quickblox-javascript-sdk

Overview

Bots are third-party applications that run inside QuickBlox platform. Chatbots are controlled programmatically via QuickBlox Javascript/Node.js SDK.

How To Build Chatbots

Create a new app in the Dashboard

QuickBlox application includes everything that brings messaging right into your application - chat, video calling, users, push notifications, etc. To create a QuickBlox application, follow the steps below:

1. Register a new account following this link. Type in your email and password to sign in. You can also sign in with your Google or Github accounts.
2. Create the app clicking New app button.
3. Configure the app. Type in the information about your organization into corresponding fields and click Add button.
4. Go to Dashboard => YOUR_APP => Overview section and copy your Application ID, Authorization Key, Authorization Secret, and Account Key .

Create bot user

To create a bot user, follow the steps below:

1. Go to Dashboard => YOUR_APP => Users => Add new user direction
2. Copy user ID. The user ID appears in the table with users once a User is created
3. Copy password. The password is taken from the Add user form.
4. Save user ID and password somewhere. We will use these 2 values later on.

Create Node.js carcass application

Open terminal and type the following commands:

mkdir my_awesome_bot
cd my_awesome_bot
npm init

This will ask you a bunch of questions, and then write a package.json file for you. More information on npm init. The main thing is that we have now a package.json file and can start to develop our first chatbot.

Connect QuickBlox Javascript/Node.js SDK

In terminal type the following command:

npm install quickblox --save

Create index.js file

Type the following command in terminal:

touch index.js

It will create the main entry point for your bot. Open this file and let’s write some logic.

Making your bot heart beat

Open index.js file and write the following code:

"use strict";

const QB = require("quickblox");

const CONFIG = {
  appId: "...",
  authKey: "...",
  authSecret: "...",
  botUser: {
    id: "...",
    password: "...",
  },
};

// Initialise QuickBlox
QB.init(CONFIG.appId, CONFIG.authKey, CONFIG.authSecret);

// Connect to Real-Time Chat
QB.chat.connect(
  {
    userId: CONFIG.botUser.id,
    password: CONFIG.botUser.password,
  },
  (chatConnectError) => {
    if (chatConnectError) {
      console.log(
        "[QB] chat.connect is failed",
        JSON.stringify(chatConnectError)
      );
      process.exit(1);
    }

    console.log("[QB] Bot is up and running");

    // Add chat messages listener
    QB.chat.onMessageListener = onMessageListener;
  }
);

function onMessageListener(userId, msg) {
  // process 1-1 messages
  if (msg.type == "chat") {
    if (msg.body) {
      let answerMessage = {
        type: "chat",
        body: msg.body, // echo back original message
        extension: {
          save_to_history: 1,
        },
      };

      QB.chat.send(userId, answerMessage);
    }
  }
}

process.on("exit", function () {
  console.log("Kill bot");
  QB.chat.disconnect();
});

This is a simple bot that simply replies back with origin message.

For CONFIG variable put the following values:

1. Bot user ID and password. Get these values following Dashboard => YOUR_APP => Users => Add new user direction. The user ID appears in the table with users once a User is created and the password is taken from the Add user form.

2. Application ID, Authorization Key, and Authorization Secret. Get these values following Dashboard => YOUR_APP => Overview direction and copy them from here.

Run our bot

In terminal type the following command:

node index.js

Now you can write something to your bot and will receive a reply. See the documentation at https://docs.quickblox.com/docs/js-quick-start.

Next step

You can take your simple bot to the next level by adding some intelligence to it. Check out this sample to see a clever bot in action. Follow the guide to learn how to run your clever bot.

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