Telegram-bot

Stateful, scenario based telegram bot.

SYNOPSIS

One example bot is online, Add @Tsb_bot bot to your Telegram

script.yaml

scenario:                       # We load our yaml from this node "scenario"
  name: root                    # Each node must have name, it may be used for navigarion
  reply: |
    Hello <% username %>,
    This is calculator menu demo
    type /start to start
  menu: '/start'                # Menu is telegram custom keyboard
  commands:                     # Each user typed text will match with current scenario commands
    /start|begin|начать:        # Regexp for command match
      name: calculator
      reply: "Enter"
      menu: |
        7 || 8 || 9 || *
        4 || 5 || 6 || /
        1 || 2 || 3 || -
        0 || . || = || +
        /cancel
      commands:
        /cancel:
          name: cancel          # if leaf and no "goto", than go to root "/"
        .:                      # "." is special - it is guaranteed to be last match check
          name: calculate
          action: <% doCalculate %>
          reply: <% getCalcResult %>
          # goto may be absolute path or relative
          goto: ../             # repeat calculator

index.js

import 'babel/polyfill';
import {Bot, Scenario} from 'telegram-scenario-bot';

const scenarioApi = {
  username() {
    var from = this.from,
        user_name = from.first_name || from.username;
    return user_name;
  },

  doCalculate() {
    var text = this.text,
        session = this.session;

    // ... some logic ...
    
    // We may store to session. Session clear when enter to root scenario
    session.acc = (session.acc || '') + text;
  },

  getCalcResult() {
    return this.session.acc;
  }
};

var script = /*... load yaml*/
var bot_scenario = new Scenario(scenarioApi, script),
    b = new Bot('123456788:AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA');

b.scenario(bot_scenario);
b.start();

See examples folder for more.

DESCRIPTION

This module provides simplified interface to Telegram bot api. Telegram bot api have unique feature - custom keyboards, good way to create scenarios.

Event-way of creating bot may be not so comfortable if you want use multilevel custom keyboards. Using this module, you can prepare scenario in JS, JSON (or other that can be converted to it, ex. YAML) and some bot API callbacks for using in scenario. Callback are "await"-ed, so you may use es7 async function or thanable. Bot will manage user session, scenario route and have job queue. Messages from user are ignored when processing message for this user not done. Default is 2 concurent jobs.

Group chat, privacy mode not tested.

SCENARIO SCHEMA

Scenario is JSON object, where property value may be a result of some api call (using markup <% %>). You may use js and use callbacks directly. For example:

var api = {
  someApiCall: async function() { /* */}
};
new Scenario(api, {
  name: "root",
  reply: "<% someApiCall %>"
  // same as:
  // reply: async function() { /*...*/ }
});

As for me, yaml are best solution, it allow you use anchor, so you can avoid nesting-hell or make resuable some part of code:

reusable commands:
  # just show cancel message
  cancel: &CANCEL
    name: cancel
    reply: Canceled
  back: &BACK
    name: back
    goto: ../..

scenario:
# [ ...skip... ]
          commands:
            /cancel|cancel: *CANCEL
            /back|back: *BACK
# [ ...skip... ]

Full scenario spec:

  scenario_schema = {
    name               : name,    // scenario name, unique
    typing             : boolean, // action, typing
    uploading_photo    : boolean, // action
    recording_video    : boolean, // action
    uploading_video    : boolean, // action
    recording_audio    : boolean, // action
    uploading_audio    : boolean, // action
    uploading_document : boolean, // action
    finding_location   : boolean, // action

    reply              : string, // reply message for this scenario

    menu               : one_of_str_or_array, // custom keyboard markup

    ttl                : number, // time to live of session

    chain              : boolean, // allow chaining this command

    before             : fun,   // called before  all, you may  use it
                                // to   prepare   stash,   to   deduce
                                // database operation

    action             : fun,   // called before reply. Usually setter
    after              : fun,

    goto               : string, // next scenario.

    commands           : command // hash, key - regexp, value - scenario object
  };

Where:

• property type string and menu - allowed any number of template substitution by <% %>.
• type boolean, number, fun, only one <% %>.

• typing, uploading_document, etc - Use this when you need to tell the user that something is happening on the bot's side. The status is set for 5 seconds or less.
• reply - Send text message. You may random select one from set, delimited by \n={2,}\n:

reply: |
  Hello <% username %>
  ===================
  Greeting <% username %>
  ===================
  Wellcome back, <% username %>

When one reply selected than calculate <% %>.

• menu - Telegram custom keyboard:

# as string
menu: |
  yes || no
  cancel
# as array of array
menu:
  - [yes, no]
  - [cancel]
# you may use callbacks that return menu markup
menu: |
  <% lastSelected %>
  <% getNext10Items %>    # let say this fun return multiline string, so each line of it became menu item
  back || cancel

• goto - if no "goto" property and this is a leaf of scenario, than it will go to root scenario ("/"). Root scenario name may be omitted.

• chain - set to true for chaining commands. Default false. For example you have:

scenario:
  # ...
  commands:
    ^/video:
      chain: true
      # ...
      commands:
        # ...
        ^/quality:

This example allow to user type command /video /quality or /video/quality (spaces are trimmed). This may be usefull if you want allow user to skip some interactive interfaces and run single command.

Let say you have command /google, chain allow pass query text it in single command (ex: /google foo bar), before next scenario is resolved, before function called and removed matched command name from user input text (so text foo bar passed to sub-scenario). See "examples/google".

• commands object where key is command/work pattern and value is next scenario. If you use yaml, good to use ancors here to remove nesting. Try use regexp pattern that does not depend on the sequence of hash keys. Key "." is special, and is guaranteed to be last match check. "." matched even this is not text message but photo, audio upload, etc.

{
  name: "foo",
  reply: "Now post audio file. I upload it to server. Type /cancel to cancel."
  commands: {
    ".": {
      name: "process-data",    // this route expect user send audio message, if no, send errror 
      action: function() {
        let telegram_message = this.message,
            audio = telegram_message.message.audio;
        if (_.isUndefined(audio)) {
          return 'You should send audio message'
        }
        // process audio... 
      },
      reply: "Thanks, audio file successful upploaded to server"
    }
    "cancel": {
      name: "cancel"
    },
  },  
}

• before callback, good for preparing stash with your model data.
• action function called before reply was send, use it as setter. If you fail to set data or data not valid, return string explanation message that will be send to user, and route path go up ("../").

this context of api callback

// currently context created when processing message
{
      // fast accesors to telegram message field
      text: text,
      from: from,
      chat: chat,

      // full telegram message
      message: data,

      stash: {},
      session: session || {},
      telegramApi: telegram,
    };

• session object live until you not enter to root scenario or not expired ttl. Default ttl is 30 min, set globally may be done by sessionTTL method of Bot class.
• stash live while processing message, use before callback to prepare stash.
• telegramApi - promisified teleapiwrapper class:

fooAction: async function() {
  let telegram = this.telegramApi,
      chat_id = this.from.id;
  await this.telegram.sendPhoto(chat_id, fs.createReadStream("some_photo.jpg"),
                                "This is a really nice photo");
}

BOT CLASS API

• scenario(newscenario) - Setter/getter for scenario.
• sessionTTL(ttl) - Setter/getter time to live session. Default 30min.
• stateHolder(new_stateholder) - Setter/getter Session holder
• telegramPollingTimout(timeout) - Setter/getter for timeout of telegram longpolling, default 1min.
• jobQueue() - get job queue. Example: bot.jobQueue().maxConcurentJobs(8)
• start() - start polling

DEBUG

Set env DEBUG=telegram-scenario-bot:*

TODO

• Write test for bot core behavior. Currently covered only scenario validator. Behavior still is subject of change.
• Sugar for single line commands "/google foo bar".
• Write acceptance library for test scenario behavior.
• Test group chat
• Ignore messages that send before bot start. Ignore message that have timestamp < timestamp of end processing message for same user.