Webex-Bot-with-Ngrok

Basic example of a Webex bot that automatically manages it's own webhooks, making sure they point to the correct Ngrok public URL.

Time to setup: if you have setup a bot and have Python installed you can get this to work in 5-10 minutes.

A Prepare

Create a bot (on developer.webex.com)
Download the code (above)
Check if you have python: python -V The version should be 3.9 or higher
Check if you have pip: python -m pip -V 'pip' is used to install Python libraries

B Create a folder** for the bot and copy the bot files to this folder

mkdir webex-bot-ngrok
cd webex-bot-ngrok
copy bot files to this folder (when using Pipenv, also copy "Pipfile")

C Install "Ngrok"

Check if you have Ngrok: ngrok
If not installed, download the Ngrok installer and run it.

______________ BELOW: D/E/F/G only if you use Pipenv ______________

D Install "Pipenv" (if not installed)

Check if you have pipenv: pipenv -V
If not, install it: python -m pip install pipenv

E Create Pipfile (or use the provided Pipfile)

(Mac) touch Pipfile (or create a file called "Pipfile")
Edit "Pipfile"
Paste content below in the Pipfile and save it. The folder now contains 1 file: "Pipfile" and Pipenv is ready to do its job.

url = "https://pypi.python.org/simple"
verify_ssl = true
name = "webex-bot-using-ngrok"
[dev-packages]
[packages]
requests = "*"
webexteamssdk = "*"
flask = "*"
[requires]
python_version = "3.9"

F Setup virtual environment

Pipenv install
Based on the Pipfile, this creates a local environment with the required packages.

G Activate the created virtual environment

Pipenv shell
Your prompt changes to indicate you are in the "isolated" setup.

NOTE: When you start the bot, you need to be in the Pipenv shell. Otherwise, it will not have the right libraries available.
alternatively: type pipenv run python webex-bot-ngrok.py This directly runs the python code inside the pipenv environment.

______________ ABOVE: D/E/F/G only if you use Pipenv ______________

H Set bot token environment variable

(MacOS): export MY_BOT_TOKEN='YOUR_TOKEN_HERE'
(Windows): set MY_BOT_TOKEN=YOUR_TOKEN_HERE

I Run the Bot (Python code)

python webex-bot-ngrok.py
When the ___start_____ message appears, test the bot!

J Test the bot

Send test to the bot.
It should repeat your message.
Send hello to the bot. The not should respond differently.

Customize code

webserver port (default: 4111) -- variable: webserver_ port = 4111

enable debugging (default: False) -- With debugging enabled your code will be relaunched every time you save your python code. Variable: webserver_debug = False

Ngrok status port number (default for the first Ngrok tunnel you open = 4040) -- Can be useful if you run multiple Ngrok tunnels they will all have the same status URL but with a different port number (4040, 4041, 4042 etc.) Variable: ngrok_port = 4040

Bot token in code instead of an environment variable (bad practice but if you have your reasons, I won't stop you)
How? After "my_bot_token=", replace the os.getenv with your bot token between quotes and remove the if clause after this statement.

FAQ

NGROK tunnel expires after 2 hours? Create a (free) Ngrok account and go here to get your API token and see how to use it. After that, no code modifications are needed.
I don't want to/can use Ngrok check out my alternative solution: Webex Bot using Websockets

More Webex Development resources?

Go to cs.co/webexdevinfo