/SlackerBot

The official application repository for the bot @Slacker on the sndevs.com Slack workspace.

Primary LanguageJavaScript

SlackerBot

This bot is what controls the @Slacker bot on the sndevs.com slack workspace.

🔔🔔🔔
CONTRIBUTORS must follow all guidelines in CONTRIBUTING.md or run the risk of having your Pull Requests labeled as spam.
🔔🔔🔔

Two ways to contribute

Easy or Hard

Easy method (Adding new parser)

Can be done without pulling this app into a ServiceNow instance.
This is the preferred method for adding simple call & response parsers (see Bowtie when chuck is mentioned, or Clap Back for examples)

  1. Fork this repo
  2. Create a new branch (name it according to what functionality you are adding)
  3. Create a new .js file in the Parsers folder (see CONTRIBUTING.md for requirements)
  4. Submit a pull request to the ServiceNowDevProgram/SlackerBot main branch

If approved, your new parser automatically goes live for the bot's immediate use!


Hard method (Adding new functionality types)

This method requires more setup, but is the preferred method for more complex parsers and functionalities, as it provides a method to robustly test before submitting a pull request.

  1. Fork this repo
  2. Go to your ServiceNow instance
  3. Go to System Applications => Studio
  4. Once Studio loads, select Import From Source Control
  5. Use your forked repo to Import your application
  6. Optional: See below on how to get this bot working on your own slack server
  7. Make updates to the application (see CONTRIBUTING.md for additional details)
  8. In Studio, commit your changes to source control
  9. Submit a pull request to the ServiceNowDevProgram/SlackerBot main branch

An accepted Pull Request and merge does not necessarily mean the functionality will go live immediately, as an admin for the host instance will need to pull the application into ServiceNow.

Installing this bot on your own Slack server

Create Slack App, Install into Slack

Via a Manifest

  • Create a new app, select "From an app manifest"
  • Select the Slack Workspace into which you want to install this app
  • Copy and paste the manifest from either appmanifest.json or appmanifest.yaml
  • Create the app
  • Navigate to Settings > Install App
  • Click the Install to Workspace button
  • Verify the view and do permissions
  • Click the Allow button
  • Copy the Bot User OAuth Token for the ServiceNow system property configuration later

Manually

When you tab out of the field, make sure the URL is "Verified" before you proceed.

  • Expand the Subscribe to bot events section
  • Click the Add bot User Event button
  • Search for and select message.channels
  • Search for and select message.groups
  • Click the Save Changes button
  • Navigate to Features > OAuth & Permissions
  • Scroll down to Bot Token Scopes
  • Click the Add an OAuth Scope button
  • Search for and select chat:write
  • Navigate to Settings > Install App
  • Click the Install to Workspace button
  • Verify the view and do permissions
  • Click the Allow button
  • Copy the Bot User OAuth Token for the ServiceNow system property configuration later

Connect them together

  • Place token into the ServiceNow system property 'x_snc_slackerbot.SlackerBot.token'
    • REMINDER: When you commit your changes, always delete the value of this property before you commit. If you forget to do this, Slack will automatically disable your token when it does a scan of GitHub and sees that you accidentally placed your private token online. If this happens, go into your Slack app and issue a new token.

Testing

  • Invite your bot to a Slack channel
  • Create a parser on the x_snc_slackerbot_parser table
  • Activate the parser in the Slack channel

Troubleshooting

  • Check the Payload x_snc_slackerbot_payload table to make sure SN is receiving Slack messages
  • Check 'Outbound HTTP Requests' to make sure the bot is replying to the channel

Auto populate your Parsers table

To fill your Parsers x_snc_slackerbot_parser table with all the parsers that exist on this repo:

  • Go to the Parsers table list (type x_snc_slackerbot_parser.list in your filter navigator and press enter)
  • Click on the "Sync Parsers" Banner UI Action

This syncs your table to this repo, if you rather sync it to another repo, change the value of your x_snc_slackerbot.Parsers_Sync_Repo system property.

Setting up the GitHub to ServiceNow integration

The Parsers folder on ServiceNowDevProgram/SlackerBot is set up to send changes to the ServiceNow instance that @Slacker is hosted on (automatically, on every commit). To do this for your own fork and ServiceNow instance:

  • In your forked repository, click on the Actions tab
  • Click on "I understand" to activate workflows
  • Go to the Settings tab
  • Under Secrets and Actions add the following repository secrets:
    • SN_INSTANCE_NAME your ServiceNow instance name
    • ADMIN_USERNAME the username of an admin account on your ServiceNow instance
    • ADMIN_PASSWORD the password of the above account

Testing

  • Create a new file in the Parsers folder and name it something.js
  • Follow the template in the CONTRIBUTING.md document
  • Commit the file
  • Check your ServiceNow instance on the Parsers x_snc_slackerbot_parser table and verify the file was uploaded
  • Trigger the parser on a slack channel that your bot is in