A bot template for Mastodon API compatible servers
You'll need Python 3, along with pip (which should come with python 3). If you're on a Linux system, try installing python3 python3-pip or python python-pip. If you're on Windows, make sure you check the "Add Python to PATH" box in the installer, if present.
Next you'll need to download mastodon-bot-template. If you have git:
git clone https://github.com/Lynnesbian/mastodon-bot-template
Otherwise, download the zip file from here, and extract it somewhere.
After installing Python, you'll need to install mastodon-bot-template's requirements. You can do this by opening a terminal in the directory you put the files in, and running
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate #if you're on windows, run venv\Scripts\activate.bat instead
python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt
You're now ready to start editing the bot template.
You'll want to edit meta.json to set your bot's name, source code page, and administrator. You'll also want to take a look at login.py, which defines which instance your bot logs in to, reply.py, which handles replying to mentions, and post.py, which handles one-off posts. Note that it's mandatory to provide a link to the source code, as this code is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3. You'll also need to link back to this repository.
Finally, run login.py by typing python3 login.py, and answer the questions given. You're ready to go! Try running python3 post.py to create your first post.
When you upload your source code, make sure you don't upload the config.json file. This file contains your bot credentials, and if you upload them, someone else can use them to post from your bot's account!!
If you're using systemd, you can fill in the provided systemd-example.service and move it into an appropriate direcoty (e.g. /etc/systemd/system) to manage replies with systemd. You can do the same with SysVInit, initrc, launchd, etc., but no template is (currently) provided.
You can also listen for replies manually. This is done by running python3 reply.py.
mastodon-bot-template is created and managed by Lynnesbian. Some code used was originally from mstdn-ebooks, and many of my other Fediverse bots (e.g. OCRbot) use similar code.
You can donate once with PayPal or Ko-fi, or you can set up a monthly donation (with perks!) at Patreon.