Bluechat

This is a generic chatbots backend, where you can enter your assistant's credentials and register an environment variable check, from a previously determined model, and make external requests.

• This is an alpha version

const bluechat = require('bluechat');

bluechat.initEngine();
bluechat.initServer();

Installing

Import the module

npm install bluechat

Prepare the environment

• In your home directory, create a file called .env
  • env

    • Here you will enter your Watson Assistant credentials and the Port for the server to run, as shown below:

      PORT=
      
      ASSISTANT_APIKEY=
      ASSISTANT_URL=
      ASSISTANT_ID=

Routes

Session Id

Request

• Here you will make an initial request, to obtain the 'session_id', which will be used to let the Assistant know which session the messages sent are from.

  GET / <url>:<port>

  example:

  GET / localhost:3000

Response

• The response will be like this:

  {
      "data": {
          "session_id": "<id>"
      }
  }

Message

Request

• Here you will make a request passing in the parameters the 'session_id' obtained in the initial request, and in the body a json with key 'text' and the message entered by the user.

  POST <url>:<port>/<session_id>
  Content-Type: application/json
  {
      "text": "<message>"
  }

  example:

  POST localhost:3000/3d86a86b-6b3a-483c-98c0-9098f21fde22
  Content-Type: application/json
  {
      "text": "corona"
  }

Response

• The response will be like this:

  {
      "data": {
          "response": {
              "messages": [
                  {
                      "response_type": "text",
                      "text": "<message>"
                  }
              ],
              "total": 1
          },
          "context": ""
      }
  }

Methods

initEngine

• This is the initial method of the module, as the name says, starts the engine, when this method is executed, the connection with ibm-watson is made and the connection of the other internal methods for the module's operation is also made.

  bluechat.initEngine();

initServer

• This method starts the server by listening to the port inserted in the .env file.

  bluechat.initServer();

createContext

• In this method you will register a context variable and insert a callback function to be executed when returning the context variable registered in watson
• There is no limit on the context variables registered.

  bluechat.createContext(contextVariable, function);

  example:
  • You can assemble the message or pass the data on an object to use a generic view that uses the ibm response pattern.
  • In this example we will use the second one.

  bluechat.createContext('color', (contexts) => {
      let response = {
          type: 'option',
          title: 'Choose the color',
          options: []
      };
  
      for (let color of contexts.colors) {
          response.options.push({
              label: color,
              value: {
                  input: {
                      text: color
                  }
              }
          });
      }
  
      return response;
  });

• List of object parameters to use the generic view
  • option

    "type": "option",
    "title": "<title>",
    "options": [options]

  • pause

    "type": "pause",
    "time": "<time>",
    "typing": true/false

  • suggestion

    "type": "suggestion",
    "title": "<title>",
    "suggestion": [suggestion]

  • image

    "type": "image",
    "source": "<source>"

  • text

    "type": "text",
    "text": "<text>"

use

• This is a middleware method, it is called at the insertion position at the beginning/middle/end of the inserted context variables.

  bluechat.use(function);

  example:

  bluechat.createContext(contextVariable, function);
  
  bluechat.use((reject, contexts) => {
      if (contexts.userPrivileges) return reject();
      else return true;
  });
    
  bluechat.createContext(contextVariable, function);