History and catch-up

Pikoman keeps no messages. This bot does, in your own storage, and when someone comes back it sends them what they missed, to them alone.

Works today With @pikoman/ws 1.0.0-rc.10 from npm and Pikoman as it runs now.

Download history-bot.zip

A folder that runs as it is, in Node and Python: history.mjs, history.py, .env.example, .gitignore, README.md, package.json, page.js, pikoman_bot.py, requirements.txt.

What it does

It keeps the last 50 chat messages of each room in a file, history.jsonl, with the sender’s signed name and user id. When a member joins, it sends them the messages since they were last in the room; someone new gets the last 20. A member can ask for everything kept with a history event. All of it goes to that member alone: nobody else in the room sees it.

  1. room
  2. history bot
  3. history.jsonl
  4. one member

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.

New API key, filled in for the history bot dashboard.pikoman.se
Start from
Chosen: Bot
Name
History bot
Rights
Not chosen: publish Not chosen: stats Not chosen: clients Not chosen: disconnect Not chosen: disconnect_all Chosen: subscribe Chosen: client_events Not chosen: kick Not 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

  1. It writes each message down

    One JSON line per message in its own file, read back when it starts, so a restart keeps the history.

  2. It notes who leaves when

    Per room and user id, from the signed member data, so a member is caught up whichever tab or device they come back on.

  3. It catches up whoever joins

    room.sendTo(connection, "missed", {messages}): that connection alone. Members without a user id get nothing.

  4. It answers on request

    room.send("history") from a page gets everything kept, to the one who asked.

The source

These are the files in the zip, as they are: copy one, download one, or take the whole folder.

Node: history.mjs

history.mjsDownload history.mjs
// history.mjs: catch-up for your chat rooms. Pikoman keeps no messages; this bot does, the last 50
// of each room in its own file (history.jsonl), and when someone comes back it sends them what
// they missed, to them alone. A member can also ask for the history ("history" client event).
// 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-.
import { appendFileSync, readFileSync } from "node:fs";
import { Pikoman, OfflineAuthenticator } from "@pikoman/ws";

const ROOMS = (process.env.ROOMS || "presence-chat-lobby").split(",");
const FILE = process.env.HISTORY_FILE || "history.jsonl";
const KEEP = 50; // messages kept per room
const FIRST_VISIT = 20; // what someone who has never been here gets

const history = new Map(); // room -> [{ at, name, user_id, text }]
const lastSeen = new Map(); // "room user" -> when that user was last in the room

// Its own storage: one JSON line per message, read back at start.
try {
  for (const line of readFileSync(FILE, "utf8").split("\n").filter(Boolean)) {
    const { room, ...message } = JSON.parse(line);
    history.set(room, [...(history.get(room) ?? []), message].slice(-KEEP));
  }
} catch (e) {
  if (e.code !== "ENOENT") throw e; // no file yet: nothing kept
}

const pikoman = new Pikoman(process.env.PIKOMAN_APP, {
  ws_address: process.env.PIKOMAN_WS || "wss://next.pikoman.se",
});
const auth = OfflineAuthenticator.fromSecret(process.env.PIKOMAN_API_KEY, { name: "History" }, 3);

for (const name of ROOMS) {
  const room = pikoman.listenPresence(name, auth);
  const userOf = new Map(); // connection -> user id, while they are in

  // Every chat message, kept with who sent it: the name and user id your backend signed.
  room.onClient("message", (from, data) => {
    if (room.isBot(from)) return;
    const member = room.getMember(from) ?? {};
    const message = { at: Date.now(), name: member.name ?? "Someone", user_id: member.user_id ?? null, text: String(data?.text ?? "").slice(0, 500) };
    history.set(name, [...(history.get(name) ?? []), message].slice(-KEEP));
    appendFileSync(FILE, JSON.stringify({ room: name, ...message }) + "\n");
  });

  // Someone joined: what they missed, to that connection alone.
  room.subscribe((_type, _count, connection, data) => {
    if (room.isBot(connection) || data?.user_id === undefined) return;
    const user = String(data.user_id);
    userOf.set(connection, user);
    const kept = history.get(name) ?? [];
    const since = lastSeen.get(`${name} ${user}`);
    const missed = since === undefined ? kept.slice(-FIRST_VISIT) : kept.filter((m) => m.at > since);
    if (missed.length) room.sendTo(connection, "missed", { since: since ?? null, messages: missed });
  });
  room.unsubscribe((_type, _count, connection) => {
    const user = userOf.get(connection);
    userOf.delete(connection);
    if (user) lastSeen.set(`${name} ${user}`, Date.now());
  });

  // Asked for: all that is kept, to the one who asked.
  room.onClient("history", (from) => room.sendTo(from, "history", { messages: history.get(name) ?? [] }));
  room.refused((code) => console.error(`${name}: ${code}`));
}

console.log(`Keeping history of ${ROOMS.join(", ")} in ${FILE}`);
pikoman.revoked(() => {
  console.error("The bot's key was deleted.");
  process.exit(1);
});

Python: history.py

history.pyDownload history.py
"""history.py: catch-up for your chat rooms, in Python. Pikoman keeps no messages; this bot does,
the last 50 of each room in its own file (history.jsonl), and when someone comes back it sends
them what they missed, to them alone. A member can also ask for the history ("history" event).
Python 3.10+. pip install -r requirements.txt, then python history.py (reads .env).

Its key (dashboard, New API key): rights subscribe and client_events, kind presence,
channels: prefix presence-chat-.
"""

import json
import time

from pikoman_bot import Bot, env

ROOMS = env("ROOMS", "presence-chat-lobby").split(",")
FILE = env("HISTORY_FILE", "history.jsonl")
KEEP = 50  # messages kept per room
FIRST_VISIT = 20  # what someone who has never been here gets

history = {}  # room -> [{at, name, user_id, text}]
last_seen = {}  # (room, user) -> when that user was last in the room

# Its own storage: one JSON line per message, read back at start.
try:
    with open(FILE, encoding="utf-8") as file:
        for line in file:
            if line.strip():
                message = json.loads(line)
                room_name = message.pop("room")
                history[room_name] = (history.get(room_name, []) + [message])[-KEEP:]
except FileNotFoundError:
    pass  # no file yet: nothing kept

bot = Bot("History", access=3)


def keep(room):
    user_of = {}  # connection -> user id, while they are in

    # Every chat message, kept with who sent it: the name and user id your backend signed.
    @room.on("message")
    def message(sender, data, info):
        if room.is_bot(sender):
            return
        member = room.member(sender)
        kept = {"at": int(time.time() * 1000), "name": member.get("name", "Someone"),
                "user_id": member.get("user_id"), "text": str((data or {}).get("text", ""))[:500]}
        history[room.name] = (history.get(room.name, []) + [kept])[-KEEP:]
        with open(FILE, "a", encoding="utf-8") as file:
            file.write(json.dumps({"room": room.name, **kept}) + "\n")

    # Someone joined: what they missed, to that connection alone.
    @room.on_join
    async def joined(connection, data):
        if room.is_bot(connection) or not isinstance(data, dict) or "user_id" not in data:
            return
        user = str(data["user_id"])
        user_of[connection] = user
        kept = history.get(room.name, [])
        since = last_seen.get((room.name, user))
        missed = kept[-FIRST_VISIT:] if since is None else [m for m in kept if m["at"] > since]
        if missed:
            await room.send_to(connection, "missed", {"since": since, "messages": missed})

    @room.on_leave
    def left(connection, data):
        user = user_of.pop(connection, None)
        if user:
            last_seen[(room.name, user)] = int(time.time() * 1000)

    # Asked for: all that is kept, to the one who asked.
    @room.on("history")
    async def asked(sender, data, info):
        await room.send_to(sender, "history", {"messages": history.get(room.name, [])})


for name in ROOMS:
    keep(bot.join(name))

print(f"Keeping history of {', '.join(ROOMS)} in {FILE}")
bot.start()

On your page: page.js

page.jsDownload page.js
// page.js: what you missed, on a member's page. Only from a bot, and only if it was sent to this
// member alone (info.direct, set by the server).
// `room` is the presence channel your page already joined: pikoman.listenPresence("presence-chat-lobby").
export function showMissed(room, list) {
  const show = ({ messages }) => {
    for (const { name, text } of messages) {
      list.append(Object.assign(document.createElement("li"), { textContent: `${name}: ${text}` }));
    }
  };
  room.onClient("missed", (from, data, info) => info?.direct && room.isBot(from) && show(data));
  room.onClient("history", (from, data, info) => info?.direct && room.isBot(from) && show(data));
  // To ask for everything the bot keeps: room.send("history");
}
pikoman_bot.py: what every Python bot here shares, the tokens, the websocket and the rooms
pikoman_bot.pyDownload pikoman_bot.py
"""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)
.env.exampleDownload .env.example
# 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-)
PIKOMAN_API_KEY=
# The rooms to keep, comma-separated (default presence-chat-lobby)
ROOMS=
# Where the messages are kept (default history.jsonl, beside the bot)
HISTORY_FILE=
# Another server than wss://next.pikoman.se, for tests
PIKOMAN_WS=
package.jsonDownload package.json
{
  "name": "pikoman-history-bot",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "private": true,
  "type": "module",
  "description": "Catch-up for Pikoman chat rooms: keeps the last messages and sends returning members what they missed, to them alone.",
  "license": "MIT",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node --env-file=.env history.mjs"
  },
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=22"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@pikoman/ws": "1.0.0-rc.10"
  }
}
requirements.txtDownload requirements.txt
websockets==15.0.1
cryptography==46.0.3

Run it

Node 22 or later
# unpack history-bot.zip, then in the folder:
npm install
cp .env.example .env    # fill in PIKOMAN_APP and PIKOMAN_API_KEY
npm start
Or Python 3.10 or later
python -m venv .venv && . .venv/bin/activate    # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
python history.py

The messages are in history.jsonl, in plain text: treat the file as you treat your chat’s data.

Ideas to take it further

  • Keep the history in your database instead of a file, and as long as you like.
  • Search: !find lunch answers with the messages that mention it, to the one who asked.
  • Welcome a newcomer before catching them up: the greeter.

More bots

We are rebuilding the dashboard

Self-service sign-up is closed while we do. Until the new dashboard is ready we set up apps by hand: write to us with a line about what you are building, and we will set up your app and get back to you.

Write to hello@pikoman.se