, your gadget must be able to connect to an Echo device over Bluetooth.
- Optional – These features are available to use based on the hardware capabilities of your gadget. For example, your gadget might be able to raise a flag when the Echo device receives a notification.
In this topic, Echo device refers to the Echo device that is paired to the gadget.
Features
Connecting and updating
For your gadget to... | It must support... | Example trigger | Required? |
---|---|---|---|
Connect to an Echo device |
A user says "Pair my gadget." |
Yes |
|
Get over-the-air (OTA) updates |
The OTA firmware version is greater than the gadget's current firmware version. |
No (but recommended for a commercial launch) |
Custom Interfaces
For your gadget to... | It must support... | Example trigger | Required? |
---|---|---|---|
Trigger unique gadget behaviors from a skill |
Directives from a Custom Interface that you define |
The skill opens, which triggers the gadget to flash its lights. |
No |
Send inputs from a gadget to a skill |
Events from a Custom Interface that you define |
A robot has finished spinning, which triggers Alexa to say "Your robot is warmed up and ready to go!" |
No |
Wake word
For your gadget to be notified when... | It must support... | Example trigger | Required? |
---|---|---|---|
The Echo device detects that a user said the wake word of that Echo device |
|
A user says "Alexa", "Echo", or "Computer". |
No |
The wake word times out |
|
The user didn't continue to speak after they said the wake word. |
No |
Timers
For your gadget to be notified when... | It must support... | Example trigger | Required? |
---|---|---|---|
A user sets a timer on their Echo device |
|
A user says "Alexa, set a 5-minute timer." |
No |
A user deletes a timer on their Echo device |
|
A user says "Alexa, cancel my 5-minute timer." |
No |
A timer expires on the Echo device |
|
A timer on the Echo device expires. |
No |
A user dismisses a timer on their Echo device |
|
When a timer expires, a user says "Alexa, stop." |
No |
Alarms
For your gadget to be notified when... | It must support... | Example trigger | Required? |
---|---|---|---|
A user sets an alarm on their Echo device |
|
A user says "Alexa, set an alarm for 6 AM." |
No |
A user deletes an alarm on their Echo device |
|
A user says "Alexa, cancel my 6 AM alarm." |
No |
An alarm expires on the Echo device |
|
An alarm on the Echo device expires. |
No |
A user dismisses an alarm on their Echo device |
|
When an alarm expires, a user says "Alexa, stop." |
No |
Reminders
For your gadget to be notified when... | It must support... | Example trigger | Required? |
---|---|---|---|
A user sets a reminder on their Echo device |
|
A user says "Alexa, remind me to walk the dog at 6 PM." |
No |
A user deletes a reminder on their Echo device |
|
A user says "Alexa, cancel my reminder for 6 PM." |
No |
A reminder expires on the Echo device |
|
A reminder on the Echo device expires. |
No |
A user dismisses a reminder on their Echo device |
|
When a reminder expires, a user says "Alexa, stop." |
No |
Notifications
For your gadget to be notified when... | It must support... | Example trigger | Required? |
---|---|---|---|
The Echo device receives a notification |
|
The Echo device receives a notification that a package was delivered. |
No |
The notification on the Echo device is cleared |
|
A user says "Alexa, clear my notifications." |
No |
Speech
For your gadget to... | It must support... | Example trigger | Required? |
---|---|---|---|
Sync to the words Alexa speaks |
|
A user asks "Alexa, what's the weather?" and Alexa answers. |
No |
Current time
For your gadget to... | It must support... | Example trigger | Required? |
---|---|---|---|
Receive time information from the Echo device |
|
Time information is sent at 30-minute intervals. |
No |
Tempo
For your gadget to... | It must support... | Example trigger | Required? |
---|---|---|---|
Receive the tempo of Amazon Music that is playing through the Echo device |
|
The Echo device is playing Amazon Music. |
No |
Examples
The following examples list which interfaces to support based on what you want your gadget to do.
You can find additional information in the Alexa Gadgets Toolkit (Beta): How It Makes the Echo Wall Clock Tick blog post.
If you want your gadget to... | It must support... |
---|---|
Display the time |
|
Raise a flag in response to the notifications that the user has enabled in the Alexa app under Settings > Notifications |
|
Lip sync to Alexa's speech |
|
Take an action when timers are set, deleted, expired, or dismissed |
|
Take an action when alarms are set, deleted, expired, or dismissed |
|
Take an action when reminders are set, deleted, expired, or dismissed |
|
Move to Amazon Music |
|
Last updated: Feb 14, 2022