Skype for Business bot with Python via Bot Channels Registration

1
votes

I've a bot that is created in Python and I currently have REST API for any UI to connect to the bot. I'm planning to host the bot on Skype For Business using bot channels Registration and could not find a guide on how to do this properly.

I'm limited to Python due to custom ML and NLP we've included for the bot and also due to limited knowledge of C# or Node.

What I tried:

I've tried using the Bot Framework's REST approach to send the responses and it worked in Web Chat.

Is this the way to go?

My concern here is that the BOT Framework is now deprecated and all the bots are supposed to move to Bot Service.

2
pythonbotframeworkskype-for-businessazure-bot-service
FYI we are currently working on a v4 version of the SDK that includes a python SDK github.com/Microsoft/BotBuilder-python It is not complete yet, but is in the works – D4RKCIDE
Thanks Jason. Do you think it'll be wise to use this in production? I just need to be able to communicate between Skype and my Python backed. I know I shouldn't be asking this but any tentative date for the official release? – Vijay
The official release is going to be a while still (intentionally leaving this ambiguous with no date). I'm not even sure we are going to have the "dev preview" ready for build. This is probably not wise to use in production at this point either. I just wanted to give you a heads up that this is in the works. – D4RKCIDE
I get it. Probably I should stick to the REST API for a while. Will try to contribute to the SDK as this is my line of work currently. – Vijay
@Vijay The Bot Framework isn't now deprecated; regarding moving bots to Bot Service, that doesn't necessarily mean hosting the bot on Azure. For instance, you can create a Channel registration bot, and then host your bot elsewhere. – Steven G.

2 Answers

2
votes

I would suggest using opsdroid with the opsdroid-skype extension. It uses the Microsoft bot framework SDK v4 for Python.

To deploy the bot, create and configure a Bot Channels Registration resource in Azure. Make sure you:

  • enter the correct full 'Messaging endpoint' URL in settings
  • test the bot (see 'Test in Web Chat')
  • enter the bot Microsoft Application Id & Password into your opsdroid config; you may need to click the 'Manage' link in the bot registration settings to access the password
  • add a Skype 'channel' to the registration resource (there is NO NEED to configure it in any way or publish it!)

After completing the above steps, visit your bot endpoint using a web browser; you will be redirected to a Microsoft-hosted page for adding the bot as a Skype contact.

0
votes

If you were able to make your bot work with the Direct Line API or WebChat, it would also work with Skype for Business. Please follow these instructions