Have you encountered an issue where an unexpected skill or skill version was invoked when using the “Test” tab? You may have built multiple skills in the Alexa Developer Console with the same invocation name.
Scenario 1: The Skill Invoked Was Previously Hidden or Removed
Even if you have hidden or removed a skill from the Alexa Developer Console, having two skills with same invocation name under the same developer account will lead to unexpected launch behavior. Please note that we cannot delete a skill which was previously published live, even if it has since been hidden or removed from the Alexa Developer Console.
Disable The Previously Published Skill
- Sign into the Alexa Developer Console
- Click "Edit" next to the "In Development" version of the skill that was hidden or removed
- Click on the “Test” tab
- In the drop-down menu in the upper-left corner, select “Off”
Scenario 2: The Response Received Came From An Unexpected Version Of The Same Skill
Once your skill is published, you will have both a “Live” and “In Development” version listed in the Alexa Developer Console. One common mistake developer’s make is to enable the “Live” version of their own skill from the Alexa Skills Store. This can become problematic because it’s then possible to have both “Live” and “In Development” versions of the same skill enabled on the same account. This can result in you receiving unexpected skill responses based upon the “Live” version of the skill when trying to test changes made to the “In Development” version.
To address this, please disable the “Live” version of the skill using the Alexa app and instead use the “Test” tab for the skill within the Alexa Developer Console to determine which skill version you want to interact with.
Disable The “Live” Skill Version Using The Alexa App
- Open the Alexa app
- Tap the “hamburger menu” (three horizontal lines) in the upper-left
- Tap “Skills & Games”
- Tap “Your Skills” and choose “Enabled”
- Tap on your skill
- Tap “Disable Skill”
Use The “Test” Tab Within The Alexa Developer Console To Choose Skill Version
- Sign into the Alexa Developer Console
- Click “Edit” next to the “In Development” version of your skill
- Click the “Test” tab
- From the dropdown menu, choose either “Development” or “Live” to enable that version of the skill.
