NWS Discord Alert Bot (v3.4.0)

A Python-based Discord bot that monitors National Weather Service (NWS) Atom/CAP feeds for weather alerts and posts customizable notifications to a designated Discord channel. It includes features for user subscriptions based on location and event type, automatic role creation, and role pinging.

Features

• NWS Alert Monitoring: Periodically fetches and parses the official NWS Atom/CAP feeds.
• Discord Posting: Posts new/updated/cancelled alerts as formatted embeds in a specific channel.
• User Subscriptions:
  • Users can subscribe to specific NWS location codes (UGC/FIPS).
  • Supports optional subscription to specific event types within a location (e.g., only Tornado Warnings for NYC061).
  • Commands: !subscribe add, !subscribe remove, !subscribe list.
• Automatic Role Management:
  • Automatically creates mentionable Discord roles based on subscribed location codes (e.g., NYC061 Alerts).
  • Assigns/removes roles to users based on their subscriptions.
  • Requires Manage Roles permission for the bot.
• Role Pinging: Mentions the relevant location role(s) when posting an alert, notifying subscribed users.
• Configurable Filtering: Filter alerts based on minimum Severity, Certainty, Urgency, and a list of blocked event types (configurable via config.json and owner commands).
• Status & Information Commands: !ping, !status, !wxalerts (lookup), !stats (posted alert stats), !recent (recently posted alerts).
• Owner Commands: Includes commands for manual fetching, filter management, and bot/system control (!fetch, !filter, !shutdown, !restart, !reboot, !sysshutdown).
• Timestamped Logging: Creates a new, uniquely named log file on each startup.
• Error Reporting: Reports errors to a designated Discord channel (optional) with unique IDs.
• Automatic Changelog: Posts a summary of changes to a designated channel on version updates.
• Rotating Status: Displays different activities/statuses in Discord.

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• External Libraries: See requirements.txt (requests, discord.py, PyNaCl).

Setup and Installation

1. Clone Repository:

   git clone <your-repo-url>
   cd <your-repo-name> # e.g., cd NewWeatherBot

   (Or just download the files into your NewWeatherBot folder).

2. Create Virtual Environment:

   # Make sure you are using Python 3.10 or 3.11
   python3.11 -m venv new_env # Or python3 -m venv new_env
   source new_env/bin/activate

3. Install Dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Configure config.json:

   • Copy the config.json template provided previously (the one without the youtube section).
   • Save it as config.json in the bot's directory.
   • Edit the file and replace ALL placeholder values (YOUR_..._HERE) with your actual information. Pay close attention to:
     • nws_atom_url: Set to your desired NWS feed (e.g., the US feed https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/us.php?x=1, or a state/county feed).
     • discord.token: Your secret Discord Bot Token. Keep this secure!
     • discord.channel_id: The ID of the channel where weather alerts should be posted.
     • discord.error_channel_id: (Optional) Channel ID for error logging.
     • discord.changelog_channel_id: (Optional) Channel ID for automatic update announcements.
     • discord.owner_ids: Your Discord User ID (allows you to use owner commands).
     • filtering: Adjust default alert filters if desired.
   • Ensure the file is valid JSON (no trailing commas, no // comments). Use an online JSON validator if unsure.

5. Discord Bot Application:

   • Create a Bot Application in the Discord Developer Portal.
   • Copy the Bot Token (paste into config.json).
   • Enable Privileged Gateway Intents:
     • PRESENCE INTENT (Optional, might be needed for some status features or future additions)
     • SERVER MEMBERS INTENT (Likely needed for role assignments to work reliably)
     • MESSAGE CONTENT INTENT (Needed for commands)

6. Discord Server Setup:

   • Invite your bot to your server using an invite link generated from the Developer Portal (make sure bot and applications.commands scopes are selected).
   • Grant the bot the necessary permissions in Server Settings -> Roles -> (Your Bot Role):
     • Required: Send Messages, Embed Links, Manage Roles
     • Recommended: Read Message History (for command context), View Channel (for relevant channels).
   • Make sure the bot's role is positioned higher in the role list than the alert roles it will create (e.g., higher than any potential NYC061 Alerts role).

Usage

1. Activate Virtual Environment:

   cd /path/to/your/NewWeatherBot
   source new_env/bin/activate

2. Run the Bot:

   python3 DiscordWeatherBot.py

3. Running in Background (Optional):
   • Use tmux or screen for detachable sessions.
   • Use nohup python3 DiscordWeatherBot.py > output.log 2>&1 & for simple backgrounding (check output.log and the script's log files for errors).
   • Set up a systemd service (Linux) or launchd agent (macOS) for robust background operation and auto-restarting.

Commands

Use !help to see commands within Discord.

General Commands:

• !ping: Checks bot latency.
• !status: Displays current bot status and settings.
• !subscribe add <CODE> [Event Name]: Subscribes to alerts for a location code (e.g., NYC061), optionally only for a specific event (e.g., Tornado Warning). Creates/assigns role.
• !subscribe remove <CODE> [Event Name]: Removes a specific subscription.
• !subscribe remove all: Removes all your subscriptions.
• !subscribe list: Shows your current subscriptions.
• !wxalerts <CODE1> [CODE2...]: Looks up currently active alerts for specified codes.
• !stats: Shows statistics on posted alert types.
• !recent [count]: Shows the last count (default 5, max 10) posted alerts.

Owner Commands (Hidden):

• !fetch: Manually triggers an NWS alert check.
• !filter show: Displays current alert filtering settings.
• !filter set <type> <value>: Sets minimum severity, certainty, or urgency.
• !filter addblock <Event Name>: Adds an event type to the blocklist.
• !filter rmblock <Event Name>: Removes an event type from the blocklist.
• !shutdown: Stops the bot script gracefully.
• !restart: Stops the bot script (requires external process manager to restart).
• !reboot: Attempts to reboot the host machine (Requires sudo). Use with extreme caution.
• !sysshutdown: Attempts to shut down the host machine (Requires sudo). Use with extreme caution.

Support

If you need help with the bot or have questions, feel free to join our support Discord server:

Join the Support Server

You can also reach out via email: solomonder1234@gmail.com