How do I add python libraries to an AWS lambda function for Alexa?

I was following the tutorial to create an Alexa app using Python:

Python Alexa Tutorial

I was able to successfully follow all the steps and get the app to work.I now want to modify the python code and use external libraries such as import requests or any other libraries that I install using pip. How would I setup my lambda function to include any pip packages that I install locally on my machine?

As it is described in the Amazon official documentation link here It is as simple as just creating a zip of all the folder contents after installing the required packages in your folder where you have your python lambda code.

As Vineeth pointed above in his comment, The very first step in moving from an inline code editor to a zip file upload approach is to change your lambda function handler name under configuration settings to include the python script file name that holds the lambda handler.

lambda_handler => {your-python-script-file-name}.lambda_handler.

Other solutions like python-lambda and lambda-uploader help with simplifying the process of uploading and the most importantly LOCAL TESTING. These will save a lot of time in development.

The official documentation is pretty good. In a nutshell, you need to create a zip file of a directory containing both the code of your lambda function and all external libraries you use at the top level.

You can simulate that by deactivating your virtualenv, copying all your required libraries into the working directory (which is always in sys.path if you invoke a script on the command line), and checking whether your script still works.