To get started with this repo, clone it and run npm install in the root directory.
Then head over to Twilio and sign up if you don't already have an account.
I would recommend trying out the Twilio WhatsApp tutorial to learn how to send and receive messages.
Make a copy of .env.example and rename it to .env. Then change the following environment variables in your new .env file:
- TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID
- TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN
- TWILIO_NUMBER
- USER_NUMBER
The TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID and TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN can be found in the Twilio console The TWILIO_NUMBER in this case is the number you sent WhatsApp messages to in the tutorial above and the USER_NUMBER is the one you received messages from/ your WhatsApp number.
After adding in those environment variables, you would need to deploy this app so that it can be reachable online. I use Heroku a lot for deploying and I would recommend giving them a try.
Once you have it deployed, you would need to get the url to that app and add it as a webhook in the WhatsApp Sandbox and in the field that says 'WHEN A MESSAGE COMES IN'. This will then call your app whenever a WhatsApp message is sent to the TWILIO_NUMBER and return a response.
Thats it! Now you can test the chatbot by sending 'hey'. The bot should respond with a welcome message.
This is a WIP so let me know if you have challenges running the repo.