Resource Locker is a relatively simple Sinatra app for coordinating the use of shared resources. It doesn't actually lock the resources, of course (unless you write code to do so); instead it tracks when users have "claimed" the resource and for how long, and so other users hoping to use it will know, on asking, if the resource is in use and who is using it.
It is designed to function as a Slack app, i.e. it expects POST requests to its one endpoint and parses the 'text' parameter of the request for additional request data.
When this is set up as a Slack integration with an appropriate instance as the endpoint, the command syntax in Slack works like this:
/lock [resource [duration]]
/lock by itself returns a list of lockable resources.
/lock resource_name with a resource name but no duration returns the status of that resource - either "not locked" or "locked for another n minutes".
Finally, /lock resource_name 30 attempts to lock that resource for 30 minutes. The length of the requested lock is in integer minutes (so e.g. five hours is 300). If the resource is not already locked, the return message will post to the entire channel, describing what was locked, by whom, and for how long.
The user "holding" the lock can release it using /lock resource_name 0.
If the resource was already locked, the member requesting the lock will see the status of the resource (i.e. "locked by bruce for another 5 minutes") and no message will be shown to the whole channel.
Things that will make single-site usage easier:
- Allow users to release locks
- Move Slack token to ENV variable (Figaro?)
- Cap the length of lock allowed (again, possibly an env variable)
- Provide for resource setup: how do we add/update/remove resources?
- Test main application
- Get CI working
- More flexible authorization, so non-Slack clients can use it as an API
Things needed for wider Slack use:
- Multi-tenancy: scoping resources by team
- Better authentication/authorization
Other ideas (feature creep):
- Now that we're testing, add and configure Guard?
- "Subscribe" to locked resources (see #3)
- Remind lock owners of expiring locks and send cut-and-paste command to extend or re-lock (see #4)
Resource Locker was built by Parker Morse at District Management Group.