changelog added

.gitignore

@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 modtestposts_config.yaml
+.env

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -0,0 +1,194 @@
+# Changelog - TestPostsBot V2
+
+## Overview
+Complete refactor of TestPostsBot to be a continuously running, trigger-based posting bot that responds to moderator commands via chat messages.
+
+## Major Features Added
+
+### 1. Trigger-Based Posting System
+- Bot now runs continuously and listens for chat messages instead of executing once and exiting
+- Moderators can trigger posts by sending chat messages containing configured trigger keywords
+- Each trigger can post one or multiple posts in sequence
+- Posts are made with 2-second delays between submissions to respect rate limiting
+
+### 2. YAML Configuration Format
+- **Changed from:** JSON configuration format
+- **Changed to:** YAML configuration format for better readability and maintainability
+- New config structure supports nested trigger/post relationships
+- Example YAML config provided in `example_config.yaml`
+
+### 3. Chat Message Handler
+- Added chat message watcher that runs as a background thread
+- Listens for messages sent to the bot account by moderators
+- Implements special `reload-config` command for validating wiki config without making posts
+- Validates that sender is a moderator before processing commands
+- Tracks processed message IDs to prevent duplicate processing
+
+### 4. Configuration Validation
+- New `validate_config_from_wiki()` function validates YAML format and required structure
+- Validates that config has a `posts` key with proper trigger/post structure
+- Prevents bot from running with invalid configuration
+- `reload-config` command provides feedback on config validity
+
+### 5. Enhanced Logging
+- Added prefixed logging for different operations: `[STARTUP]`, `[POSTING]`, `[CHAT WATCH]`
+- Detailed debug output showing:
+  - Messages received and who sent them
+  - Moderator status verification
+  - Trigger matching and posting status
+  - Config validation results
+  - Error messages with full tracebacks
+
+## File Changes
+
+### New Files
+- **example_config.yaml** - Comprehensive example showing trigger and post configuration with multiple scenarios
+- **.gitignore** - Added to exclude common files
+- **example.env** - Environment configuration template
+
+### Modified Files
+
+#### bot.py
+**Old Behavior:**
+- Ran once, fetched posts from hardcoded config, made posts, and exited
+- No continuous operation
+- No trigger system
+
+**New Behavior:**
+- Runs continuously in infinite loop
+- Spawns chat message watcher as background daemon thread
+- Loads triggers from wiki config dynamically
+- Only posts when a moderator sends a matching trigger
+- Implements `reload-config` special command
+- Validates config on startup
+- Graceful shutdown on KeyboardInterrupt
+
+**Key Functions:**
+- `chat_message_watcher()` - Monitors inbox stream for moderator messages
+- `make_posts()` - Posts to subreddit with rate limit delays
+- `main()` - Continuous operation loop with thread management
+
+#### config.py
+**Old Behavior:**
+- Fetched JSON config from wiki
+- Simple error handling with fallback empty dict
+
+**New Behavior:**
+- Uses `yaml.safe_load()` instead of `json.loads()`
+- `fetch_config_from_wiki()` - Fetches and parses YAML config
+- `validate_config_from_wiki()` - Validates config format and required keys
+- `get_trigger_posts()` - Retrieves posts associated with specific trigger
+- Better error messages for YAML parsing failures
+
+#### requirements.txt
+**Added:**
+- `PyYAML` - Required for YAML config parsing
+
+#### README.md
+**Complete Rewrite:**
+- Added comprehensive documentation for trigger-based system
+- Documented new YAML config format with examples
+- Explained how moderators trigger posts
+- Added setup instructions for environment variables
+- Documented `reload-config` command
+- Added Docker and standalone running instructions
+- Clarified that only moderators can trigger posts
+
+#### docker-compose.yml
+**Updated:**
+- Environment variables now leverage .env file
+- Updated service configuration for continuous operation
+
+#### Dockerfile
+**Updated:**
+- Adjusted for continuous operation mode
+- Ensures proper signal handling for graceful shutdown
+
+### Configuration Examples
+
+**Old Format (JSON):**
+```json
+{
+  "posts": [
+    {"title": "Test Post 1", "body": "Body for post 1"},
+    {"title": "Test Post 2", "body": "Body for post 2"}
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+**New Format (YAML):**
+```yaml
+posts:
+  - trigger: "test"
+    posts:
+      - title: "Test Post 1"
+        body: "Body for post 1"
+      - title: "Test Post 2"
+        body: "Body for post 2"
+
+  - trigger: "weekly-thread"
+    posts:
+      - title: "Weekly Thread 1"
+        body: "Content"
+      - title: "Weekly Thread 2"
+        body: "Content"
+```
+
+## Operational Changes
+
+### Before (V1)
+- Bot runs, posts hardcoded posts, exits
+- Single execution cycle
+- Config loaded once at startup
+- No way to trigger posts without restarting bot
+
+### After (V2)
+- Bot runs continuously
+- Moderators send chat messages to trigger posts
+- Config is fetched fresh for each trigger (allows live updates)
+- Special `reload-config` command validates configuration
+- Background thread handles message monitoring
+- Main thread keeps bot alive indefinitely
+
+## Chat Commands
+
+### Trigger Posts
+Send chat message containing trigger keyword (e.g., "modtestposts", "weekly-thread")
+- Bot fetches configured posts for that trigger
+- Posts them to the subreddit in sequence
+- Replies with confirmation of posts made
+
+### Reload Config
+Send chat message containing "reload-config"
+- Bot validates wiki config YAML format
+- Replies with success/failure status
+- Useful for verifying config before using triggers
+
+## Technical Improvements
+
+1. **Concurrency:** Uses threading for background message monitoring while keeping main thread alive
+2. **Deduplication:** Tracks processed message IDs in `DB/chat_wiki_requests.txt` to prevent duplicate processing
+3. **Recovery:** Graceful error handling with continue on failures in message stream
+4. **Validation:** Comprehensive config validation before any operations
+5. **Logging:** Detailed logging for debugging and monitoring
+
+## Compatibility Notes
+
+- Requires `praw` and `PyYAML` packages
+- PRAW version should support `inbox.stream()` method
+- Reddit bot account must be moderator of target subreddit
+- Reddit bot account must be added to chat conversations where triggers will be sent
+
+## Upgrade Path from V1
+
+1. Update wiki config from JSON to YAML format
+2. Restructure config to use triggers (see `example_config.yaml`)
+3. Redeploy bot with updated code
+4. Send "reload-config" to verify new config works
+5. Use trigger keywords to post instead of restarting bot
+
+---
+
+**Version:** 2.0  
+**Date:** March 11, 2026  
+**Status:** Production Ready

Dockerfile

@@ -5,4 +5,5 @@ COPY requirements.txt .
 RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
 COPY bot.py .
 COPY config.py .
+ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
 CMD ["python", "bot.py"]

bot.py

@@ -66,23 +66,59 @@ def chat_message_watcher(reddit, subreddit_name):
                 with open(chat_requests_file, 'a', encoding='utf-8') as f:
                     f.write(message.id + '\n')
                 
-                if hasattr(message, 'body'):
-                    message_body = message.body.lower()
-                    # Check if sender is a moderator
+                # Check if message has body and author
+                if not hasattr(message, 'body'):
+                    continue
+                
                 author = getattr(message, 'author', None)
-                    if author and author in subreddit.moderator():
+                if not author:
+                    continue
+                
+                # Check if sender is a moderator
+                try:
+                    is_mod = author in subreddit.moderator()
+                except Exception as e:
+                    print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Error checking if {author} is mod: {e}")
+                    continue
+                
+                if not is_mod:
+                    continue
+                
+                message_body_lower = message.body.lower()
+                print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Moderator '{author}' sent message: {message.body[:100]}")
+                
+                # Handle special 'reload-config' command
+                if 'reload-config' in message_body_lower:
+                    print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Reload-config command detected.")
+                    result = validate_config_from_wiki(reddit, subreddit_name, WIKI_PAGE)
+                    if result:
+                        print("[CHAT WATCH] Wiki config validated successfully.")
+                        reply_text = "Config validated successfully. Config is valid YAML."
+                    else:
+                        print("[CHAT WATCH] Wiki config validation failed.")
+                        reply_text = "Config validation failed. Check the wiki config YAML formatting."
+                    try:
+                        message.reply(reply_text)
+                        print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Replied to message {message.id}.")
+                    except Exception as e:
+                        print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Error replying to message {message.id}: {e}")
+                    continue
+                
                 # Load current config to check for triggers
                 config = fetch_config_from_wiki(reddit, subreddit_name, WIKI_PAGE)
                 posts_config = config.get('posts', [])
                 
+                trigger_found = False
+                
                 # Check if message contains any trigger
                 for post_config in posts_config:
                     if not isinstance(post_config, dict):
                         continue
                     
                     trigger = post_config.get('trigger', '').lower()
-                            if trigger and trigger in message_body:
-                                print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Moderator '{author}' triggered '{trigger}'.")
+                    if trigger and trigger in message_body_lower:
+                        trigger_found = True
+                        print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Matched trigger '{trigger}' in message.")
                         
                         # Get posts for this trigger
                         trigger_posts = get_trigger_posts(reddit, subreddit_name, WIKI_PAGE, trigger)
@@ -97,14 +133,17 @@ def chat_message_watcher(reddit, subreddit_name):
                         
                         try:
                             message.reply(reply_text)
-                                    print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Replied to chat message {message.id}.")
+                            print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Replied to message {message.id}.")
                         except Exception as e:
-                                    print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Error replying to chat message {message.id}: {e}")
+                            print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Error replying to message {message.id}: {e}")
                         
                         # Only process the first matching trigger per message
                         break
+                        
         except Exception as e:
             print(f"[CHAT WATCH] Chat message watcher error: {e}")
+            import traceback
+            traceback.print_exc()
         
         time.sleep(30)
 

docker-compose.yml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 services:
-  testpostbot:
-    image: slfhstd.uk/slfhstd/testpostbot:latest
+  testpostsbot:
+    image: slfhstd.uk/slfhstd/testpostsbot:dev
     env_file:
       - .env
     restart: unless-stopped