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.
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.
- room
- history bot
- history.jsonl
- 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.
- Start from
- Chosen: Bot
- Name
- History bot
- 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 writes each message down
One JSON line per message in its own file, read back when it starts, so a restart keeps the history.
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.
It catches up whoever joins
room.sendTo(connection, "missed", {messages}): that connection alone. Members without a user id get nothing.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.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.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.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.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-)
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={
"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"
}
}websockets==15.0.1
cryptography==46.0.3Run it
# unpack history-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 history.pyThe 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 lunchanswers with the messages that mention it, to the one who asked. - Welcome a newcomer before catching them up: the greeter.