Updated to support standard Amazon Alexa syntax.

Include launch method.

guessinggame.js

@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+var chatskills = require('./lib/chatskills');
+var readlineSync = require('readline-sync');
+
+// Allow this module to be reloaded by hotswap when changed
+module.change_code = 1;
+chatskills.verbose = true;
+
+// Define an alexa-app
+var app = chatskills.app('guessinggame'); //new alexa.app('guessinggame');
+
+app.launch(function(req,res) {
+    var number = Math.floor(Math.random()*99)+1;
+    res.session('number',number);
+    res.session('guesses',0);
+    var prompt = "Guess a number between 1 and 100!";
+    res.say(prompt).reprompt(prompt).shouldEndSession(false);
+});
+
+app.intent('run', {
+        "slots": {},
+        "utterances": ["{to|} {run|start|go|launch}"]
+    }, function(req, res) {
+        var number = Math.floor(Math.random()*99)+1;
+        res.session('number',number);
+        res.session('guesses',0);
+        var prompt = "Guess a number between 1 and 100!";
+        res.say(prompt).reprompt(prompt).shouldEndSession(false);
+    }
+);
+
+app.intent('guess',{
+        "slots":{"guess":"NUMBER"}
+        ,"utterances":["{1-100|guess}"]
+    },
+    function(req,res) {
+        var guesses = (+req.session('guesses'))+1;
+        var guess = req.slot('guess');
+        var number = +req.session('number');
+        if (!guess) {
+            res.say("Sorry, I didn't hear a number. The number was "+number);
+        }
+        else if (guess==number) {
+            res.say("Congratulations, you guessed the number in " + guesses + (guesses==1?" try":" tries"));
+        }
+        else {
+            if (guess > number) {
+                res.say("Guess lower");
+            }
+            else if (guess < number) {
+                res.say("Guess higher");
+            }
+            res.reprompt("Sorry, I didn't hear a number. Try again.");
+            res.session('guesses',guesses);
+            res.shouldEndSession(false);
+        }
+    }
+);
+module.exports = app;
+
+// Start running our skill. You can also just create a "start" intent and ask, "chatskills, ask guessinggame start".
+chatskills.launch(app);
+
+// Console client. 
+var text = ' ';
+while (text.length > 0 && text != 'quit') {
+    text = readlineSync.question('> ');
+ 
+    // Respond to input. 
+    chatskills.respond(text, function(response) {
+        console.log(response);
+    });
+}

hello.js

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+var chatskills = require('./lib/chatskills');
+var readlineSync = require('readline-sync');
+
+// Create a skill.
+var hello = chatskills.app('hello');
+
+// Launch method to run at startup.
+hello.launch(function(req,res) {
+    res.say("Ask me to say hi!");
+
+    // Keep session open.
+    res.shouldEndSession(false);
+});
+
+// Create an intent.
+hello.intent('helloWorld', {
+    'slots': {},
+    'utterances': [ '{to |}{say|speak|tell me} {hi|hello|howdy|hi there|hiya|hi ya|hey|hay|heya}' ]
+    },
+    function(req, res) {
+        res.say('Hello, World!');
+    }
+);
+
+// Start running our skill.
+chatskills.launch(hello);
+
+// Console client.
+var text = ' ';
+while (text.length > 0 && text != 'quit') {
+    text = readlineSync.question('> ');
+
+    // Respond to input.
+    chatskills.respond(text, function(response) {
+        console.log(response);
+    });
+}

lib/chatskills.js

@@ -9,6 +9,41 @@ License MIT
 
 var alexa = require('alexa-app');
 
+function ReqResHelper(namespace, sessionId) {
+    this.namespace = namespace;
+    this.sessionId = sessionId || 1;
+    this.sessions = {};
+
+    this.initialize = function() {
+        var text = ChatSkillsManager.id + ', ask ' + this.namespace + ' empty.';
+        this.sessions[this.sessionId] = ChatSkillsManager.session(text, this.sessionId);
+
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    this.session = function(key, value) {
+        this.sessions[this.sessionId].slots[key] = value;
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    this.say = function(text) {
+        console.log(text);
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    this.reprompt = function(text) {
+        // Unsupported.
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    this.shouldEndSession = function(isEnd) {
+        this.sessions[this.sessionId] = isEnd ? null : this.sessions[this.sessionId];
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    this.initialize();
+};
+
 var ChatSkillsManager = {
     verbose: false,
     timeout: 3600, // session timeout in seconds (0 to disable)
@@ -23,12 +58,37 @@ var ChatSkillsManager = {
     add: function(namespace) {
         // Add a new skill (app namespace).
         this.apps[namespace] = new alexa.app(namespace);
-
         return this.apps[namespace];
     },
 
     app: function(namespace) {
-        return this.apps[namespace];
+        return this.add(namespace);
+    },
+
+    launch: function(namespace, sessionId) {
+        var app = null;
+
+        if (typeof namespace == 'string') {
+            // Launch app.
+            app = this.apps[namespace];
+        }
+        else if (namespace) {
+            app = namespace;
+        }
+        else {
+            if (this.verbose) {
+                console.log("Error: Please provide a namespace or app to chatskills.launch(namespace, sessionId). Example: chatskills.launch('myskill') or chatskills.launch(app)");
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (app) {
+            // Instantiation will start a new session for this skill.
+            var req = new ReqResHelper(app.name, sessionId);
+            if (app.launchFunc) {
+                // Run the skill's app.launch() method.
+                app.launchFunc(req, req);
+            }            
+        }
     },
 
     expire: function(sessionId) {
@@ -111,10 +171,10 @@ var ChatSkillsManager = {
         sessionId = sessionId || 1;
 
         // Get a new or existing session.
-        var session = this.session(input, sessionId);
-        if (session) {
-            var app = session.app;
-            input = session.input;
+        var currentSession = this.session(input, sessionId);
+        if (currentSession) {
+            var app = currentSession.app;
+            input = currentSession.input;
             var result = null;
 
             // Go through each intent in the skill to find a valid response.
@@ -138,26 +198,36 @@ var ChatSkillsManager = {
 
                 result = ChatSkillsManager.parse(input, utterances, app.intents[key].schema.slots);
                 if (result.isValid) {
+                    var shouldContinueSession = false;
+
                     // This intent is valid for the input. Set slots.
                     for (var j in result.pairs) {
                         var pair = result.pairs[j];
-                        session.slots[pair.name] = pair.value;
+                        currentSession.slots[pair.name] = pair.value;
                     };
 
                     // Call intent.
                     var continueSession = app.intents[key]['function'](
                     {
                         // Request
                         input: input,
-                        slots: session.slots,
+                        slots: currentSession.slots,
                         variables: result.pairs,
 
                         get: function(key) {
-                            return session.slots[key];
+                            return currentSession.slots[key];
                         },
 
                         set: function(key, value) {
-                            session.slots[key] = value;
+                            currentSession.slots[key] = value;
+                        },
+
+                        session: function(key, value) {
+                            return value ? this.set(key, value) : this.get(key);
+                        },
+
+                        slot: function(key) {
+                            return this.get(key);
                         }
                     },
                     {
@@ -166,10 +236,27 @@ var ChatSkillsManager = {
                             if (callback) {
                                 callback(text);
                             }
+
+                            return this;
+                        },
+
+                        reprompt: function(text) {
+                            // Unsupported.
+                            return this;
+                        },
+
+                        session: function(key, value) {
+                            currentSession.slots[key] = value;
+                        },
+
+                        shouldEndSession: function(isEnd) {
+                            // Support for: res.shouldEndSession(false) to tell chatskills to keep session alive (even though default return from response is false, meaning end session).
+                            shouldContinueSession = !isEnd;
+                            return this;
                         }
                     });
 
-                    if (!continueSession) {
+                    if (!continueSession && !shouldContinueSession) {
                         // Intent returned false, so end the session.
                         delete this.sessions[sessionId];
 

package.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "chatskills",
-  "version": "0.0.10",
-  "description": "Build a simple chatbot using Alexa-style skills and intents.",
+  "version": "0.0.11",
+  "description": "Run Alexa apps on the command-line. Run them in Slack. Run them anywhere! Supports Amazon Alexa skills and intents.",
   "author": {
     "name": "Kory Becker",
     "email": "kbecker@primaryobjects.com",
@@ -47,6 +47,6 @@
     "AI",
     "artificial intelligence"
   ],
-  "_id": "chatskills@0.0.10",
+  "_id": "chatskills@0.0.11",
   "_from": "chatskills"
 }