TestPostsBot/CHANGELOG.md

Changelog - TestPostsBot

Version 2.1.0 - Update Checker System

New Features

1. Update Checker System

• Bot now periodically checks for new versions from a centralized update server
• Automatically sends modmail notifications to subreddit modteam when updates are available
• Includes changelog URL in notification for easy reference
• 24-hour cooldown prevents spam (max 1 notification per day)
• Runs as a background daemon thread alongside main bot operations
• Tracks last update notification timestamp to file for persistence across restarts

2. Version Management

• Bot version is now centralized at the top of bot.py in a dedicated section
• BOT_VERSION and BOT_NAME constants used throughout the bot
• Easy single-location reference for version updates
• Version automatically included in update checker calls and user agent string

3. Infrastructure

• Created separate update_server/ project for version management service
• Flask-based REST API serving version information via /api/version/<bot_name>
• versions.json file stores version details for all bots
• Docker support with Dockerfile for containerized deployment
• Includes comprehensive README with deployment options

New Files

• update_checker.py - Background module that checks for and notifies about updates

Modified Files

bot.py

• Added version constants section at top for easy reference
• Added import for update_checker module
• Added start_update_checker() call in main() function
• User agent now uses version constants: {BOT_NAME}/{BOT_VERSION}

requirements.txt

• Added requests library for HTTP requests to update server

docker-compose.yml

• Volume mounts for persistent versions.json and log files

Configuration

Update checker timing is configurable in update_checker.py:

• UPDATE_CHECK_INTERVAL = 60 seconds (check frequency)
• UPDATE_COOLDOWN = 86400 seconds (24 hours between notifications)

How It Works

1. On startup, bot creates background thread running update checker
2. Every hour, thread polls https://updts.slfhstd.uk/api/version/TestPostsBot
3. If version differs from current BOT_VERSION, and 24 hours have passed since last notification, sends modmail
4. Modmail includes current version, available version, and changelog URL
5. Last notification timestamp stored in DB/.last_update_check.txt

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Version 2.0.0 - Trigger-Based Redesign

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):

{
  "posts": [
    {"title": "Test Post 1", "body": "Body for post 1"},
    {"title": "Test Post 2", "body": "Body for post 2"}
  ]
}

New Format (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

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Version: 2.0
Date: March 11, 2026
Status: Production Ready