paceaux/twitterbot

A Framework for making a TwitterBot in JavaScript

TwitterBot Framework

An easy-enough-ish JavaScript framework/pattern for creating a Twitterbot.

Pre-Requisites

• Node.js (14 or above)
• Docker (If you want to run it in a container)

Project Structure

/
├── src
│   ├── bot_runner.js
│   ├── bot_tasks.js
│   ├── config.js
│   ├── logger.js
|   └── utils.js
├── index.js
├── start-cron.js
├── start-http.js
├── jest.config.js
├── package.json
├── package-lock.json
├── docker-compose.yml
├── Dockerfile
└── .env !!!!!Not provided !!!!!

Setup

First, get the code

1. Clone this repository
2. In this folder, run npm install

Second, set credentials (And configuration)

All bot/twitter configuration information is managed in src/config.js. This file is set to pull configurations from the environment first . However, if an environment variable isn't present, you can put in a default.

If you are going to be running/debugging locally, start with credentials/config in src/config.js.

But, if you plan on version-controlling and/or deploying your code, it will be better in the long run if these credentials are environment variables.

Credentials in the environment

A mostly empty .env file is provided. Docker will use this if you want to run this in a Docker Container -- which is recommended if you're building multiple bots

Environment Variables

• twConsumerKey Required. Get this from your Twitter App settings
• twConsumerSecret Required. Get this from your Twitter App settings
• twAuthenticationToken Required. Get this from your Twitter App settings
• twAuthenticationSecretRequired. Get this from your Twitter App settings
• twBearerToken Required. Get this from your Twitter App settings
• twDuplicateAmt Optional. used for duplicating tweets. Tells the bot how many could be copied
• twDaysBack : Optional. Use for setting how many days in the past tweets should be copied
• twCronSchedule Optional. If planning on using the start-cron.js, this will be required
• twSourceUserName Optional. In a "duplicating tweets" scenario this is the original twitter account
• twMyUserName Required. Account of the bot

Third, define your tasks

This lil' framework was set up to copy tweets from one user into another account. Most of the tasks that exist are set up for that purpose.

Look in src/bot_tasks.js and add/remove/change any tasks that make sense for your bot.

Keep in mind that most likely you'll want to end up with one "master task" that does All The Things.

Fourth, tell your runner what to do

Look in src/bot_runner.js and change the run() method to use whatever tasks you've created.

Fifth, run it.

Running locally with index.js

When running locally, you can run node index.js or hit F5 in VS Code on the Index file, and you'll get to step through every breakpoint. Index.js is just there for you to have something to debug. Running index.js

Run it locally, on a schedule (you know, like a bot)

If you want to run this on a schedule on your machine, that's what start-cron.js is for. Run node start-cron.js from the command line and it will run from the cron schedule you set up in src/config.js

Run it cloudily (or, webily)

Maybe you want the bot to run every time an HTTP request is sent to a server. For that, there's start-http.js which will execute your run command one time.

To Run this in Heroku, what you will have to do is deploy this app, and then have something else hit the app on a schedule (Azure Logic Apps are perfect for this).

Run it in a container

You can run this using docker with docker compose run. Just make sure you've created a .env file.