cwt-echo-bot

You: resourceful business collaboration dev/enabler; if you like this, you might also like cisco-webex-tools.

This bot is a template--it responds when DM'd. (ignores non-humans, can only respond in groups when @mentioned)

When triggered (by webhook delivery = POST to target URL) an event action is fired, passing relevant JSON data.

Events are handled without blocking other HTTP traffic (actions are processed asynchronously) to enable scale-up.

Getting Started

Upfront: we expect you have installed a modern NodeJS as well as functional docker and git commands.

To get started, create your bot here: https://developer.webex.com/add-app.html (other application types: out of scope)

Copy the (double quoted) token string to file named token.json e.g. "$SECRET_BOT_ACCESS_TOKEN_FROM_DEV_PORTAL"

Clone this repository with git and drop token.json into the config directory, then follow the instructions below.

Basic Walkthrough

Last week, we created a Cisco Webex Teams bot (application) using the dev portal. (developer.webex.com)

0. You already have NodeJS (for npm) as well as docker and have used git to fork/clone this repo.
1. Copy token.json (file containing only the bot's token as a quoted string) into the config folder.
2. Run npm install to populate the node_modules folder and npm test to exercise a simple test server.
3. Examine package.json to understand the scripts you can run via npm. Feel free to add stuff here.
4. Next, try running npm run docker to build and spawn a container using the included Dockerfile.

By default, docker will create a lightweight container running the start script. See Tooling Primer, below.

5. Notice how npm start executes the server script by default? (a simple test server, not the bot)
6. Examine the contents of the bot folder and the provided script. Can you figure out ho?
7. Why isn't your bot responding to messages yet? Try npm run tunnel in another terminal.
8. Can you modify your bot to reply with a different message, or do something else?
9. What will you make your bot do? Will you add an API, or a React front-end?

Create an issue on GitHub (we also accept PRs) if you run into any problems. Your feedback is much appreciated!

Tooling Primer

Note: use Kinematic and/or Github Desktop if you prefer GUIs.

You might prefer an IDE, but NodeJS makes it simple enough to write JavaScript with any editor, even ones like vim.

To send HTTP requests, use your web browser (for simple GETs) or Postman or e.g. curl -v http://localhost:8080/.

Basic Docker

From the command line, use docker ps -a to list all your local containers, then docker stop ... and docker rm ....

The included Dockerfile is simple enough for beginners, but robust enough for a (basic) production application.

If you add databases or other services, you might want to explore tools like e.g. docker-compose, Swarm, etc.