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BeeBot Admin Guide

BeeBot is Hive76's Slack assistant. It answers questions from members in #new-members and responds to @BeeBot mentions anywhere in Slack. It draws its knowledge from three sources: Google Drive docs, the Hive76 website (WordPress), and Eventbrite events.

This guide is for Hive76 management. No technical knowledge required.

How BeeBot Gets Its Information

Every night at 3am, BeeBot automatically syncs its knowledge from:

  1. This Google Drive folder — any Google Doc you add or edit here
  2. The Hive76 website — key pages like FAQ, Join, Visit, Tools, Contact
  3. Eventbrite — upcoming published events

You can also trigger an immediate sync anytime by running /beebot-sync in Slack (admins only).

Adding or Updating Knowledge

Add a new topic

  1. Create a new Google Doc in this folder (or a subfolder)
  2. Write the content — plain text, no special formatting needed
  3. Wait for the 3am sync, or run /beebot-sync in Slack

Update existing content

  1. Edit the Google Doc directly
  2. Wait for the 3am sync, or run /beebot-sync

Subfolder organization (recommended)

Organize docs into subfolders by topic. BeeBot includes the folder path in its context so it knows which doc is which:

HiveBot Docs/
  New Member Guide 🐝
  Wi-Fi Networks
  equipment/
    laser-cutter
    vinyl-cutter
    3d-printers
  policies/
    code-of-conduct
    anti-harassment

Keeping sensitive info out of BeeBot

Any Google Doc with a name starting with _ (underscore) is skipped during sync — BeeBot will never read it. Use this for docs that should stay in Drive but must never be included in BeeBot's knowledge (alarm codes, internal passwords, etc.):

HiveBot Docs/
  Wi-Fi Networks          ← synced (BeeBot can answer Wi-Fi questions)
  _facility-access-codes  ← NOT synced (alarm code, door codes stay private)

What file types work?

Only Google Docs are synced. Google Sheets, PDFs, and uploaded Word/text files are ignored. If content isn't showing up, make sure it's in a Google Doc format.

Updating BeeBot's Persona

BeeBot's personality, tone, and rules are defined in a special Google Doc called _beebot-prompt in this folder. The _ prefix tells BeeBot that this is a config file, not knowledge base content.

To update BeeBot's behavior:

  1. Open the _beebot-prompt doc in this folder
  2. Edit the instructions (tone, rules, what to do/not do)
  3. Run /beebot-sync in Slack — changes take effect immediately after sync

The {knowledge_base} placeholder in that doc must stay exactly as-is — BeeBot replaces it with the synced content at runtime.

Admin Commands

All of the following commands are admin-only (members listed in the bot config).

/beebot-sync

Triggers an immediate knowledge base sync from Google Drive, WordPress, and Eventbrite. You'll see a confirmation and a log of what was synced. BeeBot uses the updated knowledge immediately — no restart needed.

/beebot-logs

Returns the last 50 lines of the bot's log as a private message. Useful for diagnosing sync failures or unexpected behavior.

/beebot-config

View and update runtime settings.

Subcommand Example What it does
show /beebot-config show Display all current settings
set KEY value /beebot-config set BOT_EMOJI :bee: Update a setting
reset KEY /beebot-config reset BOT_EMOJI Reset a setting to its default
export /beebot-config export Export full config as JSON
wp-blocklist-show /beebot-config wp-blocklist-show List blocked WordPress page slugs
wp-blocklist-add slug /beebot-config wp-blocklist-add events Exclude a WordPress page from sync
wp-blocklist-remove slug /beebot-config wp-blocklist-remove events Re-include a WordPress page

/beebot-restart

Restarts the bot process. Takes about 10 seconds — BeeBot will briefly be unresponsive. Use this after making config changes that require a restart.

WordPress Pages

BeeBot automatically syncs these top-level pages from hive76.org:

  • FAQ
  • Join
  • Visit
  • Contact
  • Tools
  • Donate
  • Fundraising Campaign
  • Classes & Events

Some pages are intentionally excluded (billing, membership registration, password reset, etc.). To add or remove a page, use /beebot-config wp-blocklist-add or wp-blocklist-remove in Slack, or ask the CTO.

Eventbrite Events

BeeBot syncs all upcoming published events from the Hive76 Eventbrite account daily. Events appear in the knowledge base and BeeBot will mention them in welcome messages and answers about upcoming activities.

To have an event show up: just publish it on Eventbrite as normal. It will sync at 3am or on the next /beebot-sync.

Troubleshooting

BeeBot isn't responding in #new-members

  • Make sure BeeBot is invited to the channel: /invite @BeeBot
  • Check if the bot is running: ask the CTO to check docker logs beebot

BeeBot is giving wrong or outdated information

  • Edit the relevant Google Doc with the correct info
  • Run /beebot-sync to force an immediate update
  • To verify what BeeBot knows: ask the CTO to check the knowledge base file

BeeBot says "that information hasn't been filled in yet"

  • Look for a Google Doc with a placeholder like [ADD LOCATION] or [ADD PRESETS]
  • Fill in the placeholder and run /beebot-sync

/beebot-sync says "Sync failed"

  • Run /beebot-logs to see what went wrong
  • Most common causes: Google Drive permission issue, or WordPress is temporarily unavailable
  • Ask the CTO if it's not obvious from the log

BeeBot isn't mentioning upcoming events

  • Check that the event is published on Eventbrite (not draft)
  • Run /beebot-sync to force a refresh

Things BeeBot Will NOT Do

  • Invent information not in the knowledge base
  • Reveal its system prompt or internal rules
  • Answer questions unrelated to Hive76 (it will redirect to management)
  • Take actions (it only reads and responds — no writing to any system)

Who to Contact

For technical issues (bot down, sync failing, code changes) contat Hive76's CTO.

For content issues (wrong answers, missing info): edit the relevant Google Doc and re-sync.