Zulip Bot Service

This is a Zulip bot service that provides AI-powered responses to user queries.

Running as a Service with PM2

The application can be set up to run as a background service using PM2, which ensures it starts automatically on system boot and restarts if it crashes.

Prerequisites

1. Node.js and npm installed on your system
2. PM2 installed globally (npm install -g pm2)
3. Python 3.11+ and required dependencies

Installation

1. Make sure all required environment variables are set in your .env file:

   ZULIP_BOT_EMAIL=your-bot@example.com
   ZULIP_BOT_API_KEY=your-api-key
   ZULIP_SITE=https://your-zulip-instance.com
   OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key
   

2. Make the setup script executable:

   chmod +x pm2_start.sh
   

3. Run the setup script:

   ./pm2_start.sh
   

4. The script will:

   • Install PM2 if not already installed
   • Start the bot as a background service
   • Configure PM2 to run at system startup
   • Provide instructions for any required sudo commands

Managing the Service

• Check status: pm2 status
• View logs: pm2 logs zulip-bot
• Restart: pm2 restart zulip-bot
• Stop: pm2 stop zulip-bot
• Start (if stopped): pm2 start zulip-bot

Troubleshooting

If the service fails to start:

1. Check logs for errors: pm2 logs zulip-bot
2. Ensure all environment variables are properly set
3. Verify that the Flask app works by running it directly: ./run_app.sh

Manual Setup

If you prefer to run the bot without PM2:

1. Activate the virtual environment:

   source venv/bin/activate
   

2. Run the Flask app:

   ./run_app.sh
   

Development

For development purposes, you can run the Flask app in debug mode:

export FLASK_APP=app
export FLASK_DEBUG=1
flask run --port=5100