Run Amazon Alexa Skill locally instead of AWS Lambda (Javascript) - amazon-web-services

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