hctvwrapper 0.1.0

A Pycord-style Python wrapper for hackclub.tv

hctvwrapper

A Pycord-style Python wrapper for hackclub.tv. Build chat bots with decorators — no boilerplate.

pip install hctvwrapper

Quick Start

from hctvwrapper import Bot

bot = Bot(command_prefix="!")

@bot.event
async def on_ready(session):
    print(f"Logged in as {session.viewer}")

@bot.event
async def on_message(message):
    print(f"{message.author.username}: {message.content}")

@bot.command()
async def ping(ctx):
    await ctx.reply("pong!")

bot.run("hctvb_your_token_here", channel="bot-playground")

Getting a Bot Token

1. Go to hackclub.tv
2. Create a bot account and get your API key (starts with hctvb_)
3. Set it as an environment variable: export BOT_TOKEN=hctvb_xxx

Guide

Events

Register event handlers with @bot.event. The function name determines which event it handles.

@bot.event
async def on_ready(session):
    """Fired when the bot connects and receives session info."""
    print(f"Logged in as {session.viewer.username}")
    print(f"Can moderate: {session.permissions.can_moderate}")
    print(f"Max message length: {session.moderation.max_message_length}")

@bot.event
async def on_message(message):
    """Fired on every chat message."""
    print(f"[{message.channel}] {message.author.username}: {message.content}")
    # message.author.id, .pfp_url, .display_name, .is_bot,
    # .is_platform_admin, .channel_role
    # message.msg_id, .timestamp, .type

@bot.event
async def on_history(messages):
    """Fired once on connect with up to 100 recent messages."""
    print(f"Got {len(messages)} historical messages")

@bot.event
async def on_system_message(message):
    """Fired on system notifications (bans, unbans, etc.)."""
    print(f"System: {message.content}")

@bot.event
async def on_message_deleted(event):
    """Fired when a message is deleted by a moderator."""
    print(f"Message {event.msg_id} deleted in {event.channel}")

@bot.event
async def on_chat_access(access, channel):
    """Fired when chat permissions change (timeouts, bans)."""
    print(f"Can send in {channel}: {access.can_send}")
    if access.restriction:
        print(f"  Restriction: {access.restriction.type}")

@bot.event
async def on_moderation_error(error, channel):
    """Fired when a moderation action or message is rejected."""
    print(f"Error in {channel}: {error.code} — {error.message}")
    # error.code is one of: FORBIDDEN, RATE_LIMIT, SLOW_MODE,
    # TIMED_OUT, BANNED, MESSAGE_TOO_LONG, BLOCKED_TERM,
    # INVALID_TARGET, INVALID_REQUEST, NOT_FOUND

Commands

Register commands with @bot.command(). The bot automatically parses messages starting with the prefix.

bot = Bot(command_prefix="!")

# Simple command — no arguments
@bot.command()
async def ping(ctx):
    await ctx.reply("pong!")

# Named command with aliases
@bot.command(name="say", aliases=["echo", "repeat"])
async def say_cmd(ctx, *, text):
    await ctx.send(text)

# Positional arguments (split by whitespace)
@bot.command()
async def greet(ctx, name, greeting="hello"):
    await ctx.reply(f"{greeting}, {name}!")

Context

The ctx object passed to commands gives you everything you need:

@bot.command()
async def info(ctx):
    ctx.message     # the full Message object
    ctx.author      # shortcut to ctx.message.author (Author)
    ctx.channel     # channel name (str)
    ctx.bot         # reference to the Bot

    await ctx.reply("text")   # sends "@username text"
    await ctx.send("text")    # sends "text" without mention
    await ctx.delete()        # deletes the triggering message (needs mod perms)

Sending Messages

# Inside a command
await ctx.reply("mentioned reply")
await ctx.send("plain message")

# Anywhere (if you have a reference to the bot)
await bot.send("hello!", channel="bot-playground")

Multi-Channel

Connect to multiple channels at once:

bot.run("hctvb_xxx", channels=["channel1", "channel2", "bot-playground"])

Messages and commands work across all channels. Use ctx.channel or message.channel to know which channel a message came from.

@bot.event
async def on_message(message):
    print(f"[{message.channel}] {message.author.username}: {message.content}")

@bot.command()
async def where(ctx):
    await ctx.reply(f"you're in {ctx.channel}")

Moderation

Bots with moderation permissions can manage users:

# Timeout a user for 5 minutes (default)
await bot.timeout_user("channel", user_id="user123", duration=300, reason="spam")

# Ban a user
await bot.ban_user("channel", user_id="user123", reason="repeated violations")

# Remove a timeout
await bot.lift_timeout("channel", user_id="user123")

# Unban a user
await bot.unban_user("channel", user_id="user123")

# Delete a specific message
await bot.delete_message("channel", msg_id="msg-uuid")

Async Entry Point

If you manage your own event loop:

import asyncio

async def main():
    bot = Bot(command_prefix="!")

    @bot.event
    async def on_ready(session):
        print("Connected!")

    await bot.start("hctvb_xxx", channel="bot-playground")

asyncio.run(main())

Models Reference

Model	Fields
Message	content, author, channel, msg_id, timestamp, type, is_bot
Author	id, username, pfp_url, display_name, is_bot, is_platform_admin, channel_role
Session	viewer (Author), permissions, moderation
Permissions	can_moderate
ModerationSettings	has_blocked_terms, slow_mode_seconds, max_message_length
SystemMessage	type, channel, content, timestamp
ChatAccess	can_send, restriction
Restriction	type (timeout/ban), reason, expires_at
ModerationError	code, message, restriction
ModerationEvent	type, msg_id, channel

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• websockets (only dependency)

License

MIT