Getting started with Battlesnake and Julia
This is a basic implementation of the Battlesnake API in Julia based on the official basic implementation in python starter-snake-python. It's a great starting point for anyone wanting to program their first Battlesnake using Julia.
The Quick Start Coding Guide provides the full set of instructions to customize, register, and create your first games with your Battlesnake!
- A free Battlesnake Account
- Julia
Eventually you might want to run your Battlesnake server locally for faster testing and debugging. You can do this by installing Julia and running (tested with julia 1.7.3):
git clone https://github.com/luigiannelli/starter-snake-julia.git
cd starter-snake-julia
julia -e 'using Pkg; Pkg.activate("."); Pkg.instantiate'
cd scripts
julia main.jlLocate the get_info function inside BattleSnakeLogic.jl. You should see a line that looks like this:
info = Dict(
"apiversion" => "1",
"author" => "", # TODO: Your Battlesnake Username
"color" => "#888888", # TODO: Personalize
"head" => "default", # TODO: Personalize
"tail" => "default", # TODO: Personalize
"version" => "0.1", # TODO: Personalize
)This function is called by the game engine periodically to make sure your Battlesnake is healthy, responding correctly, and to determine how your Battlesnake will appear on the game board. See Battlesnake Personalization for how to customize your Battlesnake's appearance using these values.
Whenever you update these values, go to the page for your Battlesnake and select 'Refresh Metadata' from the option menu. This will update your Battlesnake to use your latest configuration and those changes should be reflected in the UI as well as any new games created.
On every turn of each game your Battlesnake receives information about the game board and must decide its next move.
Locate the handle_move function inside BattleSnakeLogic.jl. Possible moves are "up", "down", "left", or "right" and initially your Battlesnake will choose a move randomly. Your goal as a developer is to read information sent to you about the game (available in the data variable) and decide where your Battlesnake should move next. All your Battlesnake logic lives in BattleSnakeLogic.jl, and this is the code you will want to edit.
See the Battlesnake Game Rules for more information on playing the game, moving around the board, and improving your algorithm.
If you're looking for the Single Player Mode of Battlesnake, or something to practice with between events, check out Challenges.
Once you've made your Battlesnake behave and survive on its own, you can enter it into the Global Battlesnake Arena to see how it performs against other Battlesnakes worldwide.
Arenas will regularly create new games and rank Battlesnakes based on their results. They're a good way to get regular feedback on how well your Battlesnake is performing, and a fun way to track your progress as you develop your algorithm.
Want to get out there to compete and win prizes? Check out the Quick Start League Guide for information on the how and when of our competitive seasons.
All documentation is available at docs.battlesnake.com, including detailed Guides, API References, and Tips.
You can also join the Battlesnake Developer Community on Discord. There is a growing community of Battlesnake developers of all skill levels wanting to help everyone succeed and have fun with Battlesnake :)
Check out live Battlesnake events on Twitch and see what is happening when on the Calendar.
Want to contribute to Battlesnake? There is a number of open-source codebases and would love for you to get involved! Check out our page on Contributing.