techblog/walert repository overview

⁠WAlert

A WhatsApp bot for sending Red Alert notifications using the Green API.

⁠Overview

WAlert is a Python-based bot that monitors alert notifications from the Oref⁠ Website and forwards them via WhatsApp using the Green API⁠. The bot categorizes and formats alerts, sending them to designated WhatsApp numbers in real-time. You can configure it to monitor specific regions and choose whether or not to receive test alerts.

⁠Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+ (For manual installation)
• Docker (For containerized installation)

⁠Installation Options

You can install WAlert using either a Docker container or set it up as a systemd service for manual deployment.

⁠Option 1: Docker Installation

1. Pull the Docker Image Pull the pre-built Docker image from Docker Hub:

docker pull techblog/walert:latest

1. Run the Docker Container Run the Docker container with your required environment variables:

docker run -d \
    -e DEBUG_MODE="False" \
    -e REGION="*" \
    -e INCLUDE_TEST_ALERTS="False" \
    -e GREEN_API_INSTANCE="your_green_api_instance" \
    -e GREEN_API_TOKEN="your_green_api_token" \
    -e WHATSAPP_NUMBER="your_whatsapp_number" \
    --name walert your-dockerhub-user/walert:latest

1. Docker Compose. You can also use docker-compose for more complex setups or for easier management:

version: "3.6"
services:
  walert:
    image: your-dockerhub-user/walert:latest
    container_name: walert
    restart: always
    environment:
      - DEBUG_MODE=False
      - REGION=*
      - INCLUDE_TEST_ALERTS=False
      - GREEN_API_INSTANCE=your_green_api_instance
      - GREEN_API_TOKEN=your_green_api_token
      - WHATSAPP_NUMBER=your_whatsapp_number

To run with docker-compose:

docker-compose up -d

⁠Option 2: Manual Installation (Systemd Service)

1. Clone the Repository or Download the ZIP Package. You can clone the repository from GitHub or download the ZIP package:

# Clone via Git
git clone https://github.com/your-repo/walert.git
cd walert

# Alternatively, download and extract the ZIP package
curl -LO https://github.com/your-repo/walert/archive/main.zip
unzip main.zip
cd walert-main

1. Install Python Dependencies. Ensure you have Python 3.10+ installed. Use pip to install the dependencies listed in requirements.txt:

pip install -r requirements.txt

1. Create a .env File file in the root directory to configure environment variables. This file will contain sensitive information like your Green API credentials and WhatsApp number.

touch .env

Add the following to your .env file:

DEBUG_MODE=False
REGION=*
INCLUDE_TEST_ALERTS=False
GREEN_API_INSTANCE=your_green_api_instance
GREEN_API_TOKEN=your_green_api_token
WHATSAPP_NUMBER=your_whatsapp_number

1. Create a Systemd Service: To run the bot automatically as a service, you can configure it as a systemd service.

   • Create a new service file:

   sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/walert.service
   

   Copy
   • Add the following configuration:

   [Unit]
   Description=WAlert - WhatsApp bot for Red Alert alarms
   After=network.target
   
   [Service]
   User=your-username
   WorkingDirectory=/path/to/walert
   EnvironmentFile=/path/to/walert/.env
   ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /path/to/walert/main.py
   Restart=always
   RestartSec=5
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target
   

   Copy

   • Replace /path/to/walert with the actual path to your WAlert directory and your-username with your system username.

   • Reload systemd, enable, and start the service:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable walert
   sudo systemctl start walert
   

   Copy
   • Check the service status:

   sudo systemctl status walert
   

   Copy

⁠Environment Variables

• DEBUG_MODE: Enable test mode to simulate alerts (default: False).
• REGION: Specify the region for monitoring (* for all regions).
• INCLUDE_TEST_ALERTS: Include test alerts from Oref (default: False).
• GREEN_API_INSTANCE: Your Green API instance ID.
• GREEN_API_TOKEN: Your Green API token for authentication.
• WHATSAPP_NUMBER: The WhatsApp number where alerts will be sent.
  • For contacts the number should end with @c.us
  • For groups the number should end with @g.us

You can find the full documentation here on the Green API⁠ website.