SignalBot

Create intial config

mkdir $HOME/signal
docker run -v $HOME/signal:/config --rm -it pblaas/signalcli:latest link

Paste entire tsdevice:/? string in https://www.nayuki.io/page/qr-code-generator-library and read with Signal APP to add connected device.

Start messaging

After device is connected you can start sending messages:

docker run -v $HOME/signal:/config --rm -it pblaas/signalcli:latest -u YOURREGISTEREDNR send RECEIVER -m "your message"

show CLI help

docker run -v $HOME/signal:/config --rm -it pblaas/signalcli:latest -h

having some fun

echo `curl --silent https://api.chucknorris.io/jokes/random | jq '. | .value'` | docker run -v $HOME/signal:/config --rm -i signal:dev -u +316 send --g "2SExxxxxxxx"

bot ideas

• !chuck - show random chuck norris joke [DONE] [API]
• !gif - show random gif from Giphy [DONE] [API] [APIKEY]
• !weather - show weather
• !flip - Flip a coin heads or tails [DONE]
• !gnews - parse latest news from gnews API. [DONE] [API] [APIKEY] [DEPRECATED]
• !me - return with random reply [DONE]
• !version - show version [DONE]
• !help - show available commands [DONE]
• !haiku - show japanese poem [DONE]
• !names - random names based on python haikunator implementation [DONE]
• !launch - return lanched message and send source a image of impact.
• !trivia - return trivia questions [DONE] [API]
• !twitch - Return twitch and game related info [DONE] [API] [OAUTH2]
• !bored - Returns random activities [DONE] [API]
• !dog - Return short message with Emoji [DONE]
• !winamp - Returns winamp slogan with Emoji [DONE]
• !hn - Returns random hacker news [DONE] [API]
• !xkcd - Returns random image from xkcd [DONE] [API]
• !tmdb - Return movie and tv series information from The Movie DB. [DONE] [API] [APIKEY]

https://www.webfx.com/tools/emoji-cheat-sheet/

How to use this Signal Bot?

This bot is based on Signal CLI. https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli.

The bot can run in two modes.

• local executor mode
• non-local executor mode

Dependencies

• Signal APP (when linking)
• Docker engine
• $HOME/signal directory which contains Signal user profile.
• Giphy.com API key
• Gnews API key
• Twitch clientid and clientsecret

Docker engine

The bot implementation relies heavilly on container technology. The bot can be run inside of a container or outside of a container. When using the bot outside of a container it will still make calls to container image pblaas/signalcli for the response messages. More on this is explained in local or non-local executor mode.

The containers expect signal user profile configuration in /config. So when containers are started a volume mapping is mandatory. -v $HOME/signal:/config

Local executor mode

Local executor means the bot will run inside of a docker container and will also use the signal-cli command from inside of the container.

Local executor mode is the default and expects the bot to run inside a container. There are two mandatory variables which need to be set in order for the bot to work.

• REGISTEREDNR - contains the phone number you registered with the Signal messenger service.
• READY - Default set to False. In order for the Bot to respond it needs to be set to True.

To start the bot run:

docker run -v $HOME/signal:/config -e REGISTEREDNR="+31_YOUR_NUMBER" --rm -it pblaas/signalbot

To enable to bot to reply to commands like !help

docker run -v $HOME/signal:/config -e READY=True -e REGISTEREDNR="+31_YOUR_NUMBER" --rm -it pblaas/signalbot

Non-local executor mode

The non local executor mode means the bot can be run in local python3 environment with all the requirements from requirements.txt installed. It will however use a docker container to fire response commands.

To set non-local executor mode change the environment variable: export SIGNALEXECUTORLOCAL=False

Just like the local executor mode you also need to set some mandatory flags in order for the bot to be useful.

• REGISTEREDNR - contains the phone number you registered with the Signal messenger service.
• READY - Default set to False. In order for the Bot to respond it needs to be set to True.

To start the bot run:

pip3 install -r requirements
python signalbot/

Linking or registering

The first step into using this app is making sure Signal CLI has a proper user profile. This profile will be stored in a directory for example called 'signal'

Linking

To start a linking process with Signal CLI one should provide the link flag to signal-cli

signal-cli link

This will reveil a link string which looks like 'tsdevice:/?'. Copy this entire string into this page https://www.nayuki.io/page/qr-code-generator-library which will dynamicly create a QR code. Use your Signal APP e.g on your phone to add additional devices by scanning the QR code.

Registering

If you are not linking the bot to an existing account you can register the bot with the register flag.

signal-cli -u YOURPHONENUMBER register

You will then receive a SMS message with validation code.

signal-cli -u YOURPHONENUMBER verify CODE

Development

Additional bot functions should be added to the signalbot/functions directory. The modules should contain a class and one or multiple methods. The class then should also be added to the init.py file in the functions directory.

Next the new class should be added to the SwitchCase class in botfunctions.py so its content can be inherited. Reviewing some existing functions should give a good idea on how the bot can be extended.

Testcases are written in Pytest and utilize a .env file with the required variables:

READY=False
DEBUG=True
SIGNALEXECUTORLOCAL=False
PRIVATECHAT=False
GROUPCHAT=True
REGISTEREDNR="+316"
GIPHY_APIKEY=""
GNEWS_APIKEY=""
TMDB_APIKEY=""
TWITCH_CLIENTID=""
BLACKLIST=""
WHITELIST=""

Running the Pytest testsuite

pytest signalbot/

Run Pytest code coverage check

pytest --cov-report html:cov_html --cov=signalbot signalbot/