Create app package from Azure Bot

Question

I am trying to publish a Azure Bot service that is on my own tenant to my own teams sandbox. I keep getting linked to tutorials that require you to have an app package but nowhere does it state how to create this package from an Azure Bot Service. So how do I make this, do I have to create a manifest all by myself or can I generate one from the service?

I would also like to be able to send cards to other channels and not only 1-on-1 conversations. How would I go about doing this?

EDIT

After further research I now know that I need to send a proactive message. The downside is that nowhere descent documentation is made about how to send this message to a NEW channel. I want to provide a channelId in my appsettings which then receives the logs. How would I do that without the user first needing to send a message in that channel?

Answer 1

To publish an Azure Bot Service to your Teams sandbox, you need to create an app package. This package includes a manifest file that describes the app and its capabilities. You can create this manifest manually or use the Teams Developer Portal to generate one.

Here's how you can create an app package:

Use Developer Portal for Teams: The Developer Portal provides a user-friendly interface to create and manage your Teams apps. You can define your app details, capabilities (like bots, tabs, etc.), and permissions here. Once you've defined your app, you can download the app package (which includes the manifest and icons). You can learn more about the Developer Portal here.

Create an app package manually: If you prefer to create the app package manually, you can create a manifest.json file and package it with your app's icons into a .zip file. The manifest file is a JSON file that tells Teams everything it needs to know about your app. You can learn more about creating an app package manually here.

Once you have your app package, you can upload it to Teams following the instructions here.

For sending a proactive message to a new channel without the user first sending a message in that channel, you would need to have the channel ID stored in your app settings or database. Once you have the channel ID, you can use it to send proactive messages to that channel.

Please note that to send proactive messages, your bot needs the Group.ReadWrite.All permission and you need to handle the consent flow for this permission. You can learn more about proactive messages here.

Thanks, 

Prasad Das

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