Build a Natural Language Slack Bot for your Dev TeamGet a Microsoft IDFor this workshop, you will need to log in to Azure, VSTS, Bot Framework, and LUIS. All of these are Microsoft products that require a Microsoft ID. If you have an account on any one of these already, then please use that same Microsoft ID for all of the others. If not, and you need to create a new Microsoft ID, then go to https://live.com to set one up.

Install KeePass 2We will be using KeePass 2 to securely store the credentials that we create throughout this workshop. If you have another solution for storing secrets, please skip this step.

Go to https://keepass.info/download.html. Download the installer for the latest version of KeyPass 2.

Ignore the mess that SourceForge has become. Wait for the Setup.exe to download and run it. Perform the standard Full Installation. Run KeePass 2 and create a new database. I saved my database on OneDrive so it is backed up and synced to my devices.

Create a master password for the database. Choose one that you will easily remember, like a multiple word phrase. Don’t get clever replacing letters with numbers and symbols.

Accept the default database settings. Skip creating the emergency sheet. The database initially has a bunch of sample entries. You can delete these if you want.

We’ll be adding entries for the various assets that we create for the bot. For example, we will create an entry for the Bot Framework application. It has an App ID and a Password. Click “Add Entry”.

We will enter the App ID as the user name. When you add a new entry, KeePass 2 will generate a strong password for you. But we want the one that Bot Framework generates. Click the ellipses to paste in and

see the password.

Click “OK” to create the entry, and then save the database file. You can organize your entries in folders within the database. To access the password of an entry, just select it and press “Ctrl+C” to copy the password to the clipboard. The clipboard will be cleared after 10 seconds to keep your password secure.

Create a VSTS AccountWe will use VSTS to host our bot source code. But that’s not all. The bot is there to help us on our dev team. As developers, we are not building a bot, we are building a product. We will use VSTS to host and build that product source code as well. The bot will know how to check on the build for the product, deploy it to the test environment, and perform other useful tasks for us.

Go to https://visualstudio.com. Click “Get Started for Free” under “Visual Studio Team Services”.

VSTS is free for up to 5 developers. For this workshop, it will just be you. After you sign up using your Microsoft ID, create a new Visual Studio Team Service Account. If you already have an account, you can use that one. We will create a new project within the account.

When creating a new account, specify a name for the whole account. This is your name, not the name of the project. Choose Git as the default source control system (it can be changed per project, if you want). Then click “Continue”.

Create an Azure AccountSlack is going to call your bot whenever someone enters a command. So your bot needs to be running somewhere that Slack can reach it. It can’t just be on your local machine. You’ll run your bot in Azure.

Azure is a paid service, but you can get a trial account that will be enough to go through this workshop. If you’ve already used your Azure trial, the cost of doing this workshop will be pretty small. You can shut down your app service once we are finished. Or talk to your boss and get her to expense your Azure account. This bot will be well worth it!

Go to https://azure.microsoft.com/Account/Free and click “Start free”. Sign in with your Microsoft ID.

Create a Slack TeamYou will be using your new bot on your development team. But for the time being, you will need to test on your own. Go to https://slack.com and click “Get Started”. Then “Create a New Workspace”.

Confirm your email. Enter your name: no need to enter a display name. Then set up a new password for this workspace. Select “Shared Interest Group” as it is the least nosy. Then give your new workspace a name. Finally, give it a URL: you can use “ai-<yourname>”.slack.com.

Now you can log into your Slack team and start a conversation with yourself! Don’t worry. Your bot will join you soon.