fb-msngr

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fb-msngr is a node module for building bots for Facebook's Messenger platform.

Example Usage

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//Load express
var express = require('express');
var app = express();
 
//We need body parser to read the message contents
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
app.use(bodyParser.json());
 
//Initiate fb-msngr with the required info
var fbMsngr = require('fb-msngr')({
    access_token: <access_token>,
    notification_type: <notification_type>,
    verify_token: <verify_token>,
    page_id: <page_id>
});
 
//Handle the receipt of text messages
fbMsngr.onTextReceived(function(uid, text) {
    console.log(text);
});
 
//Handle verification with the build in middleware
app.get('/webhook/', fbMsngr.verify('Failed to verify'));
 
//Handle the received message
app.post('/webook/', function(req, res) {
    fbMsngr.handle(req.body);
    res.sendStatus(200);
});
 
//Run our app
app.listen(<port>, function() {
    console.log('Bot running');
});

Details

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Below is a detailed explanation of each part of the module.

require('fb-msngr')(config)

Upon including the module you must pass in a config object of the form below. access_token is your page access token and verify_token is the token you enter when you setup your webhook, both of these are created in the Facebook Developers console. notification_type is the type of notification your bot will create. This can be either REGULAR, SILENT_PUSH or NO_PUSH. Finally, page_id is the id of the page you're using for your bot.

var fbMsngr = require('fb-msngr')({
    access_token: <access_token>,
    notification_type: <notification_type>,
    verify_token: <verify_token>,
    page_id: <page_id>
});

fbMsngr.getProfile

Get a users profile info. id is the user id. The callback function may return an err, otherwise first_name and last_name are the user's first and last names respectively. profile_pic is the URL of the profile picture.

fbMsngr.getProfile(id, function(err, first_name, last_name, profile_pic) {
    //Do stuff
});

fbMsngr.verify

This is an express middleware used to verify your bot. Simply apply this middleware to the GET route on /webhook. You can pass a string to send to the client if verification fails. You can write your own verification route if you're not using express. All other methods are framework agnostic.

app.get('/webook/', fbMsngr.verify('Error message'));

fbMsngr.onAuth

Set a function to handle authentication. The id parameter is the user id of the authenticated user. The optin parameter is your defined optin reference.

fbMsngr.onAuth(function(id, optin) {
    //Do stuff...
});

fbMsngr.onTextReceived

Set a function to handle text messages. The id parameter is the user id of the authenticated user. The text parameter is the sent text.

fbMsngr.onTextReceived(function(id, text) {
    //Do stuff...
});

fbMsngr.onMediaReceived

Set a function to handle media messages. The id parameter is the user id of the authenticated user. The attachments parameter is the sent attachment.

fbMsngr.onMediaReceived(function(id, attachments) {
    //Do stuff...
});

fbMsngr.onPostback

Set a function to handle postbacks. The id parameter is the user id of the authenticated user. The postback parameter is the postback object.

fbMsngr.onPostback(function(id, postback) {
    //Do stuff...
});

fbMsngr.onDelivered

Set a function to handle message delivery. The id parameter is the user id of the authenticated user. The mid parameter is the id of the message that was delivered.

fbMsngr.onDelivered(function(id, mid) {
    //Do stuff...
});

fbMsngr.onDelivered

Set a function to handle message delivery. The id parameter is the user id of the authenticated user. The mid parameter is the id of the message that was delivered.

fbMsngr.onDelivered(function(id, mid) {
    //Do stuff...
});

fbMsngr.sendTextMessage

Send a text message. id is the user id to send to, and text is the text. The structure of the callback function is the same for all of the following send functions and is defined below.

fbMsngr.sendTextMessage(id, text, callback);

fbMsngr.sendImageMessage

Send an image message. id is the user id to send to, and url is the media url.

fbMsngr.sendImageMessage(id, url, callback);

fbMsngr.sendGenericTemplateMessage

Send a generic template message. id is the user id to send to, and bubbles is an array of the bubbles to send. The buildBubble function below shows how to build these.

fbMsngr.sendGenericTemplateMessage(id, bubbles, callback);

fbMsngr.sendButtonTemplateMessage

Send a button template message. id is the user id to send to, and buttons is an array of the buttons to send. The buildURLButton and buildPostbackButton functions below shows how to build these.

fbMsngr.sendButtonTemplateMessage(id, buttons, callback);

fbMsngr.sendReceiptTemplateMessage

Send a receipt template message. id is the user id to send to as in previous methods. name is the name of the user who the receipt is intended for. ordernum is a unique order number (a string) while currency is the currency (GBP, USD, etc...). method is the payment method, this can be a string such as "Card". timestamp is an optional timestamp string, and url is the optional URL of the order. elements is an array of order elements, which can be built with buildOrderElement. address is an optional object, which is built through buildAddress. summary is a required order summary, built with buildOrderSummary. Finally, adjustments is an optional array of objects built with buildAdjustment, these include changes to the order such as sales. The callback is as below. Any optional elements can be passed in as null, undefined or an empty string/array/object.

fbMsngr.sendButtonTemplateMessage(id, name, ordernum, currency, method, timestamp, url, elements, address, summary, adjustments, callback);

callback

All of the send functions above share the same callback structure. err is any errors that may have been thrown. id contains the id of the user the message was sent to, and mid the id of the message sent.

function(err, id, mid);

fbMsngr.buildBubble

Builds a bubble object for use in sendGenericTemplateMessage. title is the bubble title, url is the URL that the bubble will link to, which is optional and can just be an empty string. image_url is the image sent along with the bubble, which is also optional. subtitle is the optional bubble subtitle. buttons is an array of buttons, that can be built with the below functions.

fbMsngr.buildBubble(title, url, image, subtitle, buttons);

fbMsngr.buildURLButton

Builds a button that links out to a URL. title is the title and the url is the URL that will be linked out to.

fbMsngr.buildURLButton(title, url);

fbMsngr.buildPostbackButton

Builds a button that sends a postback to your server. title is the title, while payload is the postback object that will be sent back to your server.

fbMsngr.buildPostbackButton(title, payload);

fbMsngr.buildOrderElement

Builds a single order element. title is the elements title, while subtitle is optional. quantity and price are optional numbers, while currency is an optional string (GBP, USD, etc...). image_url is an optional URL of an image for this element. Optional variables can be empty strings, which will result in them being removed.

fbMsngr.buildOrderElement(title, subtitle, quantity, price, currency, image);

fbMsngr.buildAddress

Builds an address object. line1 is the first line of the address, while line2 is an optional second line. city is the city string, postal is a string containing the postal code, while state and country are strings containing the address' state and country respectively. Any optional variables can be passed as empty strings.

fbMsngr.buildAddress(line1, line2, city, postal, state, country);

fbMsngr.buildSummary

Builds the order's summary. All parameters are numbers, and all optional except cost, and to omit them just pass an empty string.

fbMsngr.buildSummary(subtotal, shipping, tax, cost);

fbMsngr.buildAdjustment

Builds an order adjustment. This is a change to the standard order such as a sale or voucher code. name is the name of the adjustment, and amount is the amount as a number. To skip an optional parameter just pass an empty string.

fbMsngr.buildAdjustment(name, amount);

fbMsngr.setTextWelcomeMessage

Sets your bots welcome message to a simple text message. The text parameter is the text, and the second parameter is a callback function which will hold an error if one has been thrown.

fbMsngr.setTextWelcomeMessage(text, function(err) {
    
});

fbMsngr.setGenericWelcomeMessage

Sets the welcome message to a slightly more complex message. bubbles is an array of bubbles built with buildBubble(), while the second parameter is a callback identical to the one above.

fbMsngr.setGenericWelcomeMessage(bubbles, function(err) {
    
});

To-do List

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1. Switch over loops to use async