@eliware/ask

Ask — a focused Discord application that provides quick answers, web searches, and image generation via a single /ask command or by mentioning the bot in chat. This repository contains the bot implementation, localization files, and deployment helpers (systemd / Docker). The project is based on the @eliware/discord foundations and is ready to adapt to your server.

---

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Features
• Quick Start
• Usage
  • /ask command
  • Message-based usage (mention/reply/DM)
• Configuration
• Deployment
  • Run locally
  • systemd service
  • Docker
• Localization
• Development & Testing
• Support
• License
• Links

Overview

Ask is a concise assistant for Discord that supports:

• Short answers, summaries, and rewrites
• Quick web searches to surface sources
• Simple image generation (via the bot's image tool)
• Context-aware replies by including recent channel messages
• Images are returned to Discord without database persistence

The bot is intentionally concise: the system prompt instructs responses to be succinct and to not identify as "ChatGPT" or "OpenAI".

Features

• Single /ask command with natural language input
• Message fallback: mention the bot, DM it, or reply to a bot message to invoke /ask
• Automatic inclusion of recent message history (up to 100 messages) for context
• Image generation support (returns images as attachments or URLs)
• Locales support for multi-language replies (see locales/)
• Ready-to-run with systemd or Docker
• Testable with Jest

Quick Start

1. Clone the repo and install dependencies:

   git clone https://github.com/eliware/ask.git
   cd ask
   npm install

2. Copy and edit environment variables:

   cp .env.example .env
   # edit .env and add your Discord token, OpenAI/API keys, etc.

3. Start locally:

   npm start
   # or
   node ask.mjs

Usage

/ask command

Use the slash command for structured usage:

• Examples:
  • /ask explain recursion in simple terms
  • /ask summarize the last 3 messages
  • /ask draft a 3-item meeting agenda about onboarding
  • /ask generate a simple red circle on a white background --image

The handler will:

• Defer the reply (typing indicator) while contacting the backend
• Include recent channel history when available
• Return text and attach generated images (files or URLs)
• Split long replies into multiple messages when needed

Message-based usage (mention/reply/DM)

The bot also listens for messages and will create a lightweight mock interaction when:

• The bot is mentioned in a server message
• The message is a reply to a message previously sent by the bot
• The bot receives a DM

Behavior:

• Strips the mention and uses the remaining text as the prompt (falls back to "Hello!" if empty)
• Replies in-channel (or DMs user if response is ephemeral)
• Uses blockquote formatting per-line for message-originated replies
• Respects Discord message length limits (chunks to 2000 characters)

Configuration

All runtime configuration is via .env. Copy .env.example to .env and provide required values:

• DISCORD_TOKEN / DISCORD_CLIENT_ID / DISCORD_PUBLIC_KEY (Discord app credentials)
• OPENAI_API_KEY (OpenAI API credential)
• LOG_LEVEL, NODE_ENV, and other standard variables

See .env.example for the complete list.

Deployment

Run locally

Start with npm start or node ask.mjs. Ensure your .env is populated.

systemd service

A sample ask.service (included) facilitates running the app as a systemd service:

1. Copy ask.service to /usr/lib/systemd/system/ask.service and adjust paths/user.

2. Reload and start:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable ask
   sudo systemctl start ask
   sudo systemctl status ask

Docker

Build and run:

docker build -t ask .
docker run --env-file .env ask

Security

• Never commit .env, API keys, Discord tokens, or other credentials.
• Keep .env user-owned and protected; use .env.example only as a placeholder template.
• Rotate credentials immediately if they are exposed.

Localization

Responses and help text are localized via JSON files under locales/. The default English help (locales/en-US.json) contains the bot's quick-help text and install link.

Add or edit locale files to localize command names, descriptions, and bot responses.

Development & Testing

• Tests are run with Jest:

  npm test

• Command handlers live in commands/ (e.g., commands/ask.mjs).

• Event handlers live in events/ (e.g., events/messageCreate.mjs).

• The ask handler expects an interaction-like object and supports both real interactions and the lightweight mock created by the messageCreate handler.

Tips:

• The code attempts to import @eliware/discord split helpers when available for message chunking; this is optional.
• Typing indicator is kept alive with an interval while processing message-originated requests — ensure that any custom handlers clear this interval on completion to avoid stray timers.

Support

For help or discussion, join the community:

eliware.org on Discord

License

MIT © 2025 Eli Sterling, eliware.org

Links

• Home Page
• GitHub Repo
• GitHub Org
• GitHub Personal
• Discord