Bot Framework v4 Inspection Middleware sample.
This bot demonstrates a feature called Inspection. This feature allows the Bot Framework Emulator to debug traffic into and out of the bot in addition to looking at the current state of the bot. This is done by having this data sent to the emulator using trace messages.
This bot has been created using Bot Framework, it shows how to create a simple bot that accepts input from the user and echoes it back. Included in this sample are two counters maintained in User and Conversation state to demonstrate the ability to look at state.
This runtime behavior is achieved by simply adding a middleware to the bot. In this sample you can find that being done in the AdapterWithInspection
class.
More details are available here
-
Node.js version 18 or higher
# determine node version node --version
-
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/botbuilder-samples.git
-
In a terminal, navigate to
samples/javascript_nodejs/47.inspection
cd samples/javascript_nodejs/47.inspection
-
Install modules
npm install
-
Start the bot
npm start
Bot Framework Emulator is a desktop application that allows bot developers to test and debug their bots on localhost or running remotely through a tunnel.
- Install the latest Bot Framework Emulator from here
- Launch Bot Framework Emulator
- File -> Open Bot
- Enter a Bot URL of
http://localhost:3978/api/messages
(Note the follow applies if you are using two emulators. More recnt builds hide the need to type /INSPECT open.)
- Lanuch a second Emulator - this will act as the debugger
- In this second Emulator type /INSPECT open
- The result is a trace activity which contains a statement that looks like /INSPECT attach < identifier >
- In the chat session that you want to inspect type this command exact as it is (you can use cut and paste)
- Now all the traffic will be replicated (as trace activities) to the Emulator that sent the /INSPECT open command
To learn more about deploying a bot to Azure, see Deploy your bot to Azure for a complete list of deployment instructions.