MansionNet Weather Bot

A lightweight, reliable IRC bot that provides real-time weather information using the Open-Meteo API. Designed for 24/7 operation with robust error handling and efficient resource usage.

Features

• Real-time weather data from Open-Meteo API (no API key required)
• Global city search with geocoding
• Colorized IRC output with weather icons
• SSL/TLS support for secure connections
• Automatic reconnection with exponential backoff
• Efficient resource usage with proper timeout handling
• Production-tested for 24/7 stability

Weather Information Provided

• Current temperature (°C)
• Weather conditions (clear, cloudy, rain, snow, thunderstorm, etc.)
• Relative humidity (%)
• Wind speed (km/h)

Commands

• !weather <city> - Get current weather for any city worldwide
  • Example: !weather Belgrade
  • Example: !weather New York
• !help - Display bot help information

Requirements

• Python 3.7+
• requests library

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/MansionNET/weatherbot.git
cd weatherbot

2. Install dependencies:

pip install requests

3. Configure the bot: Edit weatherbot.py and update:

self.server = "your.irc.server.com"
self.port = 6697  # or 6667 for non-SSL
self.nickname = "WeatherBot"
self.channels = ["#channel1", "#channel2"]

4. (Optional) For NickServ authentication, add:

self.password = "your_nickserv_password"

And uncomment the NickServ identification lines in the connect() method.

Running the Bot

Manual Start

python3 weatherbot.py

As a systemd Service (Linux)

1. Create service file /etc/systemd/system/weatherbot.service:

[Unit]
Description=MansionNet Weather Bot
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=youruser
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/weatherbot
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /path/to/weatherbot/weatherbot.py
Restart=always
RestartSec=30

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

2. Enable and start:

sudo systemctl enable weatherbot.service
sudo systemctl start weatherbot.service

3. Check status:

sudo systemctl status weatherbot.service

Configuration Options

SSL/TLS

The bot uses SSL by default. To disable certificate verification (for self-signed certs):

self.ssl_context.check_hostname = False
self.ssl_context.verify_mode = ssl.CERT_NONE

Connection Timeouts

• Socket timeout: 1.0 second (prevents blocking)
• API request timeout: 5 seconds (for geocoding and weather data)
• Reconnection delay: 30 seconds (after errors)

Customization

• Colors: Modify the TEXT variable in get_weather() for different IRC color codes
• Weather Icons: Customize the symbols (▸, ❋, ⟳) in the return string
• Channels: Add or remove channels in the self.channels list

API Information

This bot uses the free Open-Meteo API:

• No API key required
• No rate limiting for reasonable use
• Global coverage
• Real-time data updates

Geocoding provided by Open-Meteo's geocoding API.

Architecture

Connection Management

• Non-blocking socket operations with timeout
• Automatic reconnection on connection loss
• Proper handling of IRC PING/PONG
• Buffer management for split messages

Error Handling

• Graceful handling of network timeouts
• Unicode decode error recovery
• API request failure fallbacks
• Connection closed detection

Resource Efficiency

• Sleep intervals during idle periods (0.1s when no data)
• Socket timeouts prevent CPU spinning
• Efficient buffer processing
• Minimal memory footprint

Troubleshooting

Bot not connecting

• Check IRC server address and port
• Verify SSL/TLS requirements
• Check firewall rules for outbound connections

Bot joins but doesn't respond

• Verify the bot is in the correct channels
• Check channel permissions (some channels may be +m or require voice)
• Review logs for error messages

High CPU usage

• Ensure you're running the latest version with timeout fixes
• Check network stability
• Monitor system logs for connection issues

Weather data not updating

• Verify internet connectivity
• Check if Open-Meteo API is accessible
• Ensure DNS resolution is working

Production Deployment

Security Considerations

• Store NickServ passwords in environment variables or secrets management
• Use SSL/TLS for IRC connections when available
• Run the bot as a non-privileged user
• Monitor logs for unusual activity

Monitoring

• Use systemd status to check bot health
• Monitor CPU and memory usage
• Set up log rotation for long-term operation
• Consider external monitoring for uptime

Example Usage

<user> !weather London
<WeatherBot> London, United Kingdom 【Partly cloudy】 ▸ 12°C ❋ 78% ⟳ 15 km/h

<user> !weather Tokyo
<WeatherBot> Tokyo, Japan 【Clear sky】 ▸ 18°C ❋ 45% ⟳ 8 km/h

<user> !weather Belgrade
<WeatherBot> Belgrade, Serbia 【Overcast】 ▸ 5°C ❋ 82% ⟳ 12 km/h

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

Development Guidelines

• Follow PEP 8 style guidelines
• Add comments for complex logic
• Test thoroughly before submitting PRs
• Update README for new features

License

[Your chosen license - e.g., MIT, GPL, etc.]

Acknowledgments

• Weather data provided by Open-Meteo
• Built for the MansionNET IRC community
• Inspired by classic IRC bots and modern Python practices

Changelog

v2.0 (2026-01-26)

• Fixed: Critical CPU spinning bug in main message loop
• Added: Socket timeout handling for non-blocking operations
• Added: API request timeouts (5 seconds)
• Improved: Connection error handling and reconnection logic
• Improved: Resource efficiency and stability for 24/7 operation

v1.0 (Initial Release)

• Basic weather information functionality
• Multi-channel support
• IRC color formatting
• Open-Meteo API integration

Support

For issues, questions, or suggestions:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Contact on IRC: #lobby on irc.inthemansion.com port: 6697 or https://webirc.inthemansion.com/

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Made with ☕ for the MansionNET community