Presence greeter
“Welcome, Ada! Bo and Cy are here.” Each person who joins is greeted by name, and only they see it. Someone who was here before gets “Welcome back”.
Works today With @pikoman/ws 1.0.0-rc.10 from npm and Pikoman as it runs now.
A folder that runs as it is, in Node and Python: greeter.mjs, greeter.py, .env.example, README.md, package.json, pikoman_bot.py, requirements.txt.
What it does
The bot is a member of the room, so it sees each join as it happens, with the member data your backend signed. It greets that one connection with sendTo: nobody else in the room sees it. A person with two tabs is greeted once, other bots are not greeted, and a crowd joining at once is greeted eight a second, under the limit of ten.
- Ada joins
- greeter
- Ada alone: Welcome, Ada!
The key it needs
Rights subscribe and client_events on the room prefix: it may join the rooms and speak in them, and nothing else. Add stats if it should find the occupied rooms itself (FOLLOW=1, Node).
- Start from
- Chosen: Bot
- Name
- Greeter
- Rights
- Not chosen:
publishNot chosen:statsNot chosen:clientsNot chosen:disconnectNot chosen:disconnect_allChosen:subscribeChosen:client_eventsNot chosen:kickNot chosen:ban - Channel kinds
- Not chosen: public Not chosen: private Chosen: presence
- Channels
- Chosen: Only some channelsprefix
presence-chat- - Addresses
- Chosen: Only these addressesthe server the bot runs on
- Expires
- Never, or in 90 days for a trial
Set up
The docs cover the key and connecting; everything about the bot itself is on this page.
- The Pro plan. A key that joins channels is a bot’s key, and bot keys come with Pro.
- The key above. In the dashboard: your app, New API key, filled in as shown. How each choice works: Keys and rights. The secret,
sk_k_….…, is shown once (what it looks like). - Your app id and the secret in
.env, copied from.env.example. Nowhere else: not in a page, not in git. - Connecting. The bot signs its own join tokens with the key, and Pikoman shows it as a bot: bots in presence channels.
- Your members join with tokens your backend signs, with their name and user id in the member data,
{"user_id": "42", "name": "Ada"}: the token endpoint.
How it works
It sees who joins
member_joinedcarries the new member’s connection id and its signed member data:{"user_id": "42", "name": "Ada"}.It greets a person once
If another connection with the same user id is already in, it is a second tab: no greeting. Others in the room are named, three at most and “4 others” after.
It remembers who was here
Since it started, per room: “Welcome back” for them. In memory only.
To one connection alone
room.sendTo(id, "welcome", {text}). The page shows it only wheninfo.directandinfo.botsay it came from a bot, to this member alone; the server sets both.
The source
These are the files in the zip, as they are: copy one, download one, or take the whole folder.
Node: greeter.mjs
// greeter.mjs: a Pikoman bot that welcomes each person who joins a presence room, to them alone:
// "Welcome, Ada! Bo and Cy are here." Someone who was here before (since the bot started) gets
// "Welcome back, Ada!". Node 22+. npm install, then npm start (reads .env).
//
// Its key (dashboard, New API key): rights subscribe and client_events, kind presence, channels:
// prefix presence-chat-. Add stats if it should find the rooms itself (FOLLOW=1).
//
// The bot is a member of each room, so it sees member_joined as it happens; no webhook needed.
// A webhook (member_added) is the alternative when the bot should not be in the room: then the
// greeting goes out over HTTP with Rest.publish(room, "welcome", data, { to }) and a publish key.
//
// Names come from the member data the app's backend signed into each join token ({ name,
// user_id }), never from anything a member sends, so nobody can greet under someone else's name.
// The greeting goes to one connection with sendTo, which needs the server and @pikoman/ws
// 1.0.0-rc.8 of 2026-10-26 or later.
import { Pikoman, OfflineAuthenticator, Rest } from "@pikoman/ws";
const ROOMS = (process.env.ROOMS || "presence-chat-lobby").split(",").map((r) => r.trim()).filter(Boolean);
const PREFIX = process.env.PREFIX || "presence-chat-";
// FOLLOW=1: every 10 s, ask which rooms with the prefix are occupied and join the new ones
// (GET /channels, which needs the stats right on the same key).
const FOLLOW = process.env.FOLLOW === "1";
const pikoman = new Pikoman(process.env.PIKOMAN_APP, {
ws_address: process.env.PIKOMAN_WS || "wss://next.pikoman.se",
});
// The bot signs its own join tokens with its API key. Access 3: it may send (to one member).
const auth = OfflineAuthenticator.fromSecret(process.env.PIKOMAN_API_KEY, { name: "Greeter" }, 3);
/** Who a member is, from its signed member data: its user id, or its connection when it has none. */
const who = (id, data) => (data?.user_id !== undefined ? `user:${data.user_id}` : `connection:${id}`);
const nameOf = (data) => (typeof data?.name === "string" && data.name.trim() ? data.name.trim().slice(0, 40) : "there");
/** "Bo", "Bo and Cy", "Bo, Cy and Di", "Bo, Cy, Di and 4 others". */
function list(names) {
if (names.length <= 1) return names.join("");
if (names.length <= 3) return `${names.slice(0, -1).join(", ")} and ${names.at(-1)}`;
return `${names.slice(0, 3).join(", ")} and ${names.length - 3} others`;
}
// sendTo counts against 10 client events a second per connection: greetings wait their turn,
// eight a second, so a crowd joining at once is greeted rather than refused.
const queue = [];
setInterval(() => {
for (const send of queue.splice(0, 1)) send();
}, 125).unref();
/** People seen in each room since the bot started (in memory only: a restart forgets them). */
const seen = new Map();
function greet(roomName) {
const room = pikoman.listenPresence(roomName, auth);
const before = seen.get(roomName) ?? new Set();
seen.set(roomName, before);
room.subscribe((_type, _count, id, data) => {
if (id === pikoman.getClientId()) {
console.log(`In ${roomName}`);
return;
}
if (room.isBot(id)) return; // other bots are not greeted
const person = who(id, data);
// The same person in a second tab: greeted once.
const others = [...room.getMembers()].filter(([other]) => other !== id && !room.isBot(other));
if (others.some(([other, otherData]) => who(other, otherData) === person)) return;
const names = [...new Map(others.map(([other, d]) => [who(other, d), nameOf(d)])).values()];
const name = nameOf(data);
let text = before.has(person) ? `Welcome back, ${name}!` : `Welcome, ${name}!`;
text += names.length === 0 ? " You're the first one here." : ` ${list(names)} ${names.length === 1 ? "is" : "are"} here.`;
before.add(person);
// To that connection alone: nobody else in the room sees it.
queue.push(() => room.sendTo(id, "welcome", { text }));
});
room.refused((code) => console.error(`${roomName}: ${code}`)); // join_refused: check the key's rights
}
for (const room of ROOMS) greet(room);
if (FOLLOW) {
const rest = new Rest({ address: process.env.PIKOMAN_HTTP || undefined });
const joined = new Set(ROOMS);
const follow = async () => {
try {
const { channels } = await rest.channels({ prefix: PREFIX, limit: 1000 });
for (const name of Object.keys(channels)) {
if (!joined.has(name) && joined.size < 900) {
joined.add(name);
greet(name);
}
}
} catch (e) {
console.error(e.message); // 403: the key needs the stats right
}
};
follow();
setInterval(follow, 10_000);
}
pikoman.revoked(() => {
console.error("The bot's key was deleted.");
process.exit(1);
});Python: greeter.py
"""greeter.py: welcomes each person who joins a presence room, to them alone, in Python:
"Welcome, Ada! Bo and Cy are here." Someone who was here before (since the bot started) gets
"Welcome back, Ada!". Python 3.10+. pip install -r requirements.txt, then python greeter.py
(reads .env).
Its key (dashboard, New API key): rights subscribe and client_events, kind presence, channels:
prefix presence-chat-.
Names come from the member data the app's backend signed into each join token ({ name, user_id }),
never from anything a member sends. The greeting goes to one connection (send_to).
"""
import asyncio
from pikoman_bot import Bot, env
ROOMS = [r.strip() for r in env("ROOMS", "presence-chat-lobby").split(",") if r.strip()]
bot = Bot("Greeter", access=3)
queue = asyncio.Queue() # greetings wait their turn: eight a second, under the limit of 10
seen = {} # room -> people seen there since the bot started (in memory: a restart forgets them)
def who(connection, data):
"""Who a member is, from its signed member data: its user id, or its connection without one."""
data = data if isinstance(data, dict) else {}
return f"user:{data['user_id']}" if "user_id" in data else f"connection:{connection}"
def name_of(data):
name = data.get("name") if isinstance(data, dict) else None
return name.strip()[:40] if isinstance(name, str) and name.strip() else "there"
def listed(names):
""""Bo", "Bo and Cy", "Bo, Cy and Di", "Bo, Cy, Di and 4 others"."""
if len(names) <= 1:
return "".join(names)
if len(names) <= 3:
return f"{', '.join(names[:-1])} and {names[-1]}"
return f"{', '.join(names[:3])} and {len(names) - 3} others"
def greet(room):
before = seen.setdefault(room.name, set())
@room.on_join
async def joined(connection, data):
if room.is_bot(connection):
return # other bots are not greeted
person = who(connection, data)
others = [(c, d) for c, d in room.members.items() if c != connection and not room.is_bot(c)]
if any(who(c, d) == person for c, d in others):
return # the same person in a second tab: greeted once
names = list({who(c, d): name_of(d) for c, d in others}.values())
text = f"Welcome back, {name_of(data)}!" if person in before else f"Welcome, {name_of(data)}!"
if not names:
text += " You're the first one here."
else:
text += f" {listed(names)} {'is' if len(names) == 1 else 'are'} here."
before.add(person)
await queue.put((room, connection, text))
async def send_greetings():
while True:
room, connection, text = await queue.get()
# To that connection alone: nobody else in the room sees it.
await room.send_to(connection, "welcome", {"text": text})
await asyncio.sleep(0.125)
for name in ROOMS:
greet(bot.join(name))
print(f"Greeting in {', '.join(ROOMS)}")
bot.start(send_greetings())pikoman_bot.py: what every Python bot here shares, the tokens, the websocket and the rooms
"""pikoman_bot.py: what a Pikoman bot needs in Python, in one file next to the bot.
- Rest: signed HTTP requests (publish, to one member, stats), each with a token made for that
one request, as KEYS.md says: the method, the path and a hash of the exact body.
- Bot and Room: a websocket that joins presence channels with join tokens signed by the bot's
own API key, keeps the member list (and which members are bots), hands client events to your
handlers, sends, sends to one member and kicks. It reconnects by itself.
Python 3.10+, pip install -r requirements.txt (websockets, BSD-3-Clause; cryptography,
Apache-2.0 OR BSD-3-Clause). Reads PIKOMAN_APP, PIKOMAN_API_KEY and, for tests, PIKOMAN_WS and
PIKOMAN_HTTP from the environment or from a .env file beside the bot.
"""
import asyncio
import base64
import hashlib
import inspect
import json
import os
import random
import signal
import time
import urllib.error
import urllib.parse
import urllib.request
from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.asymmetric.ed25519 import Ed25519PrivateKey
from websockets.asyncio.client import connect
from websockets.exceptions import ConnectionClosed
LOCAL = ("localhost", "127.0.0.1", "[::1]")
def load_env(path=".env"):
"""KEY=value lines from .env; what the environment already has wins."""
try:
with open(path, encoding="utf-8") as file:
lines = file.read().splitlines()
except FileNotFoundError:
return
for line in lines:
line = line.strip()
if not line or line.startswith("#") or "=" not in line:
continue
name, value = (part.strip() for part in line.split("=", 1))
value = value.strip("\"'")
if value and name not in os.environ:
os.environ[name] = value
load_env()
def env(name, default=""):
"""A setting from the environment; empty counts as not set."""
return os.environ.get(name) or default
def b64(data: bytes) -> str:
return base64.urlsafe_b64encode(data).rstrip(b"=").decode()
def checked(address: str, secure: str) -> str:
"""https:// or wss://; plain http:// or ws:// only to this computer, so keys never go in the clear."""
parsed = urllib.parse.urlsplit(address)
if parsed.scheme != secure and not (parsed.scheme == secure[:-1] and parsed.hostname in ("localhost", "127.0.0.1", "::1")):
raise ValueError(f"{address}: use {secure}:// (plain {secure[:-1]}:// only for localhost)")
return address.rstrip("/")
class PikomanError(Exception):
def __init__(self, status, text):
super().__init__(f"{status}: {text}")
self.status = status
class Key:
"""An API key's secret, sk_<key id>.<seed>: the id goes in each token's header, the seed signs it."""
def __init__(self, secret: str):
if not secret.startswith("sk_") or "." not in secret:
raise ValueError("PIKOMAN_API_KEY looks like sk_k_….…: the secret the dashboard showed once")
key_id, seed = secret[3:].split(".", 1)
self.id = key_id
self._key = Ed25519PrivateKey.from_private_bytes(base64.urlsafe_b64decode(seed + "=" * (-len(seed) % 4)))
def sign(self, claims: dict) -> str:
"""An EdDSA JWT with the key id in its header."""
header = {"alg": "EdDSA", "typ": "JWT", "kid": self.id}
signed = b64(json.dumps(header).encode()) + "." + b64(json.dumps(claims).encode())
return signed + "." + b64(self._key.sign(signed.encode()))
def __repr__(self):
return f"Key({self.id}, [hidden])"
def target(member) -> dict:
"""A connection id ("c_…"), or {"user_id": "42"} for every connection of that user."""
if isinstance(member, dict):
return {"to_user": str(member["user_id"])}
return {"to": member}
class Rest:
"""The HTTP API, every request signed with the API key and bound to that one request."""
def __init__(self, app=None, api_key=None, address=None):
self.app = app or env("PIKOMAN_APP")
if not self.app:
raise ValueError("Set PIKOMAN_APP: your app id, app-…")
self.key = Key(api_key or env("PIKOMAN_API_KEY"))
self.address = checked(address or env("PIKOMAN_HTTP", "https://next-api.pikoman.se"), "https")
def request(self, method: str, path: str, data=None) -> dict:
body = b"" if data is None else json.dumps(data).encode()
now = int(time.time())
token = self.key.sign({
"iss": self.app, "iat": now, "exp": now + 60, "htm": method, "htu": path,
"bh": b64(hashlib.sha256(body).digest()),
})
request = urllib.request.Request(self.address + path, data=body if data is not None else None, method=method, headers={
"Authorization": "Bearer " + token,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
})
try:
with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=10) as response:
text = response.read()
return json.loads(text) if text else {}
except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
raise PikomanError(e.code, e.read().decode(errors="replace")) from None
def publish(self, channel: str, event: str, data=None, to=None) -> dict:
"""POST /{channel}/{event}; with `to`, to one member only."""
path = f"/{urllib.parse.quote(channel, safe='=@,.;')}/{urllib.parse.quote(event, safe='=@,.;')}"
if to is not None:
path += "?" + urllib.parse.urlencode(target(to))
return self.request("POST", path, data)
def stats(self, channel: str) -> dict:
return self.request("GET", f"/{urllib.parse.quote(channel, safe='=@,.;')}/stats")
async def call(fn, *args):
"""Runs a handler, plain or async; an error in it is printed and the bot goes on."""
try:
result = fn(*args)
if inspect.isawaitable(result):
await result
except Exception as e: # noqa: BLE001: one handler must never stop the bot
print(f"handler {getattr(fn, '__name__', fn)}: {e!r}")
def client_name(event: str) -> str:
return event if event.startswith("client-") else "client-" + event
class Room:
"""A presence channel the bot is in: its members, which of them are bots, and its events."""
def __init__(self, bot, name: str):
self.bot = bot
self.name = name
self.members = {} # connection id -> member data, as their join token gave it
self.bots = {} # connection id -> the API key id a bot joined with: only the server says
self._handlers = {}
self._any = []
self._joins = []
self._leaves = []
self._errors = []
def on(self, event: str):
"""@room.on("message"): fn(sender, data, info) for that client event (client-message)."""
def add(fn):
self._handlers.setdefault(client_name(event), []).append(fn)
return fn
return add
def on_any(self, fn):
"""@room.on_any: fn(sender, event, data, info) for every client event."""
self._any.append(fn)
return fn
def on_join(self, fn):
"""@room.on_join: fn(connection, data) when a member joins."""
self._joins.append(fn)
return fn
def on_leave(self, fn):
"""@room.on_leave: fn(connection, data) when a member leaves."""
self._leaves.append(fn)
return fn
def on_error(self, fn):
"""@room.on_error: fn(code), such as join_refused, not_allowed or rate_limited."""
self._errors.append(fn)
return fn
def is_bot(self, connection: str) -> bool:
return connection in self.bots
def member(self, connection: str) -> dict:
data = self.members.get(connection)
return data if isinstance(data, dict) else {}
async def send(self, event: str, data=None):
"""A client event to the other members (at most 10 a second per connection)."""
await self.bot.send({"op": "send", "channel": self.name, "event": client_name(event), "data": data, "echo": False})
async def send_to(self, member, event: str, data=None):
"""To one member only: a connection id, or {"user_id": "42"}."""
await self.bot.send({"op": "send", "channel": self.name, "event": client_name(event), "data": data, "echo": False, **target(member)})
async def kick(self, member, reason=None, ban_seconds=None):
"""Out of this room: needs the kick right (ban, with ban_seconds)."""
message = {"op": "kick", "channel": self.name, **target(member)}
if reason:
message["reason"] = reason
if ban_seconds:
message["ban_seconds"] = ban_seconds
await self.bot.send(message)
async def handle(self, message: dict):
op = message.get("op")
if op == "members":
self.members = dict(message.get("members") or {})
self.bots = dict(message.get("bots") or {})
elif op == "member_joined":
self.members[message["id"]] = message.get("data")
if message.get("bot"):
self.bots[message["id"]] = message["bot"]
for fn in self._joins:
await call(fn, message["id"], message.get("data"))
elif op == "member_left":
data = self.members.pop(message["id"], None)
self.bots.pop(message["id"], None)
for fn in self._leaves:
await call(fn, message["id"], data)
elif op == "client_event":
sender, event, data = message.get("from"), message.get("event", ""), message.get("data")
# Set by the server, never by the sender: direct (to this bot alone), user_id, bot.
info = {k: message[k] for k in ("direct", "user_id", "bot") if k in message}
for fn in self._handlers.get(event, []):
await call(fn, sender, data, info)
for fn in self._any:
await call(fn, sender, event, data, info)
elif op == "error":
print(f"{self.name}: {message.get('code')}")
for fn in self._errors:
await call(fn, message.get("code"))
class Bot:
"""One websocket for the bot, in as many rooms as it joins. await bot.run() keeps it going."""
def __init__(self, name: str, access: int = 3, app=None, api_key=None, address=None):
self.app = app or env("PIKOMAN_APP")
if not self.app:
raise ValueError("Set PIKOMAN_APP: your app id, app-…")
self.key = Key(api_key or env("PIKOMAN_API_KEY"))
self.address = checked(address or env("PIKOMAN_WS", "wss://next.pikoman.se"), "wss")
self.data = {"name": name} # what the members see next to "bot"
self.access = access # 3: may speak (the key needs client_events); 0: listens
self.rooms = {}
self.id = None
self._ws = None
self._ready = []
def join(self, channel: str) -> Room:
room = self.rooms[channel] = Room(self, channel)
return room
def on_ready(self, fn):
"""@bot.on_ready: fn() each time the bot is connected and has asked to join its rooms."""
self._ready.append(fn)
return fn
def token(self, channel: str) -> str:
"""A join token for this connection and channel, signed with the bot's API key."""
return self.key.sign({
"connection": self.id, "channel": channel, "access": self.access,
"data": self.data, "exp": int(time.time()) + 300,
})
async def send(self, message: dict):
if self._ws is not None:
await self._ws.send(json.dumps(message))
def start(self, *tasks):
"""Runs the bot (and any other coroutines, such as a web server) until Ctrl+C or SIGTERM."""
def stop(*_):
raise KeyboardInterrupt
signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, stop) # as from systemd or podman stop: the same as Ctrl+C
async def main():
await asyncio.gather(self.run(), *tasks)
try:
asyncio.run(main())
except KeyboardInterrupt:
print("Stopped.")
async def run(self):
delay = 1
paused = 60 # after 4402: the first wait, doubling to five minutes
while True:
try:
async with connect(f"{self.address}/{self.app}") as ws:
self._ws = ws
async for raw in ws:
message = json.loads(raw)
if message.get("op") == "connected":
delay = 1
self.id = message["id"]
for name in self.rooms:
await self.send({"op": "join", "channel": name, "token": self.token(name)})
for fn in self._ready:
await call(fn)
elif message.get("channel") in self.rooms:
await self.rooms[message["channel"]].handle(message)
elif message.get("op") == "error":
print("pikoman:", message.get("code"))
except ConnectionClosed as e:
code = e.rcvd.code if e.rcvd is not None else None
if code == 4403:
raise SystemExit("The bot's key was deleted.") from None
if code == 4401:
raise SystemExit("The app disconnected the bot.") from None
if code == 4402:
# The key's bot rights are paused (the app's owner is off Pro): not for good.
# Try again in minutes, and the bot is back on its own when Pro is.
self._ws = None
self.id = None
print(f"The bot's key is paused until the app is on Pro again; trying again in about {paused // 60} min.")
await asyncio.sleep(random.uniform(paused / 2, paused))
paused = min(paused * 2, 300)
continue
print("connection closed:", code if code is not None else "no close frame")
except OSError as e:
print("could not connect:", e)
self._ws = None
self.id = None
paused = 60
# Back again after a random wait, longer each time it fails, up to 30 s.
await asyncio.sleep(random.uniform(0.5, delay))
delay = min(delay * 2, 30)# Copy to .env and fill in. Never commit .env.
# Your app id, app-…
PIKOMAN_APP=
# The bot's own API key, sk_k_….… (rights subscribe and client_events, prefix presence-chat-; stats too for FOLLOW=1)
PIKOMAN_API_KEY=
# The rooms to greet in, comma-separated (default presence-chat-lobby)
ROOMS=
# 1: find the occupied rooms with this prefix itself, every 10 s (Node only; needs stats)
FOLLOW=
PREFIX=
# Another server than wss://next.pikoman.se and https://next-api.pikoman.se, for tests
PIKOMAN_WS=
PIKOMAN_HTTP={
"name": "pikoman-greeter-bot",
"version": "1.0.0",
"private": true,
"type": "module",
"description": "A Pikoman bot that welcomes each person who joins a presence room, to them alone.",
"license": "MIT",
"scripts": {
"start": "node --env-file=.env greeter.mjs"
},
"engines": {
"node": ">=22"
},
"dependencies": {
"@pikoman/ws": "1.0.0-rc.10"
}
}websockets==15.0.1
cryptography==46.0.3Run it
# unpack greeter-bot.zip, then in the folder:
npm install
cp .env.example .env # fill in PIKOMAN_APP and PIKOMAN_API_KEY
npm startpython -m venv .venv && . .venv/bin/activate # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
python greeter.pyIdeas to take it further
- Tell a newcomer what the room is for, and which bots are in it.
- Without a bot in the room: Pikoman’s
member_addedwebhook, and an HTTP push to that connection alone (webhooks). - Catch them up as well: the history bot sends what they missed.