A complete WhatsApp chatbot demo tutorial ready to use in minutes using the OmniChat API. 🤖 🤩
Get a chatbot running in minutes on your computer or server and easily adapt it to cover you own use cases.
The chatbot is able to create, edit and remove reminders, assign chats to agents when requested and reply with different sample messages as requested by users.
The program will validate you have access to OmniChat API and you have a least one WhatsApp number connected.
Creates a tunnel using Ngrok to be able to receive Webhook events on your computer (or you can use a dedicated webhook URL instead if you run the bot in a cloud server).
Registers the webhook endoint automatically.
Start listening for inbound messages received in your WhatsApp number.
You can start playing with the bot by sending messages to the connected WhatsApp number.
\
|- bot.js -> the bot source code in a single file
|- config.js -> configuration file to customize the bot behavior and rules
|- package.json -> node.js package manifest required to install dependencies
|- node_modules -> where the project dependencies will be installed, fully managed by npm
You can download all project sources in this section > Download icon in the box top-right corner.
// Required. Specify the OmniChat API key to be used// You can obtain it here: https://chat.omnidigital.ae/apikeysapiKey: env.API_KEY || 'ENTER API KEY HERE',
// Ngrok tunnel authentication token.// Required if webhook URL is not provided.// sign up for free and get one: https://ngrok.com/signup// Learn how to obtain the auth token: https://ngrok.com/docs/agent/#authtokensngrokToken: env.NGROK_TOKEN,
Run the bot program:
node bot
Run the bot program on a custom port:
PORT=80 node bot
Run the bot program for a specific OmniChat connected device:
DEVICE=WHATSAPP_DEVICE_ID node bot
Run the bot program in production mode:
NODE_ENV=production node bot
Run the bot with an existing webhook server without the Ngrok tunnel:
Note: https://bot.company.com:8080 must point to the bot program itself running in your server and it must be accessible from Internet using HTTPS for secure connection.
const express = require('express')
const axios = require('axios')
const ngrok = require('ngrok')
const moment = require('moment')
const nodemon = require('nodemon')
const bodyParser = require('body-parser')
const config = require('./config')
const { env } = process
// Base URL API endpoint. Do not edit!const API_URL = env.API_URL || 'https://api.omnidigital.ae/v1'// Create web serverconst app = express()
// Middleware to parse incoming request bodies
app.use(bodyParser.json())
// Index route
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
res.send({
name: 'chatbot',
description: 'Simple WhatsApp chatbot for OmniChat',
endpoints: {
webhook: {
path: '/webhook',
method: 'POST'
},
sendMessage: {
path: '/message',
method: 'POST'
},
sample: {
path: '/sample',
method: 'GET'
}
}
})
})
// POST route to handle incoming webhook messages
app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
const { body } = req
if (!body || !body.event || !body.data) {
return res.status(400).send({ message: 'Invalid payload body' })
}
if (body.event !== 'message:in:new') {
return res.status(202).send({ message: 'Ignore webhook event: only message:in:new is accepted' })
}
res.send({ ok: true })
// Process message in background
processMessage(body).catch(err => {
console.error('[error] failed to process inbound message:', body.id, body.data.fromNumber, body.data.body, err)
})
})
// Send message on demand
app.post('/message', (req, res) => {
const { body } = req
if (!body || !body.phone || !body.message) {
return res.status(400).send({ message: 'Invalid payload body' })
}
sendMessage(body).then((data) => {
res.send(data)
}).catch(err => {
res.status(+err.status || 500).send(err.response ? err.response.data : {
message: 'Failed to send message'
})
})
})
// Send a sample message to your own number, or to a number specified in the query string
app.get('/sample', (req, res) => {
const { phone, message } = req.query
const data = {
phone: phone || app.device.phone,
message: message || 'Hello World from OmniChat!',
device: app.device.id
}
sendMessage(data).then((data) => {
res.send(data)
}).catch(err => {
res.status(+err.status || 500).send(err.response ? err.response.data : {
message: 'Failed to send sample message'
})
})
})
app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
res.status(+err.status || 500).send({
message: `Unexpected error: ${err.message}`
})
})
// In-memory store for a simple state machine per chat// You can use a database instead for persistenceconst state = {}
const reminders = {}
// In-memory cache storeconst cache = {}
const cacheTTL = 10 * 60 * 1000// 10 minasyncfunctionpullMembers (device) {
if (cache.members && +cache.members.time && (Date.now() - +cache.members.time) < cacheTTL) {
return cache.members.data
}
const url = `${API_URL}/devices/${device.id}/team`const { data: members } = await axios.get(url, { headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey } })
cache.members = { data: members, time: Date.now() }
return members
}
asyncfunctionvalidateMembers (device, members) {
const validateMembers = (config.teamWhitelist || []).concat(config.teamBlacklist || [])
for (const id of validateMembers) {
if (typeof id !== 'string' || string.length !== 24) {
return exit('Team user ID in config.teamWhitelist and config.teamBlacklist must be a 24 characters hexadecimal value:', id)
}
const exists = members.some(user => user.id === id)
if (!exists) {
return exit('Team user ID in config.teamWhitelist or config.teamBlacklist does not exist:', id)
}
}
}
asyncfunctioncreateLabels (device) {
const labels = cache.labels.data || []
const requiredLabels = (config.setLabelsOnUserAssignment || []).concat(config.setLabelsOnBotChats || [])
const missingLabels = requiredLabels.filter(label => labels.every(l => l.name !== label))
for (const label of missingLabels) {
console.log('[info] creating missing label:', label)
const url = `${API_URL}/devices/${device.id}/labels`const body = {
name: label.slice(0, 30).trim(),
color: [
'tomato', 'orange', 'sunflower', 'bubble',
'rose', 'poppy', 'rouge', 'raspberry',
'purple', 'lavender', 'violet', 'pool',
'emerald', 'kelly', 'apple', 'turquoise',
'aqua', 'gold', 'latte', 'cocoa'
][Math.floor(Math.random() * 20)],
description: 'Automatically created label for the chatbot'
}
try {
await axios.post(url, body, { headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey } })
} catch (err) {
console.error('[error] failed to create label:', label, err.message)
}
}
if (missingLabels.length) {
await pullLabels(device, { force: true })
}
}
asyncfunctionpullLabels (device, { force } = {}) {
if (!force && cache.labels && +cache.labels.time && (Date.now() - +cache.labels.time) < cacheTTL) {
return cache.labels.data
}
const url = `${API_URL}/devices/${device.id}/labels`const { data: labels } = await axios.get(url, { headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey } })
cache.labels = { data: labels, time: Date.now() }
return labels
}
asyncfunctionupdateChatLabels ({ data, device, labels }) {
const url = `${API_URL}/chat/${device.id}/chats/${data.chat.id}/labels`const newLabels = (data.chat.labels || [])
for (const label of labels) {
if (newLabels.includes(label)) {
newLabels.push(label)
}
}
if (newLabels.length) {
console.log('[info] update chat labels:', data.chat.id, newLabels)
await axios.patch(url, newLabels, { headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey } })
}
}
asyncfunctionupdateChatMetadata ({ data, device, metadata }) {
const url = `${API_URL}/chat/${device.id}/contacts/${data.chat.id}/metadata`const entries = []
const contactMetadata = data.chat.contact.metadata
for (const entry of metadata) {
if (entry && entry.key && entry.value) {
const value = typeof entry.value === 'function' ? entry.value() : value
if (!entry.key || !value || typeof entry.key !== 'string' || typeof value !== 'string') {
continue
}
if (contactMetadata && contactMetadata.some(e => e.key === entry.key && e.value === value)) {
continue// skip if metadata entry is already present
}
entries.push({
key: entry.key.slice(0, 30).trim(),
value: value.slice(0, 1000).trim()
})
}
}
if (entries.length) {
await axios.patch(url, entries, { headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey } })
}
}
asyncfunctionselectAssignMember (device) {
const members = await pullMembers(device)
const isMemberEligible = (member) => {
if (config.teamBlacklist.length && config.teamBlacklist.includes(member.id)) {
returnfalse
}
if (config.teamWhitelist.length && !config.teamWhitelist.includes(member.id)) {
returnfalse
}
if (config.assignOnlyToOnlineMembers && (member.availability.mode !== 'auto' || ((Date.now() - +newDate(member.lastSeenAt)) > 30 * 60 * 1000))) {
returnfalse
}
if (config.skipTeamRolesFromAssignment && config.skipTeamRolesFromAssignment.some(role => member.role === role)) {
returnfalse
}
returntrue
}
const activeMembers = members.filter(member => member.status === 'active' && isMemberEligible(member))
if (!activeMembers.length) {
returnconsole.log('[warning] Unable to assign chat: no eligible team members')
}
const targetMember = activeMembers[activeMembers.length * Math.random() | 0]
return targetMember
}
asyncfunctionassignChat ({ member, data, device }) {
const url = `${API_URL}/chat/${device.id}/chats/${data.chat.id}/owner`const body = { agent: member.id }
await axios.patch(url, body, { headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey } })
if (config.setMetadataOnAssignment && config.setMetadataOnAssignment.length) {
const metadata = config.setMetadataOnAssignment.filter(entry => entry && entry.key && entry.value).map(({ key, value }) => ({ key, value }))
await updateChatMetadata({ data, device, metadata })
}
}
asyncfunctionassignChatToAgent ({ data, device }) {
if (!config.enableMemberChatAssignment) {
returnconsole.log('[debug] Unable to assign chat: member chat assignment is disabled. Enable it in config.enableMemberChatAssignment = true')
}
try {
const member = await selectAssignMember(device)
if (member) {
let updateLabels = []
// Remove labels before chat assigned, if requiredif (config.removeLabelsAfterAssignment && config.setLabelsOnBotChats && config.setLabelsOnBotChats.length) {
const labels = (data.chat.labels || []).filter(label => !config.setLabelsOnBotChats.includes(label))
console.log('[info] remove labels before assiging chat to user', data.chat.id, labels)
if (labels.length) {
updateLabels = labels
}
}
// Set labels on chat assignment, if requiredif (config.setLabelsOnUserAssignment && config.setLabelsOnUserAssignment.length) {
let labels = (data.chat.labels || [])
if (updateLabels.length) {
labels = labels.filter(label => !updateLabels.includes(label))
}
for (const label of config.setLabelsOnUserAssignment) {
if (!updateLabels.includes(label)) {
updateLabels.push(label)
}
}
}
if (updateLabels.length) {
console.log('[info] set labels on chat assignment to user', data.chat.id, updateLabels)
await updateChatLabels({ data, device, labels: updateLabels })
}
console.log('[info] automatically assign chat to user:', data.chat.id, member.displayName, member.email)
await assignChat({ member, data, device })
} else {
console.log('[info] Unable to assign chat: no eligible or available team members based on the current configuration:', data.chat.id)
}
return member
} catch (err) {
console.error('[error] failed to assign chat:', data.id, data.chat.id, err)
}
}
asyncfunctionunassignChat ({ data, device }) {
try {
const url = `${API_URL}/chat/${device.id}/chats/${data.chat.id}/owner`await axios.delete(url, null, { headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey } })
} catch (err) {
console.error('[error] failed to unassign chat:', data.id, data.chat.id, err)
}
}
functioncanReply ({ data, device }) {
const { chat } = data
// Skip if chat is already assigned to an team memberif (chat.owner && chat.owner.agent) {
returnfalse
}
// Ignore messages from group chatsif (chat.type !== 'chat') {
returnfalse
}
// Skip replying chat if it has one of the configured labels, when applicableif (config.skipChatWithLabels && config.skipChatWithLabels.length && chat.labels && chat.labels.length) {
if (config.skipChatWithLabels.some(label => chat.labels.includes(label))) {
returnfalse
}
}
// Only reply to chats that were whitelisted, when applicableif (config.numbersWhitelist && config.numbersWhitelist.length && chat.fromNumber) {
if (config.numbersWhitelist.some(number => number === chat.fromNumber || chat.fromNumber.slice(1) === number)) {
returntrue
} else {
returnfalse
}
}
// Skip replying to chats that were explicitly blacklisted, when applicableif (config.numbersBlacklist && config.numbersBlacklist.length && chat.fromNumber) {
if (config.numbersBlacklist.some(number => number === chat.fromNumber || chat.fromNumber.slice(1) === number)) {
returnfalse
}
}
// Skip replying chats that were archived, when applicableif (config.skipArchivedChats && (chat.status === 'archived' || chat.waStatus === 'archived')) {
returnfalse
}
// Always ignore replying to banned chats/contactsif ((chat.status === 'banned' || chat.waStatus === 'banned ')) {
returnfalse
}
returntrue
}
// Process messageasyncfunctionprocessMessage ({ data, device } = {}) {
// Can reply to this message?if (!canReply({ data, device })) {
returnconsole.log('[info] Skip message due to chat already assigned or not eligible to reply:', data.fromNumber, data.date, data.body)
}
const { chat, type, quoted } = data
let { body } = data
if (body) {
body = body.trim()
}
// Process list response message selected item by the userif (type === 'list_response' && quoted.selectedId) {
body = quoted.selectedId
}
const { phone } = chat.contact
console.log('[info] New inbound message received:', chat.id, body || '<empty message>')
const reply = async ({ message, ...params }) => {
await sendMessage({
phone,
device: device.id,
message,
...params
})
// Add bot-managed chat labels, if requiredif (config.setLabelsOnBotChats.length) {
const labels = config.setLabelsOnBotChats.filter(label => (data.chat.labels || []).includes(label))
if (labels.length) {
await updateChatLabels({ data, device, labels })
}
}
// Add bot-managed chat metadata, if requiredif (config.setMetadataOnBotChats.length) {
const metadata = config.setMetadataOnBotChats.filter(entry => entry && entry.key && entry.value).map(({ key, value }) => ({ key, value }))
await updateChatMetadata({ data, device, metadata })
}
}
// First inbound message, reply with a welcome messageif (!data.chat.lastOutboundMessageAt || data.meta.isFirstMessage) {
const message = `${config.welcomeMessage}\n\n${config.defaultMessage}}`returnawait reply({ message })
}
// Return to main menuif (body && body.length < 10 && /help|cancel|stop|exit/i.test(body)) {
body = null
state[chat.id] = null
}
// Assign the chat to an random agentif (+body === 4 || /human|person|chat|talk/i.test(body)) {
assignChatToAgent({ data, device }).catch(err => {
console.error('[error] failed to assign chat to user:', data.chat.id, err.message)
})
returnawait reply({
message: `This chat was assigned to a member of our support team. You will be contacted shortly.`,
})
}
const status = state[chat.id]
if (status && status.task === 'reminder-create') {
let message = nullif (status.step === 1 && body === 'x') {
body = null
state[chat.id] = null
}
const items = reminders[chat.id]
if (items && items.length >= 10) {
const message = 'You have reached the maximum number of reminders, please delete one before creating a new one.\n\nReply with *delete* to delete reminders.'returnawait reply({ message })
}
if (status.step === 1 && body !== 'x') {
const options = ['1h', '2h', '24h', '2d', '7d', '14d']
if (+body === 7) {
// Cancel option
state[chat.id] = null
} elseif (+body >= 1 && +body <= 6) {
message = 'Please reply with a description for the reminder, up to 200 characters.'
state[chat.id] = {
task: 'reminder-create',
time: [options[+body - 1]],
step: 2
}
returnawait reply({ message })
} else {
state[chat.id] = null
message = 'Invalid option, please reply with one of the available option number (1 to 7)'
body = 'reminder-create'await reply({ message })
}
}
if (status.step === 2) {
if (!body || body.length < 4) {
returnawait reply({ message: 'The reminder text is too short, please send a larger description with 5 characters or more.\n\nIf you do not want to continue, just reply with *stop*' })
}
if (body.length > 200) {
returnawait reply({ message: 'The reminder text is too long, please send a shorter description up to 200 characters.\n\nIf you do not want to continue, just reply with *stop*' })
}
const time = state[chat.id].time
state[chat.id] = null
message = 'All good! I will send you a message when it is time 😀\n\nLet me know if I can do something else for you!'await reply({ message })
const reminder = `Hi! This is a reminder for you:\n\n${body}`
reminders[chat.id] = reminders[chat.id] || []
const [value, unit] = [+time.slice(0, -1), time.slice(-1)]
const date = moment().add(value, unit).toDate()
reminders[chat.id].push({
time,
date,
description: body
})
// Create message reminder at specific dateawait reply({ message: reminder, deliverAt: date })
// Send confirmation to userreturnawait reply({ message })
}
}
if (status && status.task === 'button') {
if (+body === 7 || /cancel|stop|exit/i.test(body)) {
state[chat.id] = null
} elseif (+body >= 1 && +body <= 6) {
const samples = ['image', 'location', 'image', 'audio', 'video', 'document']
body = samples[+body - 1]
} else {
// In case of invalid input, send reminder create message again// body = 'reminder-create'
body = null
state[chat.id] = null
}
}
if (status && status.task === 'reminder-delete') {
if (status.step === 1 && /cancel|stop|exit/i.test(body)) {
body = null
state[chat.id] = null
}
const items = reminders[chat.id]
if (!items || !items.length) {
state[chat.id] = nullreturnawait reply({
message: 'You do not have any reminders yet.\n\nCreate one by replying with *create* or *stop* to return to main menu.'
})
}
if (status.step === 1 && +body >= 1 && +body <= 10) {
const index = +body - 1const reminder = items[index]
if (!reminder) {
state[chat.id] = nullreturnawait reply({
message: 'The selected reminder was not found.\n\nPlease select a valid reminder by replying *delete* or *stop* to return to main menu.'
})
}
reminders.slice(index, 1)
returnawait reply({
message: `The following reminder was deleted successfully:\n\nDate: ${moment(reminder.date).format('DD/MM/YYYY HH:mm')}\n\nDescription: ${reminder.description}\n\nReply with *delete* to delete another reminder, *reminders* to list available reminders, or *stop* to return to main menu.`
})
}
}
if (+body === 1 || body === 'reminder-create' || /create|create reminder/i.test(body)) {
state[chat.id] = {
task: 'reminder-create',
step: 1
}
returnawait reply({
message: 'Please select when you want to be reminded',
header: 'Task reminder',
footer: 'Powered by OmniChat',
buttons: [
{
text: '1 hour'
},
{
text: '2 hours'
},
{
text: '24 hours'
},
{
text: '2 days'
},
{
text: '7 days'
},
{
text: '14 days'
},
{
text: 'Cancel'
}
]
})
}
if (+body === 2 || body === 'reminder-list' || /list reminder|reminders/i.test(body)) {
const items = reminders[chat.id]
if (items && items.length) {
const message = 'Here is a list of your reminders:\n\n' + items.map((item, index) => {
const date = moment(item.date).format('DD/MM/YYYY HH:mm')
return`${index + 1}. ${date} - ${item.description}`
}).join('\n\n')
returnawait reply({ message })
} else {
returnawait reply({
message: 'You do not have any reminders yet. Create one by replying with *create* or *stop* to return to main menu.'
})
}
}
if (+body === 3 || body === 'reminder-delete' || /delete/i.test(body)) {
const items = reminders[chat.id]
if (!items || !items.length) {
returnawait reply({
message: 'You do not have any reminders yet. Create one by replying with *create* or *stop* to return to main menu.'
})
}
const rows = items.map((item, index) => {
const date = moment(item.date).format('DD/MM/YYYY HH:mm')
return {
id: `${index}`,
title: `${index + 1}. ${date}`,
description: item.description.slice(0, 72)
}
}).slice(0, 10)
state[chat.id] = {
task: 'reminder-delete',
step: 1
}
returnawait sendMessage({
list: {
description: 'Please select one reminder to delete or reply with *stop* to cancel',
title: 'Task reminder',
button: 'Select one option',
footer: 'Powered by OmniChat',
sections: [
{
title: 'Active reminders',
rows: rows
}
]
}
})
}
if (/button/i.test(body)) {
state[chat.id] = {
task: 'button'
}
returnawait reply({
phone,
message: 'Select one message type',
device: device.id,
footer: 'You will receive a sample message',
buttons: [
{
text: 'Image'
},
{
text: 'Location'
},
{
text: 'Image'
},
{
text: 'Audio'
},
{
text: 'Video'
},
{
text: 'Document'
},
{
text: 'Cancel'
}
]
})
}
if (/list/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
list: {
description: 'Select which type of vehicle you are interested in',
button: 'Tap to select',
title: 'Optional message _title_',
footer: 'Optional *message* footer',
sections: [
{
title: 'Select a car type',
rows: [
{
title: 'Coupe',
id: 'a1',
description: 'This a description for coupe cars'
},
{
title: 'Sports',
id: 'a2',
description: 'This a description for sports cars'
},
{
title: 'SUV',
id: 'a3',
description: 'This a description for SUV cars'
},
{
title: 'Minivan',
id: 'a4',
description: 'This a description for minivan cars'
},
{
title: 'Crossover',
id: 'a5',
description: 'This a description for crossover cars'
},
{
title: 'Wagon',
id: 'a6',
description: 'This a description for wagon cars'
}
]
},
{
title: 'Select a motorbike type',
rows: [
{
title: 'Touring',
id: 'b1',
description: 'Designed to excel at covering long distances'
},
{
title: 'Cruiser',
id: 'b3',
description: 'Harley-Davidsons largely define the cruiser category'
},
{
title: 'Standard',
id: 'b3',
description: 'Motorcycle intended for use on streets and commuting'
}
]
}
]
}
})
}
if (/image/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
message: 'This is a random image\nCheers 🥳 😀',
media: {
url: 'https://picsum.photos/600'
}
})
}
if (/video/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
message: 'This is a sample video\nCheers 🥳 😀',
media: {
url: 'https://download.samplelib.com/mp4/sample-5s.mp4'
}
})
}
if (/audio/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
media: {
url: 'https://download.samplelib.com/mp3/sample-9s.mp3',
format: 'ptt'
}
})
}
if (/location|address/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
location: {
address: '20 W 34th St., New York, NY 10001, United States'
}
})
}
if (/contact|card/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
contacts: [
{
name: 'Thomas Anderson',
phone: '+1234567890'
},
{
name: 'John Wick',
phone: '+1234567890'
}
]
})
}
if (/document|pdf/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
message: 'This is a sample PDF 😀',
media: {
url: 'https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf'
}
})
}
if (/file|zip/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
message: 'This is a sample ZIP file 😀',
media: {
url: 'https://www.learningcontainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/sample-zip-file.zip'
}
})
}
if (/excel|xls/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
message: 'This is a sample Excel file 😀',
media: {
url: 'https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=521962'
}
})
}
if (/format/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
message: 'This message is formatted using _italic format_, *bold format*, ~strikethrough format~ and ```monospace format```'
})
}
if (/quote|reply/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
message: 'This is a quoted reply to your last message',
quote: data.id
})
}
if (/emoji/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
message: 'Hello 👋 \nThis is a test message with emojis 👌 😘 😗 😙 😚 😋 😛 😝 😜 copied as text from:\nhttps://getemoji.com\n\nEmojis 👶 👧 🧒 👦 are simply unicode rich characters, so you can copy & paste them as simple text 😀 👏'
})
}
if (/react/i.test(body)) {
returnawait sendMessage({
phone,
reaction: '👍',
device: device.id,
reactionMessage: data.id
})
}
if (/link|youtube/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
message: 'Hey checkout this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg'
})
}
if (/text/i.test(body)) {
returnawait reply({
message: 'Hello everyone, and welcome to this demo showcase of a WhatsApp chatbot! 🎉\n\nDuring this demo, you will get a glimpse of the chatbot\'s key features, which include instant customer support, interactive conversations, personalized recommendations, and seamless integration with your existing business processes. We are confident that our chatbot will not only save you time and resources but also foster stronger customer relationships and drive growth for your business.\n\nLet\'s get started! 😀'
})
}
// Default to unknown command responseconst unknownCommand = `${config.unknownCommandMessage}\n\n${config.defaultMessage}`await reply({ message: unknownCommand })
}
// Function to send a message using the OmniChat APIasyncfunctionsendMessage ({ phone, message, media, device, ...fields }) {
const url = `${API_URL}/messages`const body = {
phone,
message,
media,
device,
...fields,
enqueue: 'never'
}
let retries = 3while (retries) {
retries -= 1try {
const res = await axios.post(url, body, {
headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey }
})
console.log('[info] Message sent:', phone, res.data.id, res.data.status)
return res.data
} catch (err) {
console.error('[error] failed to send message:', phone, message || (body.list ? body.list.description : '<no message>'), err.response ? err.response.data : err)
}
}
returnfalse
}
// Find an active WhatsApp device connected to the OmniChat APIasyncfunctionloadDevice () {
const url = `${API_URL}/devices`const { data } = await axios.get(url, {
headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey }
})
if (config.device && !config.device.includes(' ')) {
if (/^[a-f0-9]{24}$/i.test(config.device) === false) {
return exit('Invalid WhatsApp device ID: must be 24 characers hexadecimal value. Get the device ID here: https://chat.omnidigital.ae/number')
}
return data.find(device => device.id === config.device)
}
return data.find(device => device.status === 'operative')
}
// Function to register a Ngrok tunnel webhook for the chatbot// Only used in local development modeasyncfunctionregisterWebhook (tunnel, device) {
const webhookUrl = `${tunnel}/webhook`const url = `${API_URL}/webhooks`const { data: webhooks } = await axios.get(url, {
headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey }
})
const findWebhook = webhook => {
return (
webhook.url === webhookUrl &&
webhook.device === device.id &&
webhook.status === 'active' &&
webhook.events.includes('message:in:new')
)
}
// If webhook already exists, return itconst existing = webhooks.find(findWebhook)
if (existing) {
return existing
}
for (const webhook of webhooks) {
// Delete previous ngrok webhooksif (webhook.url.includes('ngrok-free.app') || webhook.url.startsWith(tunnel)) {
const url = `${API_URL}/webhooks/${webhook.id}`await axios.delete(url, { headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey } })
}
}
awaitnewPromise(resolve =>setTimeout(resolve, 500))
const data = {
url: webhookUrl,
name: 'Chatbot',
events: ['message:in:new'],
device: device.id
}
const { data: webhook } = await axios.post(url, data, {
headers: { Authorization: config.apiKey }
})
return webhook
}
// Function to create a Ngrok tunnel and register the webhook dynamicallyasyncfunctioncreateTunnel () {
let retries = 3while (retries) {
retries -= 1try {
const tunnel = await ngrok.connect({
addr: config.port,
authtoken: config.ngrokToken
})
console.log(`Ngrok tunnel created: ${tunnel}`)
return tunnel
} catch (err) {
console.error('[error] Failed to create Ngrok tunnel:', err.message)
await ngrok.kill()
awaitnewPromise(resolve =>setTimeout(resolve, 1000))
}
}
thrownewError('Failed to create Ngrok tunnel')
}
// Development server using nodemon to restart the bot on file changesasyncfunctiondevServer () {
const tunnel = await createTunnel()
nodemon({
script: 'bot.js',
ext: 'js',
watch: ['*.js', 'src/**/*.js'],
exec: `WEBHOOK_URL=${tunnel} DEV=false npm run start`,
}).on('restart', () => {
console.log('[info] Restarting bot after changes...')
}).on('quit', () => {
console.log('[info] Closing bot...')
ngrok.kill().then(() => process.exit(0))
})
}
functionexit (msg, ...args) {
console.error('[error]', msg, ...args)
process.exit(1)
}
// Initialize chatbot serverasyncfunctionmain () {
// API key must be providedif (!config.apiKey || config.apiKey.length < 60) {
return exit('Please sign up in OmniChat and obtain your API key here:\nhttps://chat.omnidigital.ae/apikeys')
}
// Create dev mode server with Ngrok tunnel and nodemonif (env.DEV === 'true' && !config.production) {
return devServer()
}
// Find a WhatsApp number connected to the OmniChat APIconst device = await loadDevice()
if (!device) {
return exit('No active WhatsApp numbers in your account. Please connect a WhatsApp number in your OmniChat account:\nhttps://chat.omnidigital.ae/create')
}
if (device.session.status !== 'online') {
return exit(`WhatsApp number (${device.alias}) is not online. Please make sure the WhatsApp number in your OmniChat account is properly connected:\nhttps://chat.omnidigital.ae/${device.id}/scan`)
}
if (device.billing.subscription.product !== 'io') {
return exit(`WhatsApp number plan (${device.alias}) does not support inbound messages. Please upgrade the plan here:\nhttps://chat.omnidigital.ae/${device.id}/plan?product=io`)
}
// Pre-load device labels and team mebersconst [members] = awaitPromise.all([
pullMembers(device),
pullLabels(device)
])
// Create labels if they don't existawait createLabels(device)
// Validate whitelisted and blacklisted members existawait validateMembers(members)
app.device = device
console.log('[info] Using WhatsApp connected number:', device.phone, device.alias, `(ID = ${device.id})`)
// Start serverawait app.listen(config.port, () => {
console.log(`Server listening on port ${config.port}`)
})
if (config.production) {
console.log('[info] Validating webhook endpoint...')
if (!config.webhookUrl) {
return exit('Missing required environment variable: WEBHOOK_URL must be present in production mode')
}
const webhook = await registerWebhook(config.webhookUrl, device)
if (!webhook) {
return exit(`Missing webhook active endpoint in production mode: please create a webhook endpoint that points to the chatbot server:\nhttps://chat.omnidigital.ae/${device.id}/webhooks`)
}
console.log('[info] Using webhook endpoint in production mode:', webhook.url)
} else {
console.log('[info] Registering webhook tunnel...')
const tunnel = config.webhookUrl || await createTunnel()
const webhook = await registerWebhook(tunnel, device)
if (!webhook) {
console.error('Failed to connect webhook. Please try again.')
await ngrok.kill()
return process.exit(1)
}
}
console.log('[info] Chatbot server ready and waiting for messages!')
}
main().catch(err => {
exit('Failed to start chatbot server:', err)
})
const { env } = process
// Default message when the user sends an unknown message.const unknownCommandMessage = `Sorry, I don't understand that command. Please try again by replying with one of the available options.`// Default welcome message. Change it as you need.const welcomeMessage = `Hey there 👋 Welcome to this chatbot demo!`// Default help message. Change it as you need.const defaultMessage = `This is a sample bot to showcase for WhatsApp using the OmniChat API.
Chatbot tasks available:
1️⃣ Create a reminder
2️⃣ List reminders
3️⃣ Delete reminder
4️⃣ Chat with a person
Type *help* to see this message again.
You can also ask the bot to send you multiple sample messages based on the following types:
- Text
- Image
- Video
- Audio
- PDF Document
- Excel document
- File
- Location
- Contact card
- Quote message
- Button
- List
- Emojis 🥳
- Text formatting
- Link preview
- Reaction
Give it a try 😁
`// Chatbot configmodule.exports = {
// Optional. Specify the OmniChat device ID (24 characters hexadecimal length) to be used for the chatbot// If no device is defined, the first connected device will be used// Obtain the device ID in the OmniChat app: https://chat.omnidigital.ae/numberdevice: env.DEVICE || 'ENTER WHATSAPP DEVICE ID',
// Required. Specify the OmniChat API key to be used// You can obtain it here: https://chat.omnidigital.ae/apikeysapiKey: env.API_KEY || 'ENTER API KEY HERE',
// Optional. HTTP server TCP port to be used. Defaults to 8080port: +env.PORT || 8080,
// Optional. Use NODE_ENV=production to run the chatbot in production modeproduction: env.NODE_ENV === 'production',
// Optional. Specify the webhook public URL to be used for receiving webhook events// If no webhook is specified, the chatbot will autoamtically create an Ngrok tunnel// and register it as the webhook URL.// IMPORTANT: in order to use Ngrok tunnels, you need to sign up for free, see the option below.webhookUrl: env.WEBHOOK_URL,
// Ngrok tunnel authentication token.// Required if webhook URL is not provided.// sign up for free and get one: https://ngrok.com/signup// Learn how to obtain the auth token: https://ngrok.com/docs/agent/#authtokensngrokToken: env.NGROK_TOKEN,
// Set one or multiple labels on chatbot-managed chatssetLabelsOnBotChats: ['bot'],
// Remove labels when the chat is assigned to a personremoveLabelsAfterAssignment: true,
// Set one or multiple labels on chatbot-managed chatssetLabelsOnUserAssignment: ['from-bot'],
// Optional. Set a list of labels that will tell the chatbot to skip itskipChatWithLabels: ['no-bot'],
// Optional. Ignore processing messages sent by one of the following numbers// Important: the phone number must be in E164 format with no spaces or symbolsnumbersBlacklist: ['1234567890'],
// Optional. Only process messages one of the the given phone numbers// Important: the phone number must be in E164 format with no spaces or symbolsnumbersWhitelist: [],
// Skip chats that were archived in WhatsAppskipArchivedChats: true,
// If true, when the user requests to chat with a human, the bot will assign// the chat to a random available team member.// You can specify which members are eligible to be assigned using the `teamWhitelist`// and which should be ignored using `teamBlacklist`enableMemberChatAssignment: true,
// If true, chats assigned by the bot will be only assigned to team members that are// currently available and online (not unavailable or offline)assignOnlyToOnlineMembers: false,
// Optional. Skip specific user roles from being automatically assigned by the chat bot// Available roles are: 'admin', 'supervisor', 'agent'skipTeamRolesFromAssignment: ['admin'], // 'supervisor', 'agent'// Enter the team member IDs (24 characters length) that can be eligible to be assigned// If the array is empty, all team members except the one listed in `skipMembersForAssignment`// will be eligible for automatic assignmentteamWhitelist: [],
// Optional. Enter the team member IDs (24 characters length) that should never be automatically assigned chats toteamBlacklist: [],
// Optional. Set metadata entries on bot-assigned chatssetMetadataOnBotChats: [
{
key: 'bot_start',
value: () =>newDate().toISOString()
}
],
// Optional. Set metadata entries when a chat is assigned to a team membersetMetadataOnAssignment: [
{
key: 'bot_stop',
value: () =>newDate().toISOString()
}
],
welcomeMessage,
defaultMessage,
unknownCommandMessage
}
No, you don't. Ngrok is only used for development/testing purposes when running the program from your local computer. If you run the program in a cloud server, most likely you won't need Ngrok if your server can be reachable via Internet using a public domain (e.g: bot.company.com) or a public IP.
In that case, you simply need to provide your server full URL ended with /webhook like this when running the bot program:
Note: https://bot.company.com:8080 must point to the bot program itself running in your server and it must be network reachable using HTTPS for secure connection.
Absolutely! Just deploy or transfer the program source code to your server and run the command from there.
The requirements are the same, no matter where you run the bot.