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Overview

The bot sends different messages based on the time of day. This guide shows you how to customize these messages to match your needs.

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Message Configuration

Messages are defined in bot.py at line 13. Here’s the current implementation:
bot.py
# Determinar si es entrada o salida según la hora (UTC)
# Ejemplo: Si estás en México, 15:00 UTC es 9:00 AM
ahora_hora = datetime.datetime.utcnow().hour
mensaje = "Aldo Tolentino \n Entrada \n 9:00 AM" if ahora_hora < 18 else "Aldo Tolentino\n Salida\n 3:00 PM"

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Understanding the Time Logic

The bot uses UTC hour to determine which message to send:
1

Time Check

The condition ahora_hora < 18 checks if the current UTC hour is before 18:00 (6:00 PM UTC).
ahora_hora = datetime.datetime.utcnow().hour
  • If UTC hour < 18 → Send “Entrada” (Check-in) message
  • If UTC hour ≥ 18 → Send “Salida” (Check-out) message
2

UTC Consideration

Since GitHub Actions runs in UTC, the threshold hour depends on your timezone:
TimezoneMorning Run (Local)UTC HourEvening Run (Local)UTC Hour
CST (UTC-6)9:00 AM153:00 PM21
PST (UTC-8)9:00 AM173:00 PM23
EST (UTC-5)9:00 AM143:00 PM20
With the current threshold of 18, any run before 6:00 PM UTC sends “Entrada”, and any run at or after sends “Salida”.

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Customizing Message Content

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Basic Customization

Replace the name and times with your own: 
mensaje = "Your Name \n Entrada \n 8:30 AM" if ahora_hora < 18 else "Your Name\n Salida\n 5:00 PM"
Use \n for line breaks in the message. This creates a multi-line WhatsApp message.

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Adding More Information

mensaje = "Your Name\nDevelopment Team\nEntrada\n9:00 AM" if ahora_hora < 18 else "Your Name\nDevelopment Team\nSalida\n3:00 PM"

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Dynamic Content

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Including Actual Timestamp

Instead of hardcoded times, include the actual execution time: 
import datetime

def enviar_registro():
    instance_id = os.getenv('INSTANCE_ID')
    token = os.getenv('TOKEN')
    group_id = os.getenv('GROUP_ID')
    
    # Get current time in your timezone
    ahora_utc = datetime.datetime.utcnow()
    ahora_hora = ahora_utc.hour
    
    # Convert to your local timezone (example: UTC-6 for CST)
    offset_horas = -6
    ahora_local = ahora_utc + datetime.timedelta(hours=offset_horas)
    hora_formateada = ahora_local.strftime("%I:%M %p")
    
    if ahora_hora < 18:
        mensaje = f"Your Name\nEntrada\n{hora_formateada}"
    else:
        mensaje = f"Your Name\nSalida\n{hora_formateada}"
    
    # ... rest of the function
Be careful with timezone offsets during Daylight Saving Time transitions. Consider using the pytz library for more robust timezone handling.

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Including Day of Week

Add the day of the week to your message: 
import datetime

def enviar_registro():
    instance_id = os.getenv('INSTANCE_ID')
    token = os.getenv('TOKEN')
    group_id = os.getenv('GROUP_ID')
    
    ahora_utc = datetime.datetime.utcnow()
    ahora_hora = ahora_utc.hour
    
    # Get day name
    dias_semana = ['Lunes', 'Martes', 'Miércoles', 'Jueves', 'Viernes', 'Sábado', 'Domingo']
    dia_nombre = dias_semana[ahora_utc.weekday()]
    
    if ahora_hora < 18:
        mensaje = f"Your Name\n{dia_nombre}\nEntrada - 9:00 AM"
    else:
        mensaje = f"Your Name\n{dia_nombre}\nSalida - 3:00 PM"
    
    # ... rest of the function

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Including Date

Add the current date: 
import datetime

def enviar_registro():
    instance_id = os.getenv('INSTANCE_ID')
    token = os.getenv('TOKEN')
    group_id = os.getenv('GROUP_ID')
    
    ahora_utc = datetime.datetime.utcnow()
    ahora_hora = ahora_utc.hour
    
    # Convert to local timezone
    offset_horas = -6
    ahora_local = ahora_utc + datetime.timedelta(hours=offset_horas)
    fecha_formateada = ahora_local.strftime("%d/%m/%Y")
    
    if ahora_hora < 18:
        mensaje = f"Your Name\nEntrada - 9:00 AM\nFecha: {fecha_formateada}"
    else:
        mensaje = f"Your Name\nSalida - 3:00 PM\nFecha: {fecha_formateada}"
    
    # ... rest of the function

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Adjusting the Time Threshold

If your schedule changes or you need different logic, modify the threshold: 
# If you have 3+ runs per day
ahora_hora = datetime.datetime.utcnow().hour

if ahora_hora < 16:  # Before 4:00 PM UTC
    mensaje = "Your Name\nEntrada - Morning"
elif ahora_hora < 20:  # Between 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM UTC
    mensaje = "Your Name\nRegreso de Almuerzo"
else:  # After 8:00 PM UTC
    mensaje = "Your Name\nSalida - Evening"

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Message Formatting Tips

WhatsApp Formatting:
  • *bold text* - Makes text bold
  • _italic text_ - Makes text italic
  • ~strikethrough~ - Strikes through text
  • Use emojis for visual appeal: 🟢 for entrada, 🔴 for salida

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Formatted Message Examples

# With emojis and formatting
if ahora_hora < 18:
    mensaje = "*Your Name*\n🟢 Entrada\n⏰ 9:00 AM"
else:
    mensaje = "*Your Name*\n🔴 Salida\n⏰ 3:00 PM"

# Professional format
if ahora_hora < 18:
    mensaje = "=== REGISTRO DE ASISTENCIA ===\nEmpleado: Your Name\nTipo: ENTRADA\nHora: 9:00 AM\n==========================="
else:
    mensaje = "=== REGISTRO DE ASISTENCIA ===\nEmpleado: Your Name\nTipo: SALIDA\nHora: 3:00 PM\n==========================="

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Testing Your Changes

After modifying the message:
  1. Commit your changes to GitHub
  2. Use the workflow_dispatch trigger to run manually
  3. Check the WhatsApp group for the new message format
  4. Verify the output in GitHub Actions logs
The bot’s response is printed in the workflow logs. Look for:
Status: 200, Response: {"sent":"true","message":"ok"}

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Complete Example

Here’s a fully customized version with dynamic content:
bot.py
import requests
import os
import datetime

def enviar_registro():
    instance_id = os.getenv('INSTANCE_ID')
    token = os.getenv('TOKEN')
    group_id = os.getenv('GROUP_ID')
    
    # Get current time
    ahora_utc = datetime.datetime.utcnow()
    ahora_hora = ahora_utc.hour
    
    # Convert to local timezone (CST: UTC-6)
    offset_horas = -6
    ahora_local = ahora_utc + datetime.timedelta(hours=offset_horas)
    hora_formateada = ahora_local.strftime("%I:%M %p")
    fecha_formateada = ahora_local.strftime("%d/%m/%Y")
    
    # Determine message
    if ahora_hora < 18:
        tipo = "🟢 ENTRADA"
    else:
        tipo = "🔴 SALIDA"
    
    mensaje = f"*Your Name*\n{tipo}\n⏰ {hora_formateada}\n📅 {fecha_formateada}"

    url = f"https://api.ultramsg.com/{instance_id}/messages/chat"
    payload = {
        "token": token,
        "to": group_id,
        "body": mensaje
    }
    headers = {'content-type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'}
    
    r = requests.post(url, data=payload, headers=headers)
    print(f"Status: {r.status_code}, Response: {r.text}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    enviar_registro()

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