NetBSD Wii Status Monitor Telegram Bot

This Telegram bot monitors the live status page of a website hosted on a Nintendo Wii running NetBSD, as described in Alex Haydock's blog post. The bot periodically checks for updates, captures a screenshot of the status page, and sends it to a specified Telegram channel. It also provides an administrative interface within Telegram for managing the bot's settings.

Features

• Automated Monitoring: Periodically checks the target website for updates based on a timestamp.
• Screenshot Capture: Takes a screenshot of the status page using Puppeteer, which can be run locally or on a remote server.
• Telegram Notifications: Sends a message with the captured screenshot to a designated Telegram channel whenever a new update is detected.
• Administrative Interface: Provides a Telegram-based interface for administrators to:
  • View current bot settings.
  • Edit various settings (check URL, chat ID, Puppeteer server URL, timezone settings, screenshot dimensions and quality, check interval).
  • Manually trigger a test of the bot's functionality.
  • Force an immediate check of the website.
• Configuration via Database: Uses an SQLite database to store and manage bot settings, allowing for easy modification without code changes.
• Timezone Conversion: Converts the timestamp found on the status page to a specified target timezone for more informative notifications.
• Error Handling and Logging: Includes basic error handling and logging for debugging purposes.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• PHP 7.4 or higher with the following extensions enabled:
  • curl
  • sqlite3
• Composer
• Node.js 14 or higher (for Puppeteer server)
• npm (Node.js package manager)
• A Telegram bot token (create one with BotFather)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/ChernegaSergiy/netbsd-wii-monitor-bot.git
   cd netbsd-wii-monitor-bot

2. Create an .env file in the root directory:

   cp .env.example .env

   Fill in the necessary values, such as your Telegram bot token.

3. Install dependencies using Composer:

   composer install

4. Set up and start the Puppeteer screenshot server:

   # Enter the puppeteer-server directory
   cd puppeteer-server
   
   # Install dependencies
   npm install
   
   # Start the Puppeteer server
   node puppeteer-server.js

   The Puppeteer server will run on port 3000 by default. You can change this by setting the PORT environment variable.

5. Initialize the SQLite database: The database (bot_config.db) will be automatically created and populated with default settings when you run the bot for the first time.

6. Run the bot:

   php wiim.php

Administrative Interface

Most of the bot's configuration can be done through the administrative interface within Telegram. To access it, send the /start command to your bot as an authorized administrator.

You need to specify your Telegram User ID in the ADMIN_IDS variable of the .env file, separated by commas for multiple administrators. For example:

ADMIN_IDS=123456789,987654321

The following settings can be managed:

• Check URL: The URL of the status page to monitor (e.g., https://blog.infected.systems/status).
• Chat ID: The ID of the Telegram channel or chat where notifications should be sent.
• Cache File: The local file used to store the last detected timestamp.
• Source Timezone: The timezone of the timestamp on the monitored website (e.g., UTC).
• Target Timezone: The timezone to which the timestamp should be converted in notifications (e.g., Europe/Kiev).
• Check Interval: The frequency (in seconds) at which the website should be checked for updates.
• Puppeteer Server: The URL where your Puppeteer screenshot server is running (e.g., http://localhost:3000 for local setup).
• Viewport Width: The width (in pixels) of the virtual browser viewport used for taking screenshots.
• Viewport Height: The height (in pixels) of the virtual browser viewport used for taking screenshots.
• Image Quality: The quality of the captured JPEG screenshot (1-100).

Screenshot of the Admin Panel

Telegram bot admin panel: view and manage bot settings via an intuitive inline keyboard interface

Running in Production

When running in a production environment, consider the following:

1. Run the Puppeteer server with PM2 or similar process manager:

   npm install -g pm2
   pm2 start puppeteer-server.js

2. Use a reverse proxy (like Nginx) to secure the Puppeteer server:

   location /puppeteer/ {
       proxy_pass http://localhost:3000/;
       proxy_http_version 1.1;
       proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
       proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
       proxy_set_header Host $host;
       proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
   }

3. Consider running the Puppeteer server in a Docker container for better isolation.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome and appreciated! Here's how you can contribute:

1. Fork the project
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Please make sure to update tests as appropriate and adhere to the existing coding style.

License

This project is licensed under the CSSM Unlimited License v2 (CSSM-ULv2). See the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Alex Haydock for the inspiring project of hosting a blog on a Nintendo Wii.
• Telegram Bot API for enabling bot functionality on Telegram.
• Puppeteer for providing the powerful browser automation tool used to capture website screenshots.
• Special thanks to the open-source community for their contributions and support.