Welcome to ChatOps’s documentation!¶

Note

The project is moved to https://itpp.dev/chat/ and will be shutdowned here soon

ToDo bot¶

Description ¶

Allows to create TODOs for a small group of users.

Tasks can have on of the following states:

TODO – to be done
DONE – done
CANCELED – nothing was done and not going to be done
RELOCATED – task is moved to another task management tool

Warning

Bot keeps only message IDS and task’s description (which is text of the first message). It means that if chat history is deleted, then some task information could be lost. Chat history could be deleted either by user or by telegram itself. What we know about the latter case is that “Bot storage is limited”, though it’s unknow how much or how long messages are kept in telegram servers.

Technical specification ¶

/mytasks, /tasks_from_me – shows tasks. By default it shows only WAITING and TODO tasks
- Prints all tasks in a single message with button “Load more Done”, “Load more WAITING”, “Load more Canceled”
/t123 – shows specific task.
- Prints original forwarded messages
- You can change status from here
/attach123 – attach new messages to a task
/stop_attaching – treat next messages as new task
/assign123 – assign a task to another person

/update_id – current update_id. Can be used to set MIN_UPDATE_ID (see below)
/myid – Id and Name of current user

To create new task:

Forward message to the bot
Assign to a user from the list

Roadmap ¶

Deployment ¶

Create a bot ¶

https://telegram.me/botfather – follow instruction to set bot name and get bot token

Prepare zip file ¶

To make a deployment package execute following commands:

mkdir /tmp/todo-bot
cd /tmp/todo-bot

pip2 install pyTelegramBotAPI -t .
wget https://gitlab.com/itpp/chatops/raw/master/todo-bot/lambda_function.py -O lambda_function.py
zip -r /tmp/todo_bot_package.zip *

Create DynamoDB tables ¶

In AWS (Amazon Web Services): DynamoDB service

Tasks table ¶

It’s used to save tasks

Partition key: id (number)
Unmark [ ] Use default settings checkbox

Add Secondary index:

Partition key: from_id (number)
Sort key: task_state (number)
Index name: from_id-task_state-index
Projected attributes: Include – then add field to_id, description, telegram_unixtime, msg_num

Add another Secondary index:

Partition key: to_id (number)
Sort key: task_state (number)
Index name: to_id-task_state-index
Projected attributes: Include – then add field from_id, description, telegram_unixtime, msg_num, next_reminder

Users table ¶

It’s used to save current user activity. For example, if user sends batch of forwarded message, we need to change user status to save all messages to a single task.

Partition key: user_id (number)

Create Lambda function ¶

Runtime ¶

In AWS: Lambda service

Use Python 2.7

Environment variables ¶

In AWS: Lambda service

BOT_TOKEN – the one you got from BotFather
USERS – Dictionary of users who can be assigned to a task. Format: {"USER_ID": "USER_NAME"}. At this moment there is no API to get list of members. As a workaround you can ask users to send /myid command to get name and id and prepare the dictionary manually. To use emoji in user names to as following:
- Get emoji code via http://www.webpagefx.com/tools/emoji-cheat-sheet/
- Install python lib: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/emoji
- Prepare json in python console:
  import emoji import json d = {"123": ":thumbsup: Ivan"} print(json.dumps(dict([(k, emoji.emojize(v, use_aliases=True)) for k, v in d.items()])))
DYNAMODB_TABLE_TASK – table with tasks (name of the table)
DYNAMODB_TABLE_USER – table with users (name of the table)
LOG_LEVEL – DEBUG or INFO
MIN_UPDATE_ID – Number to distract from update_id in task’s id computation. Use /update_id to get value.
FORWARDING_DELAY – max seconds to wait for next forwarded message. It’s a workaround for limitation of telegram API – it sends forwarded messages one by one and never in a single event. Default is 3 sec.
REMINDER_DAYS – how much days to wait before remind a user about open task

Trigger ¶

In AWS: Lambda service

API Gateway. Once you configure it and save, you will see Invoke URL under Api Gateway details section
CloudWatch Events. Create new rule for reminders, for example set
- Rule name – boto-todo-reminder
- Schedule expression – rate(1 day)

Role ¶

In AWS: IAM (Identity and Access Management) service: Policies

Create policy of actions for DynamoDB:
- Service – DynamoDB
- Action – All DynamoDB actions
- Resources – All Resources

In AWS: IAM service: Roles

In list of roles choose the role, which was named in process of creating lambda function, and attach to it recently created policy for DynamoDB

The role must allow access to lambda and dynamodb services.

By the final, role should look something like this:

In AWS: Lambda service: Designer: View Permissions (Key-Icon)

{

     "roleName": "{ROLE_NAME}",
      "policies": [
        {
          "document": {
            "Version": "2012-10-17",
            "Statement": [
              {
                "Effect": "Allow",
                "Action": [
                  "logs:CreateLogGroup",
                  "logs:CreateLogStream",
                  "logs:PutLogEvents"
                ],
                "Resource": [
                  "arn:aws:logs:*:*:*"
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          "name": "AWSLambdaEdgeExecutionRole-daf8b371-4fc9-4e1a-9809-fcd44b96d4f2",
          "id": "ANPAX7765LQXBC72HXN4W",
          "type": "managed",
          "arn": "arn:aws:iam::549753543726:policy/service-role/AWSLambdaEdgeExecutionRole-daf8b371-4fc9-4e1a-9809-fcd44b96d4f2"
          },
        {
          "document": {
            "Version": "2012-10-17",
            "Statement": [
              {
                "Sid": "VisualEditor0",
                "Effect": "Allow",
                "Action": "dynamodb:*",
                "Resource": "*"
              }
            ]
          },
          "name": "{NAME_OF_POLICY_FOR_DYNAMODB}",
          "id": "ANPAX7765LQXJUGC2FXMV",
          "type": "managed",
          "arn": "arn:aws:iam::549753543726:policy/{NAME_OF_POLICY_FOR_DYNAMODB}"
        }
      ],
      "trustedEntities": [
        "edgelambda.amazonaws.com",
        "lambda.amazonaws.com"
      ]

}

Timeout ¶

in AWS: Lambda service

Execution time depends on telegram server and amount of requests there. So, think about 30 seconds for limit.

Concurrency ¶

in AWS: Lambda service

You may need to disable concurrency (i.e. set Reserve concurrency to value 1) as a workaround for following issue: on resending batch of messages, those might be processed by several workers, so you might get several messages instead of a single one.

Register webhook at telegram ¶

via python lib ¶

Execute once in python console:

BOT_TOKEN = "PASTETHETOKEN"
WEB_HOOK = "PASTEAWSWEBHOOK"

import telebot  # https://github.com/eternnoir/pyTelegramBotAPI
bot = telebot.TeleBot(BOT_TOKEN, threaded=False)
bot.set_webhook(WEB_HOOK)

via curl ¶

# TODO pass allowed_updates arg
curl -XPOST https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOURTOKEN>/setWebhook\?url\=YOURAPIGATEWAYURL

via url ¶

Type the following in your browser and hit enter. (Make sure to substitute the place holder text):

https://api.telegram.org/bot<your-bot-token>/setWebHook?url=<your-API-invoke-URL>

Description ¶

The general idea is to ask questions within the Telegram group (let’s call it Target group) and get answers.

The group might be:

Support Team
IT Department of your company
etc.

Technical specification ¶

Chat ID ¶

/thischat – returns id of current chat. It’s used for the identification of the Telegram group. /myid – returns id of a user

Send message ¶

The are following ways for sending message-reqest to the bot:

In private chat with the bot: any message
- e.g. hello, how are you?, etc
In another Telegram group (different from Target group): any message that starts with / and ends with @<name_of_the_>bot is used as a response to the Bot’s message
- e.g. /hey@super_bot, /please@request_bot, etc.

Get message ¶

The Target group receives a copy of the message with a reference to the sender and the original message itself.

Response ¶

Users response to the bot, in so doing:

The copy of the response is sent back to chat, which contains the original message.
Response from Target group is anonymous by default, but could be customized.

Examples ¶

In the original chat from Ivan /hey Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything?
In the Target group from @name_of_the_bot: <a href="userlink">Ivan</a>: Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything? *msg:<message1>:<chat>*
In the Target group from @Deep_thought1:Anybody knows the answer?
In the Target group from @Deep_thought2:Let me think a little bit?
In the Target group from @Deep_thought1:?
In the Target group from @Deep_thought2:Ok, I found and checked the answer!
In the Target group from @Deep_thought2: In reply to Ivan: Answer to the Ultimate Question … The answer is 42!
In the Original chat from @name_of_the_bot: The answer is 42! *msg:<message2>*

Deployment ¶

Create a bot ¶

https://telegram.me/botfather – follow instruction to set bot name and get bot token.

Check your steps:

Use the /newbot command to create a new bot first.
The name of the bot must be end witn “bot” (e.g. TetrisBot or tetris_bot).
Keep your token secure and store safely, it can be used by anyone to control your bot.

Prepare zip file ¶

To make deployment package execute following commands:

mkdir /tmp/resend-bot
cd /tmp/resend-bot

pip2 install pyTelegramBotAPI -t .
wget https://gitlab.com/itpp/chatops/raw/master/resend-bot/lambda_function.py -O lambda_function.py
zip -r /tmp/resend_bot_package.zip *

BOT_TOKEN – the one you got from BotFather
TARGET_GROUP – put here Chat ID from the Target group using /thischat command
- Note: ID number may contains the “-” before number
ANONYMOUS_REPLY – whether to send replies anonymously. Default True.
AANONYMOUS_REQUEST_FROM_GROUPS – whether to show author name on requesting from another group. Default True.
ACCESS_BOT_LIST – List of ID’s (users) which can use the bot. If empty - everyone can.
LOGGING_LEVEL – Level of loger. (Allowed values: DEBUG, INFO, CRITICAL, ERROR, WARNING), by default: INFO

Trigger ¶

API Gateway. Once you configure it and save, you will see Invoke URL under Api Gateway details section
Set the security mechanism for your API endpoint as Open

Register webhook at telegram ¶

Replace “PASTETHETOKEN” with your Telegram HTTP API access token.
Replace “PASTEAWSWEBHOOK” with your Invoke URL obtained in the previous section.
Run following command

via python lib ¶

Execute once in python console:

BOT_TOKEN = "PASTETHETOKEN"
WEB_HOOK = "PASTEAWSWEBHOOK"

import telebot  # https://github.com/eternnoir/pyTelegramBotAPI
bot = telebot.TeleBot(BOT_TOKEN, threaded=False)
bot.set_webhook(WEB_HOOK, allowed_updates=['message'])

via curl ¶

# TODO pass allowed_updates arg
curl -XPOST https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOURTOKEN>/setWebhook\?url\=YOURAPIGATEWAYURL

Posting notifications in telegram via bot¶

This telegram bot substitutes ifttt’s applet “Webhook to Telegram”, which may work slowly.

Deployment
Try it out

Deployment ¶

Create a bot ¶

In telegram client open BotFather
Send /newbot command to create a new bot
Follow instruction to set bot name and get bot token
Keep your token secure and store safely, it can be used by anyone to control your bot

Prepare zip file ¶

To make deployment package execute following commands:

mkdir /tmp/bot
cd /tmp/bot

pip3 install pyTelegramBotAPI -t .
wget https://gitlab.com/itpp/chatops/raw/master/ifttt-to-telegram/lambda_function.py
zip -r /tmp/bot.zip *

Create Lambda function ¶

Navigate to https://console.aws.amazon.com/lambda/home
Click Create function
Configure the function as described below

Runtime ¶

Use Python 3.6

Function code ¶

Set Code entry type to Upload a .zip file
Select bot.zip file you made

Environment variables ¶

BOT_TOKEN – the one you got from BotFather
TELEGRAM_CHAT – where to send notification. You can chat id by sending any message to Get My ID bot
EVENT_<EVENT_NAME> – set response value. Use IFTTT syntax. For example:

EVENT_RED_PULL_REQUEST set to value PR TESTS are failed: {{Value1}}<br> {{Value2}}.

Trigger ¶

API Gateway. Once you configure it and save, you will see Invoke URL under Api Gateway details section
Set the security mechanism for your API endpoint as Open

Try it out ¶

Use URL of the following format to replace with your ifttt webhook URL:

<INVOKE_URL>?event=<EVENT_NAME>, for example https://9ltrkrik2l.execute-api.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/default/MyLambda?event=RED_PULL_REQUEST