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FAQ

General

What is Amazon Creator? Amazon Creator is a tool to help content creators or owners create apps for Fire TV. Apps are standalone applications for watching media content. Amazon Creator uses the media in your YouTube channel or Media RSS feed or Brightcove application to create a customized web app that you can style and then publish directly into the Amazon Appstore. See Amazon Creator Overview in the documentation for more details. Where do I find my YouTube Username or Channel ID? You can find your YouTube Username or Channel ID when you log in to your YouTube account. The ID appears in the URL when you view your channel. You can also find your channel ID on your Advanced Settings page. See Get Your YouTube Channel ID for details. Why do I need an Amazon developer account? An Amazon developer account is required for you to publish in the Amazon Appstore. However, you don't need an Amazon developer account to begin creating an app in Amazon Creator. You can log in with your regular Amazon account and start creating and previewing your app. When you publish your app, you'll be prompted to create an Amazon developer account (if you don't already have one). Your regular Amazon account and developer account will then be linked. Why is my MRSS Feed not working? You must have all content served from HTTPS in order for the MRSS App to work. This includes all images and video links contained within the feed, such as those within the <media:thumbnail> and <media:content> url attributes.

Editing Your App

How do I edit my app? Editing an app is done through a sidebar visual editor. To edit your app, click Manage Apps in the upper-right corner, then click the Edit button next to your app. Any changes to your app's design are saved as a theme. The last saved theme will be the currently active theme for the app.
My playlists aren't appearing in the category navigation bar. If you're using YouTube, the category navigation bar doesn't show playlists by default. It shows sections in your YouTube channel. A section is an area within your channel that groups a specific type of content (for example, a playlist). After you assign playlists to different sections in your YouTube channel, the category navigation bar in your app will show those playlists. See Group Videos into Playlists in Your App's Category Navigation Bar for details. If you're using MRSS, the category navigation bar populates based on the category tags in your feed items. If you're using Brightcove, the category navigation bar populates based on your playlists in Brightcove.
In the app preview, clicking options in the category navigation bar doesn't work. You can't use your mouse to interact with the web app elements in the browser preview. You have to click on the virtual remote. For example, if you use your mouse's cursor to click the category navigation bar, the nav bar won't respond. Instead, to select an option from the category navigation bar, use the virtual remote — click the up arrow followed by the center button to see the items in the category navigation bar. The center button expands or plays what you have selected with the arrow buttons. See the video in Preview Your App for a demo.
How can I block some videos from appearing in my app? By default, all videos in your YouTube channel appear in your app. To prevent some videos from appearing in your app, you can block the videos by listing the video IDs you want to block. Go to Manage Apps, click Advanced in your app details, and see the Blocked Videos section.
Alternatively, you can create additional channels (in your same YouTube account) and adjust the videos in the channel associated with your app. For details, see Create Multiple Channels in Your YouTube Account.
How do I add custom pages or links in the category navigation menu? You cannot add custom links or pages in the category navigation bar. This menu shows any sections in your YouTube channel if you're using YouTube, or it shows categories from your feed if you're using an MRSS feed, or it shows Brightcove playlists if you're using Brightcove. The About page in this menu acknowledges the use of YouTube API services and provides links to terms and privacy policies. You can't modify the About page. If you desire, you can hide the Latest item from the category navigation bar (but not the category navigation bar itself).
(To hide the Latest item, go to Manage Apps, click Advanced in your app details, and see the Categories Navigation Bar Options section.)
My app's logo looks distorted. How can I fix it? Amazon Creator allows you to upload a new logo when you edit your app. Click Manage Apps in the upper-right corner, then click the Edit button next to your app. In the Logo section of the sidebar, click Choose a file. Amazon Creator maintains the aspect ratio of the image you upload. If the image is distorted, make sure the image you upload is 500 x 500px. See Image Assets Required for more details.
The text in the app is not legible. Can I change the color? Amazon Creator currently supports two font styles to make text more readable on different background colors. Look for the Font Theme dropdown menu in the visual editor sidebar when you're editing your app. The two themes currently supported are "Light" and "Dark". The font theme you select will apply to all the text in your app.
How do I save a color scheme? When you edit your app and make changes to the colors, images, or fonts, and then click Save, you're prompted to save your design changes as a theme. You can save your current theme settings as either a new theme or overwrite an existing theme. After you save a theme, it will be automatically applied as the active theme of that app.
Can I save over a predefined theme? No, but you can modify a predefined theme and save it as a new theme.

Testing Your App

How can I test my app on Fire TV before publishing? The easiest way to test your app before publishing is to search the Fire TV Appstore for the official Amazon Creator Preview app and install it on your Fire TV. After you install and open Amazon Creator Preview, it prompts you to add an app through a code. You can find this code by clicking Manage Apps in Amazon Creator. Look for the "Amazon Creator Preview Code" in your app's details. After you add your app in Amazon Creator Preview, press select on the logo to open the app and test its functionality.
How can I share my app with friends before publishing? There are two ways you can share your app with your friends before publishing:
(a) Either you can have your friends use the Amazon Creator Preview app (see the previous question for details) — just give them the Amazon Creator Preview Code.
Or (b) Copy and share the Test URL from the Manage Apps page. Anyone who has the Test URL can preview your app in a browser.

Publishing Your App

How soon after publishing to Appstore will my app be available? We review every app after submission. Time for an app to go live can vary depending on content or technical issues. We will notify you when there are any changes to your app's status. You can also check the status of your submission on the Manage Apps page.
My app was denied by the Appstore. How can I fix it? You should have received an email from Amazon Appstore detailing the reason for your denial. You will need to resolve the reasons for which your app was denied and publish the app again. A common reason apps are rejected is due to Content Policy violations. For technical tips, Troubleshooting.
Amazon Creator says an API Key is required. Where do I find my API Key? You can get your API key from the Google Developer Console. See the tutorial here. Or click the ? link next to API Key on the Manage Apps page in Amazon Creator.
Can I change the look and feel of my app after it was published? Yes, you can update your app's theme by going to Manage Apps and clicking the Edit button next to your app. After you finish, you can push your changes live (without having to republish to the Appstore and wait for approval). However, to update any of the required image assets or app descriptions, you will need to republish your app and wait for approval before the changes go live.
How will my app be evaluated in the submission/approval process? The Appstore team first checks your app for technical issues to make sure every option in your app's category navigation bar loads content. The Appstore team will also ensure your app's content conforms to Amazon Appstore's content policy. Your content should avoid all of the following: offensive content, pornography, illegal activity, gambling with real currency, intellectual property infringement, privacy/publicity infringement, and country-specific restrictions. See Publish Your App for more details.
Will I see ads on my app? Fire TV won't block ads from your videos, so if your video host allows you to have ads on other platforms, Fire TV will allow the ads to appear on your videos. Note that (as of April 2018) YouTube does not recognize Fire TV’s user agent. Hence, your YouTube ads will not appear on Fire TV.

Support

My Live App is not loading. How can I fix it? If your Live App is not loading correctly, there might be an issue with your YouTube API Key.
To determine if there is an issue with your YouTube API Key, launch the following URL on a browser after replacing with the API KEY used by your Live App.

https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/search?part=snippet&&key=API-KEY
If you see an 'Access Not Configured' error, you will need to create a new YouTube project and developer key by following the steps listed here.

To update the Developer Key used by your Live App :
  1. Login to Amazon Creator website
  2. Click Manage Apps in the top navigation bar
  3. Click Edit API KEY
  4. Replace the API KEY with the newly created API KEY
  5. Press Enter Key
  6. If the key is valid, the new API KEY will be saved and the Live App should load correctly. There is no need to re-publish the app.
  7. If there is a problem with the API KEY, you will see an 'Invalid Key' error message. Review the steps in creation of new developer key here and try again.

If there is no issue with the API KEY OR you encounter any other issues while following the steps above, please contact us through Developer Portal’s Contact Us form.
How can I get support or help for my app? If your question is still not answered, we offer the following options:
  1. Browse the Amazon Creator documentation.
  2. Ask a question in the Amazon Developer Forums. Use the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick space and the Amazon Creator topic.
  3. Contact support personally through the Developer Portal's Contact Us form.
If you're having issues with YouTube or your online video host, seek information from within those sites instead of Amazon.