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https://github.com/timwis/enviar

Chat interface for SMS / text messages
https://github.com/timwis/enviar

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Chat interface for SMS / text messages

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README 

        
# enviar



Real-time, multi-user chat interface for SMS / text messages. Imagine a call center where customers can

send a text message to a single number and have a live chat with any agent(s) available.



![screenshot](http://i.imgur.com/PIRyygi.png)



## Installation

You can run enviar entirely on free hosted platforms: [Heroku](https://heroku.com)

for the application and [Cloudant](https://cloudant.com) for the database. But

you may prefer to run it locally or on your own server.



### Account credentials

To use enviar in production, you'll need a [Twilio](http://twilio.com) account

for sending SMS and a [Postmark](http://postmarkapp.com) account for sending

password reset emails. If you're setting enviar up for production, I recommend

creating those ahead of time because you'll need your twilio account's

"Account SID" and "Auth Token", and your postmark account's "server token" as

part of the application install process. If you're not setting up enviar for

production, you can skip this part for now.



### Free hosted installation



#### Database

You can use [Cloudant's](https://cloudant.com) free tier for the database by

setting up an account there. Create a database called `enviar` once you've signed up.



#### Application

You can run the application on [Heroku's](https://heroku.com) free tier.



[![Deploy](https://www.herokucdn.com/deploy/button.svg)](https://heroku.com/deploy)



Fill in the parameters from the accounts you've setup, including your Cloudant

account in the `COUCHDB` settings.



You should be able to view your application at `https://.herokuapp.com`

and login using your Cloudant credentials.



### Local / self-hosted



#### Database

This application uses CouchDB to store messages. Follow their [install docs](http://docs.couchdb.org/en/1.6.1/install/index.html)

to run CouchDB locally.



By default, CouchDB considers everyone an admin, which is known as "Admin Party."

Disable this by going to the control panel (usually at `http://localhost:5984/_utils`)

and [disabling it](http://i.imgur.com/CNtlaBK.png) (image credit @nolanlawson).

In doing so, you'll create your admin account with a password.



#### Application

1. Clone this repo using `git clone https://github.com/timwis/enviar.git`

2. Install node dependencies via `npm install`

3. Copy `.env.sample` to `.env`

4. Fill in your the `COUCHDB_HOST` in `.env` (ie. `http://localhost:5984`), along

with the `COUCHDB_USER` and `COUCHDB_PASS` you setup. The other variables are only

required in production mode.

5. Enable [CORS](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Access_control_CORS)

by running `npm run cors` from the terminal



## Usage



### Development mode

1. Run the server using `NODE_ENV=development npm start`

2. Access the server at `http://localhost:3000`



You can simulate sending messages using the interface. To simulate receiving a message,

send a `POST` request to `http://localhost:3000/api/inbound`.



Sample inbound `POST` request: (note the `+` in the phone number is encoded as `%2B`)



```bash

curl -X POST -d 'SmsSid=123456&From=%2B12597150948&Body=hello' http://localhost:3000/api/inbound

```



### Production mode

1. Make sure all the credentials are filled out in `.env`

2. Run the server using `npm start`

3. Point twilio's incoming message webhook to `http:///api/inbound` (check out [ngrok](https://ngrok.com/) to expose your localhost)



Access the server at `http://:3000` (override port using `PORT` environment variable)