CHchishaku·Jun 29, 2018
Flask-ask makes it pretty easy.
https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-ask
In An Easier Way to Build Alexa Skills Using Pythonjohnwheeler
flask-ask
Python2016–2018
johnwheeler / flask-ask
flask-ask
Alexa Skills Kit for Python
7Distinct people
25Mentions
1Explicit recommenders
1.9KGitHub stars
What to know before exploring
What it is
Alexa Skills Kit for Python
GitHub
Where it is used
No documented product use has been verified yet.
What people are saying
Hi Everybody! For the last month I've been working on a Flask extension called Flask-Ask I want to plug. The "Ask" part stands for the "Alexa Skills Kit", which is the service…
johnwheeler used a recommendation phrase. 2 indexed comments match. This is a phrase match, not a verdict.
No classified warning is attached to this page. Read the discussions before treating silence as approval.
Also in these discussions
No other repository is repeatedly linked in the same discussions.
This week on Hacker News
Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 3:03:16 PM UTC.
No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.
Mentions over time
HN mentions by month25 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2016-05-20 18:32:38 UTC to 2018-06-29 19:41:49 UTC.
Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.
View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2016 | 2016-05-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Jun 2016 | 2016-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-07-01 00:00:00 UTC | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Jul 2016 | 2016-07-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-08-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Aug 2016 | 2016-08-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 2016 | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-10-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 2016 | 2016-10-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-11-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 2016 | 2016-11-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-12-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dec 2016 | 2016-12-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Jan 2017 | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-02-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Feb 2017 | 2017-02-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-03-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2017 | 2017-03-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-04-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Apr 2017 | 2017-04-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-05-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 2017 | 2017-05-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 2017 | 2017-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-07-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 2017 | 2017-07-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-08-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 2017 | 2017-08-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-09-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2017 | 2017-09-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-10-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 2017 | 2017-10-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-11-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2017 | 2017-11-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-12-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 2017 | 2017-12-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 2018 | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-02-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb 2018 | 2018-02-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-03-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2018 | 2018-03-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-04-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2018 | 2018-04-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-05-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 2018 | 2018-05-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 2018 | 2018-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-07-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
What Hacker News says
25 sourcesHello,
I am the creator of https://icanhazdadjoke.com/. As the product is closing in on it's 1000th Slack installation, I figured it is about time I start to tell the world more about it.
This project was a silly weekend idea that I had that slowly has grown organically into over 900 Slack installs (with about 300-400 Slack interactions per day), and over 50 Alexa installations (with around 10 interactions per day) without any marketing.
For those interested, the tech stack is:
* Python/Flask (http://flask.pocoo.org/)
* Flask-Ask (https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-ask)
* Elasticsearch (https://www.elastic.co/)
* AWS S3 (https://aws.amazon.com/s3/)
* Caddy web server (https://caddyserver.com/)
* Cloudflare (https://www.cloudflare.com/)
I am happy to answer any questions anyone might have about the product.
In Show HN: icanhazdadjoke – dad joke api with slack/alexa integrationsI'm 38 with three kids: 2 year old twins and a 5 year old. During that time, I've done a lot on my own, and I feel I've had more than enough time to accomplish more.
I've taught myself Swift and Cocoa:
https://github.com/johnwheeler/CocoaProgramming
released open source frameworks:
https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-ask
https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-live-starter
and have had plenty of time to pursue interesting side projects:
https://oldgeekjobs.com
https://alexatutorial.com
I also spend plenty of meaningful time with my kids reading them books, going to the park, playing with toys, and day dreaming. Stop watching T.V., playing video games, and making BS excuses for being distracted from life.
It's not a tradeoff--you don't have to choose one over the other. _No one_ is so busy they don't have a few hours of down time a week. It'
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s how you choose to spend it.
Incidentally for myself, with kids, a full workload, and pursuit of projects that interest me, I still find myself with too much time to know what to do with and squander a good portion of it.
The best thing you can do for your kids is teach by example. If you spend all your free time with them and grow up bitter that you didn't accomplish what you wish you would have, you're creating a shitty template for them mold themselves against. Let them watch you reading books, building things, crashing and burning, and chasing your dreams instead.
The article plugs a 'Playbook' by RocketInsights on how to build an Alexa Skill. It doesn't have any code samples though and just gives an outline of the process.
If you want to create skills fast, checkout the Python framework I created
https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-ask
I've implemented the 'Space Geek' sample outlined in RI's Playbook
https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-ask/tree/master/samples...
I've also worked with Amazon to put out a getting started tutorial on their developer blog
https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/post/Tx14R0IYYGH3SKT/Flas...
In [dead]Flask extension for programming the Amazon Echo
3 points · Open discussionIf you want to build your own, check out this library:
https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-ask
Found it while browsing HN/new the other day, and it's been fun to play with so far.
In Ask HN: Best uses for Amazon Echo?Alexa on Flask - Rapidly program the Amazon Echo with Python
2 points · Open discussionFor anyone that comes along, I have found the solution.
Flask-Ask is literatlly Flask for Amazon Alexa: https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-ask
In Ask HN: Where's My “Flask for Cortana” or “Django for Google Now” Frameworks?I can empathize with the author and am familiar with the history of his project. In my case, I created a Python framework for the Alexa Skills Kit https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-ask and worked on a blog post with Amazon. My hope was they'd appreciate my energy and passion for the Echo and work with me, but I feel like I've been largely ignored by them aside from being labeled an "Alexa Champion" which is meaningless to me.
As my framework is becoming more popular, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they released a competing framework locked-in to their infrastructure (after seeing how they did Chalice), and it's their prerogative to do that. But as a developer who made a high quality product people want, of course I'd rather they recognized the value I've created and worked with me instead of against.
They have zero obligation to, bu
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t if you're going to build on open standards and encourage community involvement, provide incentives for the community's hardwork aside from labels. Definitely don't disincentivize by doing wait-and-copy.
Show HN: Flask extension for programming the Amazon Echo
2 points · Open discussionThat's a great use case, many people are using flask-ask and Zappa together to great success: https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-ask
In Going Serverless: Migrating an Express App to AWS API Gateway and AWS LambdaAmazon Echo Framework for Python
2 points · Open discussionShow HN: Add Amazon Echo to Your Flask Apps
1 points · Open discussionAlexa Skills Kit for Python with Sphinx Docs, Sample Code, and YouTube Videos
5 points · Open discussionShowing the 15 most recent of 25 sources. Enable JavaScript to search and browse every indexed mention.