Discord Notification

[Tytouc]

Hi,
I've modified the raspiBackupp script to send Discord message at the same moment the email is sent. This is hugly and was done ONLY for testing.
I'd like to develop an extension for that, but I'm not sure how to add it properly. Could you please help me?

So far, the WebHook URL is 'hardcoded', but it would be good to have it in a config file, when I'll do it, I'll need to know if I should use the same config file or a dedicated one for this extension.

Thanks, and again, great job with this tool!

[Tytouc]

BTW: I've seen the raspiBackupWrapper.sh, but from there, I cannot access the variables that you uses to send the email message (subject, content...) as far as I understood.
This could be a fallback option, just to send the 'status' of the operation (Error or Success) but I'd prefer to have the same content as the email.

[framps]

I'd like to develop an extension for that, but I'm not sure how to add it properly. Could you please help me?

Sure. Would be nice to have support for Discord (I hope you finally will provide your extension in a PR into the extensions_userprovided directory 😉 )

So far, the WebHook URL is 'hardcoded', but it would be good to have it in a config file, when I'll do it, I'll need to know if I should use the same config file or a dedicated one for this extension.

Right now there is support for Telegram, Slack and PushOver in raspiBackup. I frankly didn't expect so many requests for different notification targets. I think I have to start to think about a notification extension point in next release and refactor all the notification support in raspiBackup core to become a notification extension.

This will take a while and I don't think we should wait for this notification extension.

I remember some time ago somebody complained I removed the raspiBackup.msg file from the backup directory because he used this in some way. So now it's available again.

In raspiBackupWrapper you find readVars which retrieves the backup location directory which you can use to access the message file and do whatever you want with the messages.

But I think you should instead create a post extension for Discord. That way it's easy to directly add Discord support to raspiBackup and nobody has to fiddle with the wrapper script.

All extensions are called in context of raspiBackup and you can actually access - but not change - any internal variable. I don't recommend to access any internal variable because there is no guarantee the names will not change in the future but the two following two variables are exposed and you can use them:

# BACKUP_TARGETDIR refers to the backupdirectory just created
# BACKUP_TARGETFILE refers to the dd backup file just created

Regarding the configuration: Please don't use the raspiBackup config file. Please check the healthcheck extension. I think that's the way you should configure your extension.

Hope this answers your questions. Feel free to ask any other question if I missed to answer something.

[Tytouc]

In raspiBackupWrapper you find readVars which retrieves the backup location directory which you can use to access the message file and do whatever you want with the messages.

As far as I understand, the readVars only give access to BACKUP_TARGETDIR and BACKUP_TARGETFILE, so how can I access the MSG_FILE variable so that I can have the same content as the email message in Discord notification?

Thanks,

[Tytouc]

Thanks for your answer.
I've developped a script executed as FINAL_COMMANDS, after the email is sent because I'd like to have the same details as the ones in the email notification message body. Using a post extension (which I also did) does not give the same details as the script is not 'finished'.
So far the discord webhook url is hard coded, but I'll use a dedicated config file for that.
As final command, I didn't succeed to get the proper message file name (I used MSG_FILE variable). I need to make more investigations/tries, since I may have missed something to access this variable.

Then, yes, I'm fully open to submit any code, BUT, take into consideration that:

• I'm an old guy, 'former developper' wihtout regular/professional practices since... years
• I've never been good at shell!
• I've a limited availability
• I'm not experienced at all w/ git etc (old school guy)

As a conclusion: this is probably risky to use my code, that may not be valuable ;)
It would maybe only help others to have a code example to notify discord (based on jq for JSON shell consrtuction + curl to send the POST data)

I'll probably post here the code snipet like a stadalone shell script.

Thanks and regards,

[framps]

Then, yes, I'm fully open to submit any code, BUT, take into consideration that:
No worries 😉

* I'm an old guy, 'former developper' wihtout regular/professional practices since... years

Great. That way you refresh your programming skills.

* I've never been good at shell!

I check the code you attached. It looks pretty good.

* I've a limited availability

Same do I. I work on raspiBackup in my spare time.

* I'm not experienced at all w/ git etc (old school guy)

You're not the first code contributor without any git experience 😉. If you want I will guide you how to create a PR and contribute your code. I also can commit your code but then you're not listed as a contributor to raspiBackup in github 😢 .

As a conclusion: this is probably risky to use my code, that may not be valuable ;) It would maybe only help others to have a code example to notify discord (based on jq for JSON shell consrtuction + curl to send the POST data)
If you want I can review your code and make it an extension. But then you have to verify whether your code still works as expected because I don't have any Discourse I can use for tests.

I'll probably post here the code snipet like a stadalone shell script.
As I already wrote: I also can guide you to commit the code yourself.

Thanks and regards,

[Tytouc]

here is a sample code, for standalone script sending Discord JSON notification. It relies on jq to format JSON in shell, and curl to send the POST data to the webhook.
DiscordStandalone.txt

to use at your own risk ;)

[Tytouc]

This version does not log the message file content, as I'm not yet able to access the MSG_FILE vaiable from raspiBackup.sh

Rgds,

[framps]

I will check and come with a proposal

[framps]

You're right. MSG_FILE is not set in an extension. That's my fault because initially I called the extensions with source but at some point in time decided not to do this because that way an extension can read but also change any variables used by raspiBackup and that's not acceptable.

So I see following alternatives for you:

1. Use raspiBackupWrapper and readVars to get the backuplocation and there you will find and can read raspiBackup.msg
2. Use the eMailExtension. There you will get all message parts passed as parameters to the extension. But then you will not get any eMails any more. Not sure whether you need them also.

There are two other alternatives which require some minor change in raspiBackup

1. Prefix the declaration of MSG_FILE with export. Then the variable will be set in your extension (see here
2. Move the invocation of FINAL:COMMAND behind the saveVars call (see here and call readVars to get the backup directory.

I frankly wasn't aware I disabled the possibility to access internal variables when I removed the source call. I have to think about this and will export important variables in next release so they are also available in extensions.

[Tytouc]

that way an extension can read but also change any variables used by raspiBackup and that's not acceptable

I fully agree!

Use raspiBackupWrapper and readVars to get the backuplocation and there you will find and can read raspiBackup.msg

Yes, this is an option, but, as you said the draw back is that it is not 'fully integrated' ni raspiBackup. Not a big deal for my own usage ;)

Use the eMailExtension. There you will get all message parts passed as parameters to the extension. But then you will not get any eMails any more. Not sure whether you need them also.

Not for me. I'd like to keep email too, at least as a backup of Discord ;)

So, unless a change is done on raspiBackupp, and until it happens, I'll 'hard code' the MSG_FILE path/name to the proper location (I guess under home folder, according to that below)
CALLING_USER="$(findUser)"
CALLING_HOME="$(eval echo "~${CALLING_USER}")"
DEST_MSGFILE="$CALLING_HOME/${MYNAME}$MSGFILE_EXT"

Great. That way you refresh your programming skills.

I'm practicing from time to time (you know, once you've programming for 20y ... difficult to stop), learning Python, PHP, comming back to Shell/Linux after many years without it... etc... all that with this wonderfull Raspberry Pi, with which I did few small projects.
And..; helping my son now at Computer Science School ;). It's like being younger to discuss such topics with him...

I check the code you attached. It looks pretty good.

Thanks, this one is 'simple', but I already had hard time with it (discovering jq, some specificities with CR/LF in JSON...)

Thanks again for this great work on raspiBackup and on tour efficient support!

[framps]

1 additional comment: it is preferable that the config file does only allow READ access to ROOT as it contains the WebHook URL and there is no authentication, so, it seems that anybody having this URL can send a message to the discord text channel ... I'll try to see how this can be somehow protected

Good catch 👍 Maybe you can add some logic in your wrapper which checks whether your config file is protected (uses 0600) and change it to 0600 if not 😉

[Tytouc]

* a configuration file to add. I dencumented it in the wrapper's code. file shall be here: `/usr/local/etc/rpibackup_dcwrap.conf`

Please use /usr/local/etc/discordWrapper.conf

Ok, I'll change it.

Maybe you can add some logic in your wrapper which checks whether your config file is protected (uses 0600) and change it to 0600 if not

why not... I'll learn something more then ;)

Thanks

[Tytouc]

Done, and noticed a mistake in my wrapper: I've let the -F option while calling raspiBackup.sh, that was used for testing!!

[framps]

🤣 ... I missed this when I reviewed your code

[Tytouc]

I'll use GitHub web frontend for the PR, but as far as I understand I have to create an issue first ;)

[framps]

Just reviewed your code. Looks pretty good to me. I also didn't know about logname. I wrote my own code to extract the username 😢 But I will stick with my implementation because a lot of time I start raspiBackup on my desktop running Mint and there is no logname available.

I also created #598 right now to make sure I export some useful and missing variables for extensions and wrappers in next release. This also includes MSG_FILE which you have to calculate yourself eitherfrom the backup location or home. In next release this variable will be also available in raspiBackup.vars for wrapper scripts 😄

[Tytouc]

I've created a new issue #599, and trying to create a DRAFT PR.
I wrote some details in the PR but I do not know how I could add the 2 files. Should I just attach the files to the PR?

• wrapper script, to be in /helper folder I guess?
• config file. where to put it?

Thanks

[Tytouc]

I found how to post a new file (I cannot upload because of permissions as far as I understood).
I'll post the config file in /helper too

[framps]

I wrote some details in the PR.

You didn't create a PR. It's just an issue 😉

how I could add the 2 files

You have to execute following three steps:

1. Create a fork of my repository from the github frontend
2. Commit your two files into your forked repository into extensions_userprovided from the github frontend and document somewhere that the config file should be copied into /usr/loc/etc and chowned 0600
3. Create a PR from your forked repository in the github frontend into my repository

[framps]

I cannot upload because of permissions as far as I understood

You are not allowed to commit into my repository. But you can commit into a fork of my repository. You own the fork and can commit anything. The PR then is a request to me to grab the changed code from your fork and merge it into my repository. That's the way git allows to contribute new code into a repository you don't own.

[Tytouc]

arg!! sh!t. I 'created' 2 new files, in /helper
Need first to find a way to cancel what I dit before following your guidelines

[Tytouc]

PR created under my fork. Ready for your review.
Cannot do cleanup of previous operations I did :( ugly
Thak you so much