Uplogd Slack Bot

Slack app scaffold that runs entirely in Socket Mode, opens a modal from a global shortcut, and forwards the submission to an external HTTP endpoint.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Slack workspace where you can create/manage apps
• External API endpoint that accepts JSON POST requests

Setup

1. Install dependencies:

   npm install

2. Copy .env.example to .env and populate the values:

   cp .env.example .env

   Variable	Description
   SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET	Required. Found on your app's Basic Information page.
   SLACK_BOT_TOKEN	Required. Bot token with commands and chat:write scopes.
   SLACK_APP_TOKEN	Required. App-level token with the connections:write scope for Socket Mode.
   API_ENDPOINT	Required. URL that receives the form data.
   API_AUTH_TOKEN	Optional bearer token added to the outbound request.
   SHORTCUT_CALLBACK_ID	Optional. Defaults to manage_uplogd. Must match your global shortcut callback ID.

| ASSETS_ENDPOINT | Required. URL returning a list of assets used to populate the modal dropdown. | | ASSETS_AUTH_TOKEN | Optional bearer token used when fetching assets. | | UPLOGD_UPDATES_CHANNEL | Optional channel ID (e.g. C01234567). When set, the bot posts submission updates there instead of DMing the user. | | UPLOGD_DM_RECIPIENT | Optional user ID (e.g. U0123ABCD). When set, the bot sends DM summaries to this user instead of the requester. |

3. Create the Slack app (or open your existing one):

   • Enable Socket Mode and generate an app-level token with the connections:write scope.
   • Enable Interactivity & Shortcuts (no public URL needed when using Socket Mode).
   • Add a Global Shortcut whose callback ID matches SHORTCUT_CALLBACK_ID (default manage_uplogd).
   • Add the following bot scopes: commands, chat:write, and any additional scopes you need. Include chat:write.public if you plan to post into public channels the bot hasn't joined yet.
   • Install the app to your workspace and copy the credentials into your .env file.

Running locally

npm run dev

This starts the Bolt app in Socket Mode—no public URL or tunneling tool is required.

Deploying

The project includes a PM2 script that keeps the bot running on a server:

1. Install dependencies and configure .env on the host as described above.

2. Start the background process with:

   npm run deploy

   This launches PM2 with a process named uplogd-bot that watches the src directory for changes.

3. Check the process anytime with pm2 status uplogd-bot.

4. Stream logs when needed with pm2 logs uplogd-bot.

5. Stop or remove the process via pm2 stop uplogd-bot or pm2 delete uplogd-bot.

How it works

• The global shortcut fires src/app.js, which fetches assets from ASSETS_ENDPOINT, then opens the modal defined in src/modal.js.
• When the user submits the modal, src/services/submitForm.js serializes the selected asset, which targets (imx8/crystal) were checked, and the chosen action (start, stop, restart), then sends them to API_ENDPOINT via axios.
• The bot DMs the requester immediately, then edits that DM with the SSH response once the external API call returns. When UPLOGD_UPDATES_CHANNEL is set, it also posts a one-line announcement with a status button to that channel; status checks there reply via ephemeral messages so the public post stays clean.
• A bearer token header is added when API_AUTH_TOKEN is provided.

You can extend the modal blocks or adjust the payload transformation inside submitFormPayload to match your API contract.

Asset endpoint contract

ASSETS_ENDPOINT should respond with either:

• An array of strings; each string becomes both the option label and value.
• An array of objects containing at least an identifier (asset, id, uuid, slug, code, or key) and a display name (name, title, label, or display_name). Optional description fields are truncated and shown as helper text in the select menu.

If the endpoint responds with an object, the adapter falls back to data.items.

The dropdown currently filters assets to those whose name starts with sg, by, or cr. Primary/secondary flags from the payload determine which options appear under the "Which Machine?" checkbox group (imx8 for primary, crystal for secondary), and unavailable machines are noted inline. The selected action (start, stop, restart) and any checked targets are included in the submission payload, and each selected machine results in a POST to API_ENDPOINT/uplog/{boat}/{action} (with boat taken from the asset ID) carrying the machine and metadata.