[This was originally posted at the now-defunct impractical.bot on 23 Feb 2019]
I created a tool that will allow anyone to experiment with NLTK (Natural Language Toolkit) chatbots without writing any Python code. The repository for the backend code is available on GitHub: Docker NLTK chatbot.
I plan to expand on this idea, but it is usable now. In order to create your own bot:
- Create a GitHub account
- Create a “gist” or fork my demo gist: Greetings Bot Source
- Customize the name, match, and replies elements
- Note your username and the unique ID of your gist (a hash value, a 32-character string of letters and numbers)
- Visit http://osric.com/chat/user/hash, replacing user with your GitHub username and hash with the unique ID of your gist. For an example, see Greetings Bot.
You can now interact with your custom bot, or share the link with your friends!
One more thing: if you update your gist, you’ll need to let the site know to update the code. Just click the “Reload Source” link on the chat page.