BotKit 0.2.0 Released

We're pleased to announce the release of BotKit 0.2.0! For those new to our project, #BotKit is a #TypeScript framework for creating standalone #ActivityPub bots that can interact with Mastodon, Misskey, and other #fediverse platforms without the constraints of these existing platforms.

This release marks an important step in our journey to make fediverse bot development more accessible and powerful, introducing several features that our community has been requesting.

The Journey to Better Bot Interactions

In building BotKit, we've always focused on making bots more expressive and interactive. With version 0.2.0, we're taking this to the next level by bringing the social aspects of the fediverse to your bots.

Expressing Your Bot's Personality with Custom Emojis

One of the most requested features has been #custom_emoji support. Now your bots can truly express their personality with unique visuals that make their messages stand out.

// Define custom emojis for your bot
const emojis = bot.addCustomEmojis({
  botkit: { 
    file: `${import.meta.dirname}/images/botkit.png`, 
    type: "image/png" 
  },
  fedify: { 
    url: "https://fedify.dev/logo.png", 
    type: "image/png" 
  }
});

// Use these custom emojis in your messages
await session.publish(
  text`BotKit ${customEmoji(emojis.botkit)} is powered by Fedify ${customEmoji(emojis.fedify)}`
);

With this new API, you can:

• Add custom emojis to your bot with Bot.addCustomEmojis()
• Include these emojis in messages with the customEmoji() function
• Use the text tagged template with Fedify Emoji objects

Engaging Through Reactions

Communication isn't just about posting messages—it's also about responding to others. The new reaction system creates natural interaction points between your bot and its followers:

// React to a message with a standard Unicode emoji
await message.react(emoji``);

// Or use one of your custom emojis as a reaction
await message.react(emojis.botkit);

// Create a responsive bot that acknowledges reactions
bot.onReact = async (session, reaction) => {
  await session.publish(
    text`Thanks for reacting with ${reaction.emoji} to my message, ${reaction.actor}!`,
    { visibility: "direct" }
  );
};

This feature allows your bot to:

• React to messages with Unicode emojis using Message.react()
• React with the custom emojis you've defined
• Handle reaction events with Bot.onReact and Bot.onUnreact handlers

Conversations Through Quotes

Discussions often involve referencing what others have said. Our new #quote support enables more cohesive conversation threads:

// Quote another message in your bot's post
await session.publish(
  text`Responding to this interesting point...`,
  { quoteTarget: originalMessage }
);

// Handle when users quote your bot's messages
bot.onQuote = async (session, quoteMessage) => {
  await session.publish(
    text`Thanks for sharing my thoughts, ${quoteMessage.actor}!`,
    { visibility: "direct" }
  );
};

With quote support, your bot can:

• Quote messages with quoteTarget option
• Access quoted messages via Message.quoteTarget
• Handle quote events with the new Bot.onQuote event handler

Visual Enhancements

Because communication is visual too, we've improved how your bot presents itself:

• Image attachments now properly display in the web interface
• Your bot's content looks better and provides a richer experience

Behind the Scenes: Enhanced Activity Propagation

We've also improved how activities propagate through the fediverse:

• More precise propagation of replies, shares, updates, and deletes
• Activities are now properly sent to the original message authors

These improvements ensure your bot's interactions are consistent and reliable across different fediverse platforms.

Taking Your First Steps with BotKit 0.2.0

Ready to experience these new features? BotKit 0.2.0 is available on JSR and can be installed with a simple command:

deno add jsr:@fedify/botkit@0.2.0

Since BotKit uses the Temporal API (which is still evolving in JavaScript), remember to enable it in your deno.json:

{
  "imports": {
    "@fedify/botkit": "jsr:@fedify/botkit@0.2.0"
  },
  "unstable": ["temporal"]
}

With these simple steps, you're ready to create or upgrade your fediverse bot with our latest features.

Looking Forward

BotKit 0.2.0 represents our ongoing commitment to making fediverse bot development accessible, powerful, and enjoyable. We believe these new features will help your bots become more engaging and interactive members of the fediverse community.

For complete docs and more examples, visit our docs site.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this release through feedback, feature requests, and code contributions. The BotKit community continues to grow, and we're excited to see what you'll create!

BotKit is powered by Fedify, a lower-level framework for creating ActivityPub server applications.

Coming soon in #BotKit 0.2.0: Native #quote post support!

We're excited to share a preview of the upcoming quoting features in BotKit 0.2.0. This update will make it easier for your bots to engage with quoted content across the fediverse.

The quoting feature set includes:

• Detecting when someone quotes your bot's posts with the new Bot.onQuote event handler
• Accessing quoted content through the Message.quoteTarget property
• Creating quote posts using the quoteTarget option in Session.publish() and Message.reply() methods

Here's a quick example of how you can use the quote detection:

bot.onQuote = async (session, quote) => {
  // The quote parameter is a Message object representing the post that quoted your bot
  await quote.reply(text`Thanks for quoting my post, ${quote.actor}!`);
  
  // You can access the original quoted message
  const originalPost = quote.quoteTarget;
  console.log(`Original message: ${originalPost?.text}`);
};

And creating quote posts is just as simple:

// Quote in a new post
await session.publish(
  text`I'm quoting this interesting message!`,
  { quoteTarget: someMessage }
);

// Or quote in a reply
await message.reply(
  text`Interesting point! I'm quoting another relevant post here.`,
  { quoteTarget: anotherMessage }
);

Remember that quoting behavior may vary across different #ActivityPub implementations—some platforms like Misskey display quotes prominently, while others like Mastodon might implement them differently.

Want to try these features right now? You can install the development version from JSR:

deno add jsr:@fedify/botkit@0.2.0-dev.90+d6ab4bdc

We're looking forward to seeing how you use these quoting capabilities in your bots!