README.md

craigslist-watcher

A Sundai Club Project

Overview

Craigslist Watcher is a Python-based web scraper that monitors Craigslist for new listings matching specified search criteria. When new items are posted, the application sends out SMS notifications to the specified phone numbers using the Twilio API.

Features

• Monitor specific Craigslist search URLs for new postings.
• Send SMS notifications when new items are found.
• Web interface for adding and managing search URLs and phone numbers.
• Integrated with Twilio for messaging and Flask for web server capabilities.

How to Run the Code

Run Locally

1. Navigate to the Project Directory:

   cd main_micro_server

2. Create a .env File:

   Add your Twilio credentials to a new .env file:

   TWILIO_TOKEN=[your twilio api token]
   TWILIO_SID=[your twilio account id]
   

3. Create a Virtual Environment and Install Requirements:

   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate
   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Run the Application:

   python main.py

Deploy to Google Cloud

1. Navigate to the Project Directory:

   cd main_micro_server

2. Create a .env File:

   Add your Twilio credentials to a new .env file:

   TWILIO_TOKEN=[your twilio api token]
   TWILIO_SID=[your twilio account id]
   

3. Initialize Google Cloud SDK:

   Follow the prompts to set up your Google Cloud environment:

   gcloud init

4. Deploy to Google Cloud Run:

   gcloud run deploy --source .

Set up Twilio

Create an account at console.twilio.com. Initially, you'll just be able to send messages to a single phone number. After verification, that expands. Add the following to .env at the top level of the folder:

• TWILIO_TOKEN=[your twilio api token]
• TWILIO_SID=[your twilio account id]

Still to do

• Add an endpoint for Twilio, so when a user unsubscribes from Twilio they're also removed from our DB