Python "Hello Bot"¶

This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating a simple Python automation.

Prerequisites¶

• BotCity Account
• BotCity Studio SDK
• Python 3.7 or higher

Creating Your First Project¶

BotCity offers a template project which can be customized via a tool called cookiecutter.

Installing Cookiecutter¶

In order to use it we need first to install the cookiecutter Python package by running the following command on your command-line terminal:

python -m pip install --upgrade cookiecutter

After doing that you are ready to create your first Python automation using BotCity’s framework.

From Template to Project¶

With cookiecutter properly installed, it is time to make use of it and create a new project.

To create a new project using our template we will invoke the cookiecutter and provide as argument the URL in which the templates from BotCity is located:

python -m cookiecutter https://github.com/botcity-dev/bot-python-template/archive/main.zip

The system will prompt you with a couple of answers in order to properly create your project.

• Once prompted for project_type answer with 1 for Desktop and press enter;
• For bot_id type HelloBot and press enter;
• Under project_name type Hello Bot and press enter;
• For project_short_description type My first project with BotCity and press enter.

After going through the process above you will now have a new folder named HelloBot.

Exploring the Project¶

Under your project folder HelloBot you will have the following structure:

HelloBot
├── MANIFEST.in      <- This file defines the content of the package.
├── README.md        <- Simple README file for your bot project.
├── VERSION          <- This file defines the Bot package version.
├── HelloBot         <- Main module for your Bot package.
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── __main__.py  <- Entrypoint for the module.No need to bother with this file.
│   ├── bot.py       <- Here is where you will develop your bot code.
│   └── resources    <- Folder containing resources useful for the Bot.
├── build.bat        <- Batch script to generate the package
├── build.sh         <- Shell script to generate the package
├── requirements.txt <- File describing the python dependencies for your Bot.
└── setup.py         <- Setup file for the package.

Testing Your Project Locally¶

In order to test our project locally, let’s first install it so we can have all the Python dependencies ready.

Using the command-line tool, access the HelloBot folder which we described above.

Installing the Project¶

From this folder run the command below to install your project on development mode:

pip install -e .

This command will produce a lot of output which means that all dependencies such as botcity-framework-core, and others are being installed.

Once this process is over, you should see an output similar to this one:

<... other output from installation ...>
  Running setup.py develop for HelloBot
Successfully installed HelloBot-1.0 ...

The important message here is the Successfuly installed HelloBot-1.0.

This means that your project is now ready to be executed.

Running the Bot¶

Our template project runs a very simple automation. It opens up your default web browser and loads BotCity’s website.

You can execute your HelloBot with the following command:

python -m HelloBot

Here is a screenshot of the expected result:

Conclusion¶

Under this tutorial you learned:

• The dependencies required to develop automations using BotCity’s Python framework and how to get them installed.

• How to create new Bot projects using cookiecutter and BotCity’s template.

• How to install and run your new Bot project locally.

Have fun automating 🤖

Next Steps¶

Now it is time to load your project with BotCity Studio and start creating your automations with Computer Vision and all the productivity offered by our tool.