47 lines
1.6 KiB
Markdown
47 lines
1.6 KiB
Markdown
This is a lightweight Python microservice that acts as an intermediary between the student Q&A forum and registered helper accounts (Seniors/Staff) on Telegram.
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## 🚀 How It Works
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1. **Student submits a question** on the web portal.
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2. **Spring Boot Backend** saves the question and triggers an HTTP POST request to the Python bot: `/send_question`.
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3. **Telegram Bot** broadcasts the question with a `force_reply` prompt to all configured helper accounts.
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4. **Helpers reply** directly to the Telegram message.
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5. **Telegram Bot** captures the reply, maps it back to the original question ID, and pushes the answer back to the Spring Boot REST endpoint (`POST /api/questions/{id}/answers`).
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## 🛠️ Installation & Setup
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### 1. Install Dependencies
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Run this in the `telegram-bot/` directory:
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```bash
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pip install -r requirements.txt
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```
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### 2. Configure the Bot
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Update [config.json](config.json):
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```json
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{
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"telegram_bot_token": "YOUR_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN",
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"helper_chat_ids": [
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971749136
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],
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"spring_backend_url": "http://localhost:8080"
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}
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```
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#### How to find your Telegram Chat ID:
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1. Search for the bot username on Telegram and click **Start** (or send `/start`).
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2. The bot will automatically reply with your exact **Chat ID**.
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3. Add this ID to the `helper_chat_ids` array in `config.json`. The bot dynamically reloads configuration changes on the fly!
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---
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## 🏃 Running the Bot
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Start the server:
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```bash
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python telegram_bot.py
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```
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* **Bot Server Port**: `8082`
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* **Local Mappings Store**: `bot_mappings.db` (SQLite) is created automatically to persist message mappings so that replies continue to map to the correct questions even if the bot is restarted.
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