

Show HN: Interbot – Get work done right from your chat app - vinodhdavid
http://interbot.co

======
ar7hur
I love this kind of service, but extensibility is probably the most important
feature and unless I'm wrong, your platform is not open (yet). We developers
all use different services.

Hubot is extremely simple (based on regular expressions to match commands) and
quite successful because it's so easy to write and use your own module [1].
Hubot being free and open source, what is your differentiation plan? I'm sure
there is room for different players.

[1] [http://hubot-script-catalog.herokuapp.com/](http://hubot-script-
catalog.herokuapp.com/)

~~~
vinodhdavid
We want to run this as a service, for eg with hubot you need to add the API
keys in a config file which isn't that easy unless you have a dev to write
something on top of it. We are planning to make the UX really simple on
provide /pulling the data from your services.

~~~
akerl_
Adding API keys to a config hardly requires a dev.

And giving my API keys to you is much more dangerous.

~~~
vinodhdavid
We use OAuth so we don't store any API keystroke passwords. Well more than the
ease we are trying to make this collaborative so you can add data to your team
mate services easily.

~~~
akerl_
Not sure what you mean by "API keystroke passwords". Almost all major APIs
these days that you'd be working with for your bot use either OAUTH, generated
API token strings, or bot. So you're either storing an OAUTH token or a token
that isn't OAUTH but that the user treats a lot like a simple OAUTH token (it
is use-case-specific, can be revoked, is identified by its purpose, etc)

------
StavrosK
I made the exact same thing:
[http://www.getinstabot.com](http://www.getinstabot.com)

I couldn't get anyone to use it, so I think you're fighting an uphill battle.
Good luck, though,

~~~
vinodhdavid
Sure, thanks for your feedback!

------
ben_straub
Is this supposed to be "Hubot, but usable without hiring a developer?" There
are lots of non-software companies that could benefit from chat-ops-like
automation.

~~~
vinodhdavid
Yeah with good interface when you make mistakes and very simple to add data.

------
akerl_
Would be nice if the page showed me what this gives me that any of the 1000
other bots don't give me (like Hubot).

Would be also amazing if it had source or some way for users to contribute
their own integrations; is that in the pipeline?

~~~
vinodhdavid
Nice suggestion. Yes we would want to open this framework for custom
integrations. We are trying to create a bot which is easy to setup and use
with neat interactions. We will be doing this as a service integrating
interesting commands and services. We would want to provide an easy way to add
data to other team members eg: You can create an event and add your team
members calendar too easily.

------
Khao
I don't really see the appeal of this because it looks like it's only good for
one-liners. I'd rather have a complete interface that allows me to write a
huge description, provide screenshots, link to other bug #s or githud commits,
etc. It's a solution looking for a problem in my opinion because I would be
pissed if all of a sudden all my issues, tasks and bug were one-line
description. Please correct me if I'm wrong but that's what I get from the
first impression of looking at your app.

~~~
vinodhdavid
We are just getting started but we have plans to build an interactive input
methods where you can add more details to your apps. We do have plans getting
there. We are initially mobile focussed.

------
JangoSteve
Looks nice, though it's unclear what the intentions are. Is this to become
open source? Or are you going to start charging for it?

Also, any chance of adding support for the Kandan chat app?

[http://kandanapp.com/](http://kandanapp.com/)

~~~
vinodhdavid
We don't have any plans of open sourcing it at the moment. We want it to be a
service and it is free. Yup we are starting with slack and we have plans to
integrate Chat apps which has the API option open :)

~~~
jalada
How about integrating with a protocol instead of adding value to someone
else's product?

Have we not learned our lessons from how Twitter treated developers?

Enjoy getting shut off when Slack decide they don't want customers to be
adding functionality without paying their per integration rate, or want to
stop getting the support tickets from people using your service and confusing
it with Slack itself.

~~~
vinodhdavid
Thanks for your feedback. Actually the communication market is picking up. We
are not dependant on slack we are an API which can be plugged to any chat
service like Hipchat kato etc.

~~~
vinodhdavid
We are working closely with Slack team to get this going. I don't foresee that
happening since we promote people to get on board with slack. It's a win win.
But I do get your point :) thanks for the feedback.

~~~
jalada
I'm being facetious, but Twitter clients were a win-win for Twitter too, until
they decided they weren't.

~~~
vinodhdavid
True, I totally get that risk :)

------
nchudleigh
This seems really slick! Nice work!

~~~
vinodhdavid
Thanks :)

------
thekylemontag
Hubot as a service, but its pointed towards developers? Seems a bit odd.

You should try to target services that aren’t mainly for developers instead.
(ie Salesforce, Zendesk, etc)

~~~
vinodhdavid
Yeah we are getting there we started with Trello and Google calender for that
exact reason :) Thanks for hte pointer!

------
mring33621
I think this seems like a great idea. But I have never worked one place that
used _any_ of the seemingly trendy integrations. How about Lync -> Jira,
Confluence, Perforce?

~~~
vinodhdavid
Definitely in our plan :)

------
eramasz
Hi HNs Interbot now supports Github and Evernote more apps soon to be added.

------
nno
I would like to see some kind of bot like this integrated do Telegram, is
there anything?

------
syva
Awesome! Please add Pivotal Tracker integration :)

~~~
vinodhdavid
Sure. We will can you add your feedbacks here?
[https://interbot.uservoice.com/admin/forums/271962-general](https://interbot.uservoice.com/admin/forums/271962-general)

~~~
vinodhdavid
[http://interbot.uservoice.com/forums/271962-general](http://interbot.uservoice.com/forums/271962-general)
\- The right link for feedback.

------
shirman
Without skin it looks like it's broken

~~~
vinodhdavid
I am sorry, what skin are you referring to?

------
lexaude
awesome. nicely done. noticed your launch on product hunt and waiting to see
how this evolves.

~~~
vinodhdavid
Thanks! :)

