Week 1

[github-learning-lab[bot]]

Introduction to Bolt JS

https://github.com/jose19851/slackapps-folder/issues#issue-782903291 Bolt JS is a framework, or a platform, for developing in JavaScript for Slack. Bolt significantly reduces the learning curve for Slack development by abstracting away some of the more complicated language barriers involved. In this issue, you will be familiarizing yourself with Bolt.

📚 Reading Up

Before getting into Bolt, read up on Slack and its use cases. This will help you get a better idea of what the projects that we will use Bolt to create. After you are done reading, you can start getting more into the technical details. Read this article on Bolt, then go through 2 or 3 code samples of your choice. The code samples can be found at the very bottom of the article.

✍️ Reflection

After you are done with both articles, write down three things you found interesting and would like to learn more about. Afterwards, write down three more things that you found difficult to understand.

[jose19851]

()

[github-learning-lab[bot]]

Bots and Apps

Now that you better understand Bolt and Slack, it is time to learn about different types of projects we can build on Slack! This issue will cover the differences between a Slack app and a Slack bot.

📚 Reading

First, read this short explanation on what an app is, then read this article about bots.

🧠 Brainstorm

The article on bots listed a couple of their use cases, including:

• Sending DMs!
• Posting messages!
• Uploading files!

Come up with 2-3 ideas for a Slack app and 2 ideas for a bot and leave them as comments. These ideas don't have to consider any logistics, and can be as simple or complex as you would like!

[jose19851]

Duplicate of #

[github-learning-lab[bot]]

Setting up a Slack App

Now that you have done some research on Slack development, its time to get building! In this issue, you will learn how to set up a Slack app.

Installing a Text Editor

Since your slack app will be runing locally, you will need a place to store and edit your code. You can create a folder anywhere within your file system for this project. If you do not have one already, it is highly reccomended that you download an IDE or text editor. This will give you a better interface for when you program, helping you to notice errors and run your code efficiently. Some good editors include VSCode or Atom.

Creating a Slack App

In order to create the app, you will need to create a Slack account and then make a make a new app on the developer platform. Once you have made the app, you should be able to click on it and navigate to a page similar to the one below:

Installing Ngrok

You might be wondering how your local code connects to the slack app. This process happens through a public facing url, or a server connection from your computer to the app. In order to make a public facing url, you first will need to install ngrok , which dedicates a server on your end to receiving requests from the slack app.

Open a the folder for your slack app in your editor, then open a terminal page. A terminal is a text interface for your computer's operating system. Type in pwd and press enter to make sure that you have navigated to the folder you created for the slack app. If you have not, refer to this website on how to change folders.

Afterwards, refer to the following tutorial on installing ngrok.

Connecting to the Slack App

Now that you have installed and ran ngrok, you can connect your local code to your app. Copy the forwarding link of the running server, then navigate to the event subscriptions page in your app menu. Enable events, then copy and paste your link in the 'Request URL' field, followed by /slack/events. If your URL is not verified, try running ngrok again and using the new link.

Event Subscriptions

You have a connection, but the slack app still does not know what type of information to send you. One type of information is an event, which basically means when something happens. In the next issue, you will make a bot that needs to know when someone messages a specific word, like 'hello'.

Click on 'Subscribe to bot events', and select message.channels, message.groups, message.im, and message.mpim. All of these events listen for a posted message. Click save and then move on:

Access Credentials

The first thing you need to do is link your program to your app! The two pieces of information you'll need to do this are a slack bot token and a slack signing secret. Refer to the gifs below to locate each of these properties from the Slack dashboard:

Scopes

Under OAuth & Permissions, scroll down to the Bot Token Scopes field and select Add an OAuth Scope. From there, add chat:write and install the app to workspace. This will enable your app to write messages in chats.

Downloading Slack Packages

Now that you have the basics set up, you need to configure your local app. This will involve installing packages from Slack. A package is a bundle of various classes and interfaces that enable you to code without starting from scratch. You can download several packages for anything ranging from sending a text to creating graphs. In this issue, you will be downloading the bolt package, which lets you program a slack app more easily.

First call the following command:

npm init

Click enter for each prompt that pops up, then call ls in the terminal to list all of the files in your directory. You should have a new file called package.json.

Next, you will be saving your bot token and signing secret as environment variables. This step is extremely important for two reasons:

1. telling your local environment which slack app it is connected to
2. ensuring that you don't accidentally show sensitive credentials in a screenshot or distributing code

Call the following commands in your terminal and refer to previous instructions on getting the credentials:

export SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET=<your-signing-secret>
export SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-<your-bot-token>

Lastly, use the commands to install the @slack/bolt package and create your app:

npm install @slack/bolt
touch app.js

🔔 Events

An important part of the app you just built is a slack event. Understanding events will be important as we will be using them throughout the bootcamp. Skim through the following articles to learn more about what an event is in programming, how events are used with the Slack Events API, and types of events that you can use in a project:

• https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/e/event.htm
• https://api.slack.com/events-api
• https://api.slack.com/events

While you're following both tutorials, write down any questions you have (ie what is this dependency, what is a scope). Then, research one of those questions and submit a 2-4 sentence summary of your findings as a comment.

After you have completed the project, try changing what the app listens for (ie instead of "hello" it checks for "bit camp"). See if there is anything you can't listen for as part of a chat.

[jose19851]