Adding Postgres and ActiveRecord
Getting started - adding dependencies to your project
Deploying and Debugging Twilio
These are the steps you should go through the sanity check your Sinatra application, deploy and test.
Check everything looks OK (locally)
Load your Sinatra application locally by typing this code in your terminal window/command line:
ruby app.rb
Open the application in a browser using the information returned (something like localhost:4567) and then go to the route we created so localhost:4567/sms/incoming
You can test your app by adding querystring parameters to check if the responses look OK: localhost:4567/sms/incoming?Body=Hi&From=+123456789
Note: Twilio will send the querystring parameters titleized (i.e. Body not body). Make sure your querystring is using the right casing.
If it works you should see a message like this:
<Response>
<Message>
<Body>
This is my message
</Body>
</Message>
</Response>
If you see a message like this and there’s no errors, we’re in business and can deploy. [Note: You should test your responses by changing the querystring.] Otherwise fix it…
If you do get an error:
- Make sure your
.envhas the right info included in it - Make sure you’ve bundle installed
- Make sure your gem file has all of the necessary gems
- Make sure the needed
requirestatements are included in yourapp.rb
Deploy to Heroku
If the last step was successful and you have no apparent errors:
- Open GitHub Desktop, commit your changes in your project folder, and sync the changes with GitHub.com
- In the command line, type
git push heroku masterand deploy your application to Heroku
Then test it by sending an SMS to your Twilio Number. Fingers crossed your bot talks to you!
It didn’t work?
If it didn’t work, but it deployed OK, do the following
- Type
heroku open, see if you get any application errors. If you did then the problem is with your code.- Type
heroku logsto see what’s happening on the server. This will let you know why the application crashed. - Be on the look out for missing requires, or missing gems.
- Type
- If everything with the application looks OK, visit https://www.twilio.com/console. You’ll see a ‘bug’ icon at the top. If it’s red or orange there’s a problem! You can click into it for more info. Common problems might include:
- HTTP Retrieval Error: The URL it’s requesting is invalid. Double check your settings on the phone number and make sure you’re using a
GETrequest. Alternatively, the code may have crashed or given an unexpected response to Twilio. - Invalid Body: Something is wrong with the message you’re trying to return. Check that you’re only returning text!
- Invalid URL format: If you’re sending media back, this can happen if Twilio doesn’t like URL you’re trying to use. Double check it’s right and that it sends back an image correctly.
- HTTP Retrieval Error: The URL it’s requesting is invalid. Double check your settings on the phone number and make sure you’re using a