AWS releases so many services one might lose track of some neat features in all the news. One such gem is AWS Serverless Application Repo. It is a collection of Lambda code that can help kick-start or accelerate your next project. You could consider it the S-Mart for serverless.

We all like to reinvent the wheel but there are times leveraging or learning from the work of others is valuable, and this is where AWS Serverless Repo can be helpful. The concept is simple. Take the collective work of those building apps in Lambda and make it easily shareable.

From the serverless repo, one can quickly search for and find a Lambda project that they might find useful. For this article, we will take alexa-skills-kit-nodejs-factskill. A simple serverless function designed to show you the basics of setting up an Alexa fact skill.

Following the instructions on their git and deploying the serverless function via the repo I had an Alexa skill up and running in 10-15 mins. This was helpful for several reasons. One, I know nothing about Alexa and if I wanted to kick start my understanding nothing helps more than hands-on exercise.  Secondly, the app repo made the Lambda deploy a seamless process.

In the end, the app store may be just what you need to better understand a problem you are trying to solve or a place to learn from the community. Check it out and see what you find and learn.

Cheers,

~Gabe