101 of the best Amazon Alexa voice commands: Unlock smart home control, music and more

Learning the best Alexa voice commands requires a bit of time, but doing so is essential to making your Amazon Echo music, TV and general experience the most rewarding it can be.

If you’re wondering what to ask Alexa, you may be missing out on the best features. Alexa commands enable the voice assistant living inside your smart speaker to bring music, control smart home gadgets and bring daily weather and news updates.

Whether you have the Amazon Echo, Echo Show, or even the new Echo Spot, knowing what to say to Alexa is everything.

You can download all the Alexa skills you want – but if you don’t know what to say, the whole thing is useless.

So, whether you’re just learning to talk or you’re a smart home veteran in need of a refresher, here are 97 of the best Alexa commands to try.

Quick look: Your first Alexa commands to try

• “Alexa, play [artist/song/album name]”
• “Alexa, set a timer for [insert] minutes/seconds”
• “Alexa, what’s the weather like today?”
• “Alexa, set an alarm for [time]”
• “Alexa, play [radio station]”
• “Alexa, pair my phone”
• “Alexa, who sings this song?”
• “Alexa, louder/quieter”
• “Alexa, announce: [say your message]”
• “Alexa, what’s the date today?”
• “Alexa, how many ounces are in a pound?”

Essential Alexa music commands

• “Alexa, play [genre]”
• “Alexa, play from [music service]”
• “Alexa, play the latest [artist name] [album/song]”
• Alexa, play Sunday morning music”
• Alexa, set the volume to 6″
• “Alexa, turn this off in [x minutes]”
• “Alexa, create a disco playlist”
• Alexa, play [song] by [artist] from [service] in the [Sonos room name]” – check out our guide to using Sonos with Alexa
• “Alexa, play that song that goes like [insert lyric]”
• Alexa, play [podcast name] from Spotify” – check out our guide to listening to podcasts with your Alexa speaker

• “Alexa, set the treble to three”
• “Alexa, set night mode”
• “Alexa, increase bass”
• “Alexa, decrease treble”
• “Alexa, increase bass in the living room”
• “Alexa, set night mode on the bedroom TV”
• “Alexa, set movie mode”
• “Alexa, set bass to two on the sound bar”

Alexa movie/TV commands

• “Alexa, what is the IMDb rating for [show/movie]?”
• “Alexa, tell me about the movie [whatever it’s called]”
• “Alexa, who stars in [show/movie]?”
• “Alexa, watch 101 of the best Amazon Alexa voice commands: Unlock smart home control, music and more”
• “Alexa, open Netflix”
• “Alexa, pause.”
• “Alexa, fast forward [x] minutes”
• “Alexa, play the next episode”
• “Alexa, turn the volume down on Fire TV”
• “Alexa, show me movies with [actor’s name]”

Alexa timers and alarm commands

• “Alexa, set alarm for 8am”
• “Alexa, wake me up everyday at [time]”
• “Alexa, wake me up at [time] to [music or radio station]”
• “Alexa, snooze” [For nine minutes]
• “Alexa, set a timer for [X minutes]”
• “Alexa, set a 10-minute [pizza] timer” – (If using multiple timers, Alexa will tell you your “pizza is ready”)
• “Alexa, how long is left on the timer?”
• “Alexa, stop the timer”

Checking calendars and reminders

• “Alexa, what’s on my schedule today?”
• “Alexa, add ‘Barbecue at Ben’s house’ to my calendar for Saturday”
• “Alexa, add features meeting to my calendar on Thursday at 4.30”
• “Alexa, what have I got on tomorrow?”
• “Alexa, add haircut to my to-do list”
• “Alexa, what’s on my to-do list?”

Getting everyday information

• “Alexa, what’s the weather like?”
• “Alexa, will it rain today?”
• “Alexa, what will the weather be like tomorrow?”
• “Alexa, what’s in the news?”
• “Alexa, what’s the traffic like today?”
• “Alexa, what time is it in [city or country]?”
• “Alexa, what movies are playing?”
• “Alexa, what’s yesterday’s [team name] score?”
• “Alexa, when is the next [team name] game?”
• “Alexa, how do you spell [word]?”
• “Alexa, how do you make [recipe]?”

Controlling your smart home

This will all depend on your having a house full of Alexa-compatible smart home tech. If you do, try these:

• “Alexa, switch accounts” [to change profiles]
• “Alexa, bedtime” (Start’s bedtime routine) – check out our Alexa Routines guide)
• “Alexa, discover my devices”. [to find smart home tech]
• “Alexa, turn my [name] lights on”
• “Alexa, [name] lights off/out”
• “Alexa, dim the [name] lights to 50%”
• “Set the [name] light to warm white.”
• “Alexa, set the temperature to 21 degrees”
• “Alexa, trigger Purple Rain recipe”
• “Alexa, lock the front door”
• “Alexa, turn on the TV”
• “Alexa, show me [camera name]” – (Works with display devices – Echo Show, Show 5 and Spot).

Making and taking calls

• “Alexa, call [person’s name]”
• “Alexa, answer the call”
• “Alexa, hang up”
• “Alexa, Drop In on the living room”
• “Alexa, play my messages”
• “Alexa, announce that [message]” – plays on all home network Echo devices

• “Alexa, buy more [Amazon item].”
• “Alexa, order [Amazon item]”
• “Alexa, what’s on my shopping list?”
• “Alexa, add [item] to my shopping list”
• “Alexa, where’s my stuff?” [to track order]

• What’s today’s Christmas treat?
• Do you want to build a snowman?
• How ugly is your Christmas jumper?
• Open the advent calendar
• Sing a Christmas carol
• Sing your new Christmas song
• What is the true meaning of Christmas?
• Who is your favourite reindeer?
• Is Santa Claus real?
• Where does Father Christmas live?