# Pastel A Matrix bot that posts gaming deals and free game alerts to a specified Matrix room. Deals are sourced from PC/digital storefronts only (Steam, GOG, Humble Store, GreenManGaming, Epic Games Store) — universally accessible regardless of region. ## Data Sources - **CheapShark** — polled every 2 hours for top deals across Steam, GOG, Humble Store, and GreenManGaming - **Epic Games Store** — polled daily for free game promotions - **IsThereAnyDeal** (optional) — flags deals that are at an all-time historical low price ## Quick Start 1. Copy `.env.example` to `.env` and fill in your Matrix credentials and room ID 2. Run with Docker: ```bash docker build -t pastel . docker run --env-file .env -v pastel-data:/data pastel ``` Or run directly with Python 3.12+: ```bash pip install -r requirements.txt python -m gaming_deals_bot ``` ## Obtaining a Matrix Bot Access Token 1. **Create a bot account** on your homeserver (e.g. via Element: register a new account like `@dealsbot:example.com`). 2. **Log in and get the access token** using `curl`: ```bash curl -XPOST "https://matrix.example.com/_matrix/client/v3/login" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "type": "m.login.password", "identifier": { "type": "m.id.user", "user": "dealsbot" }, "password": "YOUR_PASSWORD" }' ``` The response will contain an `access_token` field — copy that value into your `.env` as `MATRIX_BOT_ACCESS_TOKEN`. 3. **Invite the bot** to your deals room, then have the bot **accept the invite** (the bot does this automatically on startup). > **Tip:** After extracting the token you can change the bot account's password without invalidating the token. Store the token securely — anyone with it can act as the bot. ## Configuration All configuration is via environment variables (see `.env.example`): | Variable | Required | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `MATRIX_HOMESERVER_URL` | Yes | — | Matrix homeserver URL | | `MATRIX_BOT_USER_ID` | Yes | — | Bot's Matrix user ID | | `MATRIX_BOT_ACCESS_TOKEN` | Yes | — | Bot's access token | | `MATRIX_DEALS_ROOM_ID` | Yes | — | Room ID to post deals in | | `ITAD_API_KEY` | No | — | IsThereAnyDeal API key for historical low detection | | `MIN_DEAL_RATING` | No | 8.0 | Minimum CheapShark deal rating (0-10) | | `MIN_DISCOUNT_PERCENT` | No | 50 | Minimum discount percentage | | `MAX_PRICE_USD` | No | 20 | Maximum sale price in USD | | `DATABASE_PATH` | No | deals.db | Path to SQLite database file | ## Preflight Check Run `--check` to validate your configuration and test connectivity to all services before starting the bot: ```bash python -m gaming_deals_bot --check ``` This verifies: - **Matrix** — authentication token is valid and bot has joined the target room - **CheapShark** — API is reachable - **Epic Games Store** — API is reachable - **Frankfurter** — exchange rate API is reachable - **IsThereAnyDeal** — API key is valid (skipped if not configured) The command exits with code 0 on success and 1 on failure, so it works in CI and Docker health-checks. ## Behavior - **First run**: fetches current deals and records them in the database without posting (avoids spamming the room with existing deals) - **Deduplication**: deals are tracked by game ID + timestamp; duplicates are never reposted - **Pruning**: deals older than 30 days are pruned from the database so they can be reposted if they return - **One message per deal**: each deal is posted individually so messages are independently linkable and dismissible - **Multi-currency pricing**: deal prices are shown in USD, CAD, EUR, and GBP using live exchange rates from the [Frankfurter API](https://api.frankfurter.dev) (ECB data, no API key required). Rates are cached and refreshed twice daily.