Quick Start
CLI
You may also start Botpress Server using the Command Line Interface (CLI). To see all the commands available, run ./bp --help
.
Example
> ./bp --help
Options:
--version Show version number [boolean]
--verbose, -v verbosity level [count] [default: 2]
--production, -p run in production mode [boolean] [default: false]
--help Show help [boolean]
Admin Panel
The admin dashboard is the place where you'll be able to manage and configure everything related to your Botpress Server installation, including:
- Create bots and assign them to a team
- Create new teams and invite other administrators
- Create and manage user roles
- Configure your Botpress Pro license
To open the Admin Dashboard, visit http://localhost:3000
in your favorite web browser. When you open the portal for the first time, you will be asked to set the administrator password.
Creating a new bot
In Botpress, bots are always assigned to a team. When you start Botpress for the first time, you'll have a new team created automatically for you with an example bot inside it.
Let's create a new bot by first navigating to your team, then clicking the "Create new bot" button.
All you have to do is pick a name for your bot and a unique Bot ID
will be generated for you.
The Bot ID can't be changed in the future so it's important to pick a meaningful name. Also bear in mind that this ID will be visible to the users of your bots.
Once created, click on the bot to open the Studio interface and edit your bot.
Studio
The Studio is the main interface you'll use to build and edit your bot. From here, you can:
- Train an NLU model
- Create dialog flows
- Test and debug your bot
You will notice on the left there are a couple of sections available. Some of these are built inside Botpress (like Content and Flows), where some are there because of modules installed. Indeed, Botpress is a highly modular platform and the majority of the features you will use are provided by the modules themselves.
Test your bot
To test your bot, you can use the built-in chat emulator located in the top right corner. You can start over a new conversation with your bot by clicking the reset button.
Open the chat window and say "Hello". The bot should greet you with something like "May I know your name?".
Question and Answer
One of the modules shipped by default with Botpress is the QnA (Question and Answer) module. This module allows you to easily and quickly add knowledge to your bot without having to create a flow or code anything. QnA uses the NLU Engine behind the scene to detect the questions and automatically answer them.
Adding a QnA
- Click the QnA panel on the left
- Click the "Add New" button
- Type in the "Questions" textbox a question, for example "How old are you?". Then add as many different ways of asking the same question as you want.
- In the "Reply With", type the answer you want your bot to provide
- Click "Save"
The QnA module will automatically retrain the NLU model in the background and tell you when it's completed. You can speak again with your bot and it should respond to your question correctly, even if you make some typos!
QnA Example
Bot updated live
Share your bot
Standalone chat
Congratulations on building your first bot! You can share this bot with your friends, it is available at http://localhost:3000/s/<<Bot ID>>
.
Embed on a website
You can also embed this bot on a website, there's an example provided in assets/modules/channel-web/examples/embedded-webchat.html
, which you can see by browsing here.