earwigbot/docs/customizing.rst

Customizing
===========

The bot's working directory contains a :file:`commands` subdirectory and a
:file:`tasks` subdirectory. Custom IRC commands can be placed in the former,
whereas custom wiki bot tasks go into the latter. Developing custom modules is
explained in detail in this documentation.

Note that custom commands will override built-in commands and tasks with the
same name.

:py:class:`~earwigbot.bot.Bot` and :py:class:`~earwigbot.bot.BotConfig`
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

:py:class:`earwigbot.bot.Bot` is EarwigBot's main class. You don't have to
instantiate this yourself, but it's good to be familiar with its attributes and
methods, because it is the main way to communicate with other parts of the bot.
A :py:class:`~earwigbot.bot.Bot` object is accessible as an attribute of
commands and tasks (i.e., :py:attr:`self.bot`).

The most useful attributes are:

- :py:attr:`~earwigbot.bot.Bot.config`: an instance of
  :py:class:`~earwigbot.config.BotConfig`, for accessing the bot's
  configuration data (see below).

- :py:attr:`~earwigbot.bot.Bot.commands`: the bot's
  :py:class:`~earwigbot.managers.CommandManager`, which is used internally to
  run IRC commands (through
  :py:meth:`commands.call() <earwigbot.managers.CommandManager.call>`, which
  you shouldn't have to use); you can safely reload all commands with
  :py:meth:`commands.load() <earwigbot.managers._ResourceManager.load>`.

- :py:attr:`~earwigbot.bot.Bot.tasks`: the bot's
  :py:class:`~earwigbot.managers.TaskManager`, which can be used to start tasks
  with :py:meth:`tasks.start(task_name, **kwargs)
  <earwigbot.managers.TaskManager.start>`. :py:meth:`tasks.load()
  <earwigbot.managers._ResourceManager.load>` can be used to safely reload all
  tasks.

- :py:attr:`~earwigbot.bot.Bot.frontend` /
  :py:attr:`~earwigbot.bot.Bot.watcher`: instances of
  :py:class:`earwigbot.irc.Frontend <earwigbot.irc.frontend.Frontend>` and
  :py:class:`earwigbot.irc.Watcher <earwigbot.irc.watcher.Watcher>`,
  respectively, which represent the bot's connections to these two servers; you
  can, for example, send a message to the frontend with
  :py:meth:`frontend.say(chan, msg)
  <earwigbot.irc.connection.IRCConnection.say>` (more on communicating with IRC
  below).

- :py:attr:`~earwigbot.bot.Bot.wiki`: interface with the
  :doc:`Wiki Toolset <toolset>`.

- Finally, :py:meth:`~earwigbot.bot.Bot.restart` (restarts IRC components and
  reloads config, commands, and tasks) and :py:meth:`~earwigbot.bot.Bot.stop`
  can be used almost anywhere. Both take an optional "reason" that will be
  logged and used as the quit message when disconnecting from IRC.

:py:class:`earwigbot.config.BotConfig` stores configuration information for the
bot. Its docstrings explains what each attribute is used for, but essentially
each "node" (one of :py:attr:`config.components
<earwigbot.config.BotConfig.components>`,
:py:attr:`~earwigbot.config.BotConfig.wiki`,
:py:attr:`~earwigbot.config.BotConfig.irc`,
:py:attr:`~earwigbot.config.BotConfig.commands`,
:py:attr:`~earwigbot.config.BotConfig.tasks`, or
:py:attr:`~earwigbot.config.BotConfig.metadata`) maps to a section
of the bot's :file:`config.yml` file. For example, if :file:`config.yml`
includes something like::

    irc:
        frontend:
            nick: MyAwesomeBot
            channels:
                - "##earwigbot"
                - "#channel"
                - "#other-channel"

...then :py:attr:`config.irc["frontend"]["nick"]` will be ``"MyAwesomeBot"``
and :py:attr:`config.irc["frontend"]["channels"]` will be
``["##earwigbot", "#channel", "#other-channel"]``.

Custom IRC commands
-------------------

Custom commands are subclasses of :py:class:`earwigbot.commands.Command` that
override :py:class:`~earwigbot.commands.Command`'s
:py:meth:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.process` (and optionally
:py:meth:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.check` or
:py:meth:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.setup`) methods.

:py:class:`~earwigbot.commands.Command`'s docstrings should explain what each
attribute and method is for and what they should be overridden with, but these
are the basics:

- Class attribute :py:attr:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.name` is the name of
  the command. This must be specified.

- Class attribute :py:attr:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.commands` is a list of
  names that will trigger this command. It defaults to the command's
  :py:attr:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.name`, but you can override it with
  multiple names to serve as aliases. This is handled by the default
  :py:meth:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.check` implementation (see below), so
  if :py:meth:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.check` is overridden, this is
  ignored by everything except the help_ command (so ``!help alias`` will
  trigger help for the actual command).

- Class attribute :py:attr:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.hooks` is a list of the
  "IRC events" that this command might respond to. It defaults to ``["msg"]``,
  but options include ``"msg_private"`` (for private messages only),
  ``"msg_public"`` (for channel messages only), ``"join"`` (for when a user
  joins a channel), ``"part"`` (for when a user parts a channel), and ``"rc"``
  (for recent change messages from the IRC watcher). See the afc_status_ plugin
  for a command that responds to other hook types.

- Method :py:meth:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.setup` is called *once* with no
  arguments immediately after the command is first loaded. Does nothing by
  default; treat it like an :py:meth:`__init__` if you want
  (:py:meth:`~earwigbot.tasks.Command.__init__` does things by default and a
  dedicated setup method is often easier than overriding
  :py:meth:`~earwigbot.tasks.Command.__init__` and using :py:obj:`super`).

- Method :py:meth:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.check` is passed a
  :py:class:`~earwigbot.irc.data.Data` object, and should return ``True`` if
  you want to respond to this message, or ``False`` otherwise. The default
  behavior is to return ``True`` only if :py:attr:`data.is_command` is ``True``
  and :py:attr:`data.command` ``==``
  :py:attr:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.name` (or :py:attr:`data.command
  <earwigbot.irc.data.Data.command>` is in
  :py:attr:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.commands` if that list is overriden;
  see above), which is suitable for most cases. A possible reason for
  overriding is if you want to do something in response to events from a
  specific channel only. Note that by returning ``True``, you prevent any other
  commands from responding to this message.

- Method :py:meth:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.process` is passed the same
  :py:class:`~earwigbot.irc.data.Data` object as
  :py:meth:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.check`, but only if
  :py:meth:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.check` returned ``True``. This is where
  the bulk of your command goes. To respond to IRC messages, there are a number
  of methods of :py:class:`~earwigbot.commands.Command` at your disposal. See
  the test_ command for a simple example, or look in
  :py:class:`~earwigbot.commands.Command`'s
  :py:meth:`~earwigbot.commands.Command.__init__` method for the full list.

  The most common ones are :py:meth:`say(chan_or_user, msg)
  <earwigbot.irc.connection.IRCConnection.say>`, :py:meth:`reply(data, msg)
  <earwigbot.irc.connection.IRCConnection.reply>` (convenience function; sends
  a reply to the issuer of the command in the channel it was received),
  :py:meth:`action(chan_or_user, msg)
  <earwigbot.irc.connection.IRCConnection.action>`,
  :py:meth:`notice(chan_or_user, msg)
  <earwigbot.irc.connection.IRCConnection.notice>`, :py:meth:`join(chan)
  <earwigbot.irc.connection.IRCConnection.join>`, and
  :py:meth:`part(chan) <earwigbot.irc.connection.IRCConnection.part>`.

Commands have access to :py:attr:`config.commands[command_name]` for config
information, which is a node in :file:`config.yml` like every other attribute
of :py:attr:`bot.config`. This can be used to store, for example, API keys or
SQL connection info, so that these can be easily changed without modifying the
command itself.

The command *class* doesn't need a specific name, but it should logically
follow the command's name. The filename doesn't matter, but it is recommended
to match the command name for readability. Multiple command classes are allowed
in one file.

The bot has a wide selection of built-in commands and plugins to act as sample
code and/or to give ideas. Start with test_, and then check out chanops_ and
afc_status_ for some more complicated scripts.

Custom bot tasks
----------------

Custom tasks are subclasses of :py:class:`earwigbot.tasks.Task` that
override :py:class:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task`'s
:py:meth:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task.run` (and optionally
:py:meth:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task.setup`) methods.

:py:class:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task`'s docstrings should explain what each
attribute and method is for and what they should be overridden with, but these
are the basics:

- Class attribute :py:attr:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task.name` is the name of the
  task. This must be specified.

- Class attribute :py:attr:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task.number` can be used to store
  an optional "task number", possibly for use in edit summaries (to be
  generated with :py:meth:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task.make_summary`). For
  example, EarwigBot's :py:attr:`config.wiki["summary"]` is
  ``"([[WP:BOT|Bot]]; [[User:EarwigBot#Task $1|Task $1]]): $2"``, which the
  task class's :py:meth:`make_summary(comment)
  <earwigbot.tasks.Task.make_summary>` method will take and replace
  ``$1`` with the task number and ``$2`` with the details of the edit.

  Additionally, :py:meth:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task.shutoff_enabled` (which checks
  whether the bot has been told to stop on-wiki by checking the content of a
  particular page) can check a different page for each task using similar
  variables. EarwigBot's :py:attr:`config.wiki["shutoff"]["page"]` is
  ``"User:$1/Shutoff/Task $2"``; ``$1`` is substituted with the bot's username,
  and ``$2`` is substituted with the task number, so, e.g., task #14 checks the
  page ``[[User:EarwigBot/Shutoff/Task 14]].`` If the page's content does *not*
  match :py:attr:`config.wiki["shutoff"]["disabled"]` (``"run"`` by default),
  then shutoff is considered to be *enabled* and
  :py:meth:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task.shutoff_enabled` will return ``True``,
  indicating the task should not run. If you don't intend to use either of
  these methods, feel free to leave this attribute blank.

- Method :py:meth:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task.setup` is called *once* with no
  arguments immediately after the task is first loaded. Does nothing by
  default; treat it like an :py:meth:`__init__` if you want
  (:py:meth:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task.__init__` does things by default and a
  dedicated setup method is often easier than overriding
  :py:meth:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task.__init__` and using :py:obj:`super`).

- Method :py:meth:`~earwigbot.tasks.Task.run` is called with any number of
  keyword arguments every time the task is executed (by
  :py:meth:`tasks.start(task_name, **kwargs)
  <earwigbot.managers.TaskManager.start>`, usually). This is where the bulk of
  the task's code goes. For interfacing with MediaWiki sites, read up on the
  :doc:`Wiki Toolset <toolset>`.

Tasks have access to :py:attr:`config.tasks[task_name]` for config information,
which is a node in :file:`config.yml` like every other attribute of
:py:attr:`bot.config`. This can be used to store, for example, edit summaries
or templates to append to user talk pages, so that these can be easily changed
without modifying the task itself.

The task *class* doesn't need a specific name, but it should logically follow
the task's name. The filename doesn't matter, but it is recommended to match
the task name for readability. Multiple tasks classes are allowed in one file.

See the built-in wikiproject_tagger_ task for a relatively straightforward
task, or the afc_statistics_ plugin for a more complicated one.

.. _help:               https://github.com/earwig/earwigbot/blob/develop/earwigbot/commands/help.py
.. _afc_status:         https://github.com/earwig/earwigbot-plugins/blob/develop/commands/afc_status.py
.. _test:               https://github.com/earwig/earwigbot/blob/develop/earwigbot/commands/test.py
.. _chanops:            https://github.com/earwig/earwigbot/blob/develop/earwigbot/commands/chanops.py
.. _wikiproject_tagger: https://github.com/earwig/earwigbot/blob/develop/earwigbot/tasks/wikiproject_tagger.py
.. _afc_statistics:     https://github.com/earwig/earwigbot-plugins/blob/develop/tasks/afc_statistics.py