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otouto
The plugin-wielding, multipurpose Telegram bot.
Public Bot | Official Channel | Development Group
otouto is an independently-developed Telegram API bot written in Lua. Originally conceived as a CLI script in February of 2015, otouto has since been open-sourced and migrated to the API, and is being developed to this day.
| The Manual |
|---|
| Setup |
| Plugins |
| Control plugins |
| administration.lua |
| Liberbot-related plugins |
| List of plugins |
| Style |
| Contributors |
Setup
You must have Lua (5.2+), lua-socket, lua-sec, and lua-cjson installed. To upload files, you must have curl installed. To use fortune.lua, you must have fortune installed.
Before doing anything, open config.lua and set bot_api_key to the authentication token you received from the Botfather.
You may want to set: admin, your Telegram ID; time_offset, a positive or negative number, denoting the difference, in seconds, of your system clock to UTC; and lang, a lowercase, two-letter code representing your language. Some plugins are not enabled by default. If you wish to enable them, add them to the plugins table (before help.lua).
To start the bot, run ./launch.sh. To stop the bot, send "/halt" from your admin account, and then Ctrl+C out of the loop. If you terminate the bot manually, you risk data loss. If you do not wish the bot to restart automatically, run it with lua bot.lua.
Note that certain plugins, such as translate.lua and greetings.lua, will require privacy mode to be disabled. Additionally, some plugins may require or make use of various API keys:
- weather.lua: OpenWeatherMap API key
- lastfm.lua: last.fm API key
- bible.lua: Biblia API key
- cats.lua: The Cat API API key (optional)
- gImages.lua: Google API and CSE keys
- youtube.lua: Google API key
- apod.lua: NASA API key
- translate.lua: Yandex API key
- chatter.lua: SimSimi API key
Plugins
otouto uses a robust plugin system, similar to that of yagop's Telegram-Bot. The aim of the otouto project is to contain any desirable bot feature within one universal bot framework.
Most plugins are intended for public use, but a few are for other purposes, like those used alongside Liberbot, or for use by the bot's owner. See Development for a breakdown of the components of a plugin, or here for a list of plugins.
A plugin can have five components, and two of them are required:
| Component | Description | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| action | Main function. Expects msg table as an argument. |
Y |
| triggers | Table of triggers for the plugin. Uses Lua patterns. | Y |
| cron | Optional function to be called every minute. | N |
| command | Basic command and syntax. Listed in the help text. | N |
| doc | Usage for the plugin. Returned by "/help $command". | N |
The on_msg_receive() function adds a few variables to the msg table for your convenience. These are self-explanatory: msg.from.id_str, msg.to.id_str, msg.chat.id_str, msg.text_lower, msg.from.name.
Return values from action() are optional, but they do effect the flow. If it returns a table, that table will become msg, and on_msg_receive will continue with that. If it returns true, it will continue with the current msg.
When an action or cron function fails, the exception is caught and passed to the handle_exception() utilty (in utilities.lua) and is either printed to the console or send to the chat/channel defined in log_chat in config.lua.
Interactions with the bot API are straightforward. Every binding function shares the name of the API method (eg sendMessage()). An additional function, sendReply(), accepts the msg table and a string as an argument, and sends the string as a reply to that message.
Several functions used in multiple plugins are defined in utilities.lua. Refer to that file for usage and documentation.
Control plugins
Some plugins are designed to be used by the bot's owner. Here are some examples, how they're used, and what they do.
| Plugin | Command | Function |
|---|---|---|
| control.lua | /reload | Reloads all plugins and configuration. |
| control.lua | /halt | Shuts down the bot after saving the database. |
| blacklist.lua | /blacklist | Blocks people from using the bot. |
| shell.lua | /run | Executes shell commands on the host system. |
| luarun.lua | /lua | Executes Lua commands in the bot's environment. |
administration.lua
The administration plugin enables self-hosted, single-realm group administration, supporting both normal groups and supergroups. This works by sending TCP commands to an instance of tg running on the owner's account.
To get started, run ./tg-install.sh. Note that this script is written for Ubuntu/Debian. If you're running Arch (the only acceptable alternative), you'll have to do it yourself. If that is the case, note that otouto uses the "test" branch of tg, and the AUR package telegram-cli-git will not be sufficient, as it does not have support for supergroups yet.
Once the installation is finished, enable administration.lua in your config file. You may have reason to change the default TCP port (4567); if that is the case, remember to change it in tg-launch.sh as well. Run ./tg-launch.sh in a separate screen/tmux window. You'll have to enter your phone number and go through the login process the first time. The script is set to restart tg after two seconds, so you'll need to Ctrl+C after exiting.
While tg is running, you may start/reload otouto with administration.lua enabled, and have access to a wide variety of administrative commands and automata. The administration "database" is stored in administration.json. To start using otouto to administrate a group (note that you must be the owner (or an administrator)), send /gadd to that group. For a list of commands, use /ahelp. Below I'll describe various functions now available to you.
| Command | Function | Privilege | Internal? |
|---|---|---|---|
| /groups | Returns a list of administrated groups (except the unlisted). | 1 | N |
| /ahelp | Returns a list of accessible administrative commands. | 1 | Y |
| /ops | Returns a list of the moderators and governor of a group. | 1 | Y |
| /desc | Returns detailed information for a group. | 1 | Y |
| /rules | Returns the rules of a group. | 1 | Y |
| /motd | Returns the message of the day of a group. | 1 | Y |
| /link | Returns the link for a group. | 1 | Y |
| /kick | Removes the target from the group. | 2 | Y |
| /(un)ban | Bans the target from the group or vice-versa. | 2 | Y |
| /changerule | Changes an individual group rule. | 3 | Y |
| /setrules | Sets the rules for a group. | 3 | Y |
| /setmotd | Sets the message of the day for a group. | 3 | Y |
| /setlink | Sets the link for a group. | 3 | Y |
| /alist | Returns a list of administrators. | 3 | Y |
| /flags | Returns a list of flags and their states, or toggles one. | 3 | Y |
| /antiflood | Configures antiflood (flag 5) settings. | 3 | Y |
| /(de)mod | Promotes a user to a moderator or vice-versa. | 3 | Y |
| /(de)gov | Promotes a user to the governor or vice-versa. | 4 | Y |
| /(un)hammer | Bans a user globally and blacklists him or vice-versa. | 4 | N |
| /(de)admin | Promotes a user to an administrator or vice-versa. | 5 | N |
| /gadd | Adds a group to the administrative system. | 5 | N |
| /grem | Removes a group from the administrative system. | 5 | Y |
| /glist | Returns a list of all administrated groups and their governors. | 5 | N |
| /broadcast | Broadcasts a message to all administrated groups. | 5 | N |
Internal commands can only be run within an administrated group.
Description of Privileges
| # | Title | Description | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Banned | Cannot enter the group(s). | Either |
| 1 | User | Default rank. | Local |
| 2 | Moderator | Can kick/ban/unban users. | Local |
| 3 | Governor | Can set rules/motd/link, promote/demote moderators, modify flags. | Local |
| 4 | Administrator | Can globally ban/unban users, promote/demote governors. | Global |
| 5 | Owner | Can add/remove groups, broadcast, promote/demote administrators. | Global |
Obviously, each greater rank inherits the privileges of the lower, positive ranks.
Flags
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | unlisted | Removes a group from the /groups listing. |
| 2 | antisquig | Automatically removes users for posting Arabic script or RTL characters. |
| 3 | antisquig++ | Automatically removes users whose names contain Arabic script or RTL characters. |
| 4 | antibot | Prevents bots from being added by non-moderators. |
| 5 | antiflood | Prevents flooding by rate-limiting messages per user. |
antiflood
antiflood (flag 5) provides a system of automatic flood protection by removing users who post too much. It is entirely configurable by a group's governor, an administrator, or the bot owner. For each message to a particular group, a user is awarded a certain number of "points". The number of points is different for each message type. When the user reaches 100 points, he is removed. Points are reset each minute. In this way, if a user posts twenty messages within one minute, he is removed.
Default antiflood values:
| Type | Points |
|---|---|
| text | 5 |
| contact | 5 |
| audio | 5 |
| voice | 5 |
| photo | 10 |
| document | 10 |
| location | 10 |
| video | 10 |
| sticker | 20 |
Liberbot-related plugins
Note: This section may be out of date. The Liberbot-related plugins have not changed in very long time. Some plugins are only useful when the bot is used in a Liberbot group, like floodcontrol.lua and moderation.lua.
floodcontrol.lua makes the bot compliant with Liberbot's floodcontrol function. When the bot has posted too many messages to a single group in a given period of time, Liberbot will send it a message telling it to cease posting in that group. Here is an example floodcontrol command:
/floodcontrol {"groupid":987654321,"duration":600}
The bot will accept these commands from both Liberbot and the configured administrator.
moderation.lua allows the owner to use the bot to moderate a Liberbot realm, or set of groups. This works by adding the bot to the realm's admin group and making it an administrator. You must configure the plugin in the "moderation" section of config.lua, in the following way:
moderation = {
admins = {
['123456789'] = 'Adam',
['246813579'] = 'Eve'
},
admin_group = -987654321,
realm_name = 'My Realm'
}
Where Adam and Eve are realm administrators, and their IDs are set as their keys in the form of strings. admin_group is the group ID of the admin group, as a negative number. realm_name is the name of your Libebot realm.
Once this is set up, put your bot in the admin group and run /modadd and /modhelp to get started.
List of plugins
| Plugin | Command | Function | Aliases |
|---|---|---|---|
| help.lua | /help [command] | Returns a list of commands or command-specific help. | /h |
| about.lua | /about | Returns the about text as configured in config.lua. | |
| ping.lua | /ping | The simplest plugin ever! | |
| echo.lua | /echo ‹text› | Repeats a string of text. | |
| gSearch.lua | /google ‹query› | Returns Google web results. | /g |
| gImages.lua | /images ‹query› | Returns a Google image result. | /i |
| gMaps.lua | /location ‹query› | Returns location data from Google Maps. | /loc |
| youtube.lua | /youtube ‹query› | Returns the top video result from YouTube. | /yt |
| wikipedia.lua | /wikipedia ‹query› | Returns the summary of a Wikipedia article. | /w |
| lastfm.lua | /np [username] | Returns the song you are currently listening to. | |
| lastfm.lua | /fmset [username] | Sets your username for /np. /fmset -- will delete it. | |
| hackernews.lua | /hackernews | Returns the latest posts from Hacker News. | /hn |
| imdb.lua | /imdb ‹query› | Returns film information from IMDb. | |
| hearthstone.lua | /hearthstone ‹query› | Returns data for Hearthstone cards matching the query. | /hs |
| calc.lua | /calc ‹expression› | Returns conversions and solutions to math expressions. | |
| bible.lua | /bible ‹reference› | Returns a Bible verse. | /b |
| urbandictionary.lua | /urban ‹query› | Returns the top definition from Urban Dictionary. | /ud |
| time.lua | /time ‹query› | Returns the time, date, and a timezone for a location. | |
| weather.lua | /weather ‹query› | Returns current weather conditions for a given location. | |
| nick.lua | /nick ‹nickname› | Set your nickname. /nick - will delete it. | |
| whoami.lua | /whoami | Returns user and chat info for you or the replied-to user. | /who |
| eightball.lua | /8ball | Returns an answer from a magic 8-ball. | |
| dice.lua | /roll ‹nDr› | Returns RNG dice rolls. Uses D&D notation. | |
| reddit.lua | /reddit [r/subreddit ¦ query] | Returns the top results from a subreddit, query, or r/all. | /r |
| xkcd.lua | /xkcd [query] | Returns an xkcd strip and its alt text. | |
| slap.lua | /slap ‹target› | Gives someone a slap (or worse). | |
| commit.lua | /commit | Returns a commit message from whatthecommit.com. | |
| fortune.lua | /fortune | Returns a UNIX fortune. | |
| pun.lua | /pun | Returns a pun. | |
| pokedex.lua | /pokedex ‹query› | Returns a Pokedex entry. | /dex |
| currency.lua | /cash [amount] ‹cur› to ‹cur› | Converts one currency to another. | |
| cats.lua | /cat | Returns a cat picture. | |
| reactions.lua | /reactions | Returns a list of emoticons which can be posted by the bot. | |
| apod.lua | /apod [date] | Returns the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day. | |
| dilbert.lua | /dilbert [date] | Returns a Dilbert strip. | |
| patterns.lua | /s/‹from›/‹to›/ | Search-and-replace using Lua patterns. | |
| me.lua | /me | Returns user-specific data stored by the bot. |
Style
Bot output from every plugin should follow a consistent style. This style is easily observed interacting with the bot.
Titles should be either bold (along with their colons) or a link (with plaintext colons) to the content's source. Names should be italic. Numbered lists should use bold numbers followed by a bold period followed by a space. Unnumbered lists should use the • bullet point followed by a space. Descriptions and information should be in plaintext, although "flavor" text should be italic. Technical information should be monospace. Links should be named.
Contributors
Everybody is free to contribute to otouto. If you are interested, you are invited to fork the repo and start making pull requests. If you have an idea and you are not sure how to implement it, open an issue or bring it up in the Bot Development group.
The creator and maintainer of otouto is topkecleon. He can be contacted via Telegram, Twitter, or email.
There are a a few ways to contribute if you are not a programmer. For one, your feedback is always appreciated. Drop me a line on Telegram or on Twitter. Secondly, we are always looking for new ideas for plugins. Most new plugins start with community input. Feel free to suggest them on Github or in the Bot Dev group. You can also donate Bitcoin to the following address:
1BxegZJ73hPu218UrtiY8druC7LwLr82gS
Contributions are appreciated in any form. Monetary contributions will go toward server costs. Both programmers and donators will be eternally honored (at their discretion) on this page.
| Contributors |
|---|
| Juan Potato |
| Tiago Danin |
| bb010g |
| Ender |
| Iman Daneshi |
| HeitorPB |
| Akronix |
| Ville |
| dogtopus |
| Donators |
|---|
| n8 |
| Alex |
| Brayden Banks |