Devlog #4

I expanded Dave with several new commands, including coin flips, random numbers, quotes, roasts, uptime monitoring, and usage statistics. These additions make the bot more interactive while keeping its sarcastic personality.

I also added command tracking and improved error handling, making it easier to monitor the bot and diagnose issues when something goes wrong.

With these improvements, Dave feels more complete and has a stronger foundation for future features.

Ship #1 Pending review

@Nicormu on Dave · 1 day ago

I made Dave, a Slack bot with a bunch of fun slash commands that can tell jokes, give questionable life advice, play small games, and generally make a workspace a little less boring.

The hardest part wasn't coding the commands—it was getting the bot deployed 24/7 on a Nest server. I got stuck on an SSH passphrase issue that I don't even remember setting, and I spent quite a while troubleshooting it. The deployment guide was also a bit confusing for me at some points, so getting everything running reliably took more effort than expected.

I'm proud that I managed to get the whole thing working end-to-end: Slack integration, command handling, and deployment. It was also fun giving the bot its own personality instead of making it feel like a generic utility.

To test it, add the bot to a Slack workspace and try some of the /dave-* commands. Most of them are designed to be playful, so don't expect serious answers from Dave. 😄

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@Nicormu on Dave · 1 day ago

22m 40s logged

Devlog #3
This week I finished migrating the bot from its old DSB branding to Dave. All commands and references were updated to use the new name, making the project feel much more consistent.

I also set up Dave to run as a persistent service on Nest, which means it now stays online 24/7 instead of stopping when my SSH session ends. This makes the bot much more reliable and ready for regular use.

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@Nicormu on Dave · 3 days ago

20m 3s logged

Devlog #2 - Meet Dave and the Deployment Struggle

I finally gave the bot a name, a fresh look, and a sassy personality.

This week I implemented Dave’s new pixel-art avatar, a /dsb-study timer, a shower thoughts command, and hidden Easter eggs that roast users in the chat.

The biggest challenge was deploying the bot 24/7. I struggled with cloud hosting because every time the server restarts, all the active study timers get completely wiped out.

Along the way, I became more comfortable using regex listeners and writing dynamic responses.

Next, I want to fix the deployment, connect a database to save timers, and smooth out API errors.

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@Nicormu on Dave · 10 days ago

47m 10s logged

Devlog #1 - First Working Version of My Slack Bot

I finally got the first version of my Slack bot working.

This week I implemented four slash commands: a help menu, a latency check, a random cat fact command, and a random joke command. I also integrated external APIs and added basic error handling to prevent failures when an API is unavailable.

The biggest challenge was understanding Slack’s command flow. I spent quite a while debugging commands before realizing they need to be acknowledged almost immediately before performing other operations.

Along the way, I became more comfortable working with async/await, Axios, and Slack Bolt.

Next, I want to improve message formatting, add logging, write tests, and deploy the bot so it can run 24/7.