Run Amazon Alexa Skill locally instead of AWS Lambda (Javascript)

Question

Is it possible to run alexa skill locally with ngrok instead AWS? I built a skill in AWS Lambda but I would rather use my own server. What can I do to run Alexa locally?

I tried https://github.com/alexa-js/alexa-app-server but it makes any sense because I would need to rewrite my whole code :( The better solution is http://docs.bespoken.tools/en/latest/tutorials/tutorial_lambda_nodejs/ but it isn't the best. It just works only for a wellcome intent and freezes after that :(

Terminal Logs from bespken command:

    BST: v0.9.35  Node: v7.8.0

Your URL for Alexa Skill configuration:
https://proxy.bespoken.tools?node-id=33efccba-2246-477f-bbb8-2e1e510cce9d

INFO  2017-04-25T20:27:20.628Z Connected - proxy.bespoken.tools:5000
INFO  2017-04-25T20:27:26.812Z RequestReceived: POST /?node-id=33efccba-2246-477f-bbb8-2e1e510cce9d ID: 1493152039146
INFO  2017-04-25T20:27:26.815Z Forwarding localhost:10000
Current hour: 24
Warning: Application ID is not set
INFO  2017-04-25T20:27:27.939Z ResponseReceived ID: 1493152039146
INFO  2017-04-25T20:28:10.755Z RequestReceived: POST /?node-id=33efccba-2246-477f-bbb8-2e1e510cce9d ID: 1493152078963
INFO  2017-04-25T20:28:10.756Z Forwarding localhost:10000
Warning: Application ID is not set
INFO  2017-04-25T20:28:11.157Z ResponseReceived ID: 1493152078963
INFO  2017-04-25T20:28:51.073Z RequestReceived: POST /?node-id=33efccba-2246-477f-bbb8-2e1e510cce9d ID: 1493152113739
INFO  2017-04-25T20:28:51.073Z Forwarding localhost:10000
Warning: Application ID is not set
INFO  2017-04-25T20:28:51.995Z ResponseReceived ID: 1493152113739

Answer 1

Yes, there are several solutions for running your node lambda locally. I've been using node-lambda, for example. Like most solutions it is oriented to users who want to test locally and then easily deploy to AWS Lambda.

If you want to run them yourself, I would note that MS and IBM have made their implementations of lambda open-source (here's MS's and IBM's). I haven't actually tried it myself, and I would note that with AWS, GCP, and Azure all providing Lambda services for node the market for these is healthy and the lock-in is minimal so I feel less need to be able to run it myself than for something like Dynamo.

But I also recommend that you continue to pursue BST. I'm using some of my own pieces for testing my skills because I got started before I heard of their stuff, but what I have tried of their's (BSTAlexa) is very useful and I see that they provide some of the other pieces you need for easy and effective testing of your skill.

Answer 2

Here's some sample code that you can use to easily run a Lambda locally, call this file AlexaLambda.js:

const log = require('console');
var AWS = require('aws-sdk');

AWS.config.region = "us-east-1";
AWS.config.update({
    accessKeyId: "----",
    secretAccessKey: "----",
});

/**
 * Wraps the actual underlying Alexa lambda initialization in a 
 * Promise. Injects test mocks where appropriate.
 */
var initializerPromise = new Promise(function(fulfill, reject) {
    // Mock out certain imports here if you want but not necessary
    /*
  var Module = require('module');
  var originalRequire = Module.prototype.require;
  Module.prototype.require = function() {
    if ((arguments[0] == 'S3FeedService') ||
        (arguments[0] == './lib/S3FeedService')) {
      return MockS3Service;
    } else if ((arguments[0] == 'WebsocketService') ||
               (arguments[0] == './lib/WebsocketService')) {
      return WSMockService;
    } else if ((arguments[0] == 'SQSService') ||
               (arguments[0] == './lib/SQSService')) {
      return SQSMockService;
    } else {
      return originalRequire.apply(this, arguments);
    }
  };*/
  // Import your actual lambda here.
  var lambda = require('../src/index.js');
  fulfill(lambda);

});

/**
 * The Alexa Lambda context object which is called upon completion
 * of lambda execution.  Also wraps the callback which contains the 
 * test assertion code of the caller.
 * @param callback - must be of the form function(error, result) {};
 * @returns
 */
function Context(callback) {
    this.clientContext = {"env": {}}; 
    this.callback = callback;
}

Context.prototype.done = function(error, result) {
    if (typeof error != "undefined" && error) {
        this.callback(error, null);
    } else {
        this.callback(null, result);
    }
}

Context.prototype.succeed = function(result) {
    this.callback(null, result);
}

Context.prototype.fail = function(error) {
    this.callback(error, null);
}

/**
 * The AlexaLambda object that's exposed for test cases.
 * @returns
 */
function AlexaLambda() {
}

/**
 * Executes the lambda function, provided an inputEvent and a 
 * callback.
 * @param inputEvent - the input event that includes the intent.
 * @param callback - called upon completion of lambda execution.
 */
AlexaLambda.prototype.execute = function(inputEvent, callback) {
    initializerPromise.then(function(lambda) {
        var context = new Context(callback);
        lambda.handler(inputEvent, context);
    });
}

/**
 * Export the lambda class, importers instantiate via new AlexaLambda();
 */
module.exports = AlexaLambda;

Then you can use this 'AlexaLambda' in your tests like so (in my case, I'm using Mocha):

var AlexaLambda = require('./AlexaLambda');
var Event = require('./Event');  // My 'fake' Event class

describe("Guest User Test", function() {
  var alexaLambda = new AlexaLambda();      

  it("Alexa, open/launch 60db", function(done) {
    var event = Event.createLaunchEvent();
    alexaLambda.execute(event, function(error, result) {
      validateYourResultHere();
      done();
    })
  });

Then it's just a matter of running your test via whatever framework you're using.

Answer 3

You can test your alexa skill locally by following the following tutorial:

How to test Alexa locally