global-entry-alerter 0.2.3
A bot that helps you find an open Global Entry interview appointment
Requires Python: >=3.8.1,<4

# Global Entry Alerter
A bot that helps you find an open Global Entry interview appointment.

[![PyPI version](https://badge.fury.io/py/global-entry-alerter.svg)](https://badge.fury.io/py/global-entry-alerter)

## Problem
Booking an appointment for a [Global Entry](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry) interview is hard, especially in cities with high demand like SF or NYC. 

If you check for open appointments, there is typically nothing available for weeks, sometimes even months. 
However, appointments _are_ actually constantly opening up, they just get booked very quickly.

This project polls the DHS Scheduler API for open Global Entry appointments, notifying you whenever a new one opens up.
If the new appointment is convenient for you, book it immediately — otherwise it will be gone within a few minutes.

This project is not affiliated with U.S. Customs and Border Protection or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.


### Example Usage
<img src="https://github.com/grahamplace/global-entry-alerter/blob/main/example.png?raw=true" alt="example of messages sent by bot" width="30%"/>

## Requirements
1. A Twilio account with the ability to send programmable SMS. See [here](https://www.twilio.com/docs/sms/quickstart/python).
2. Python 3 & [Poetry](https://python-poetry.org/docs/)

## Usage
Configure your settings in a `config.toml`, set env vars, and leave the `global-entry-alerter` running for as long as needed.

Once the script sends an alert about a particular appointment, it will keep that appointment in memory and won't notify you of it again. If you restart the script, it may re-send previously-seen appointments.

### Installation
```bash
$ pip install global-entry-alerter
```

### Running
To run the project:
1. Create your own `config.toml` (see [example_config.toml](https://github.com/grahamplace/global-entry-alerter/blob/main/example_config.toml))
2. Configure your settings (see Configuration below)
3. Set the following env variables using your Twilio account:
   - `TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN`
   - `TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID`
   - `TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER`
4. `global-entry-alerter --config ~/path_to_your/config.toml`


### Configuration
The project uses a `.toml` configuration file for all settings.

See [example_config.toml](https://github.com/grahamplace/global-entry-alerter/blob/main/example_config.toml) as a reference for your own `config.toml`

| Setting                  | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |                     Example Value |
|:-------------------------|:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------:|
| `fetching.lookahead_weeks` | How many weeks from today to check for open appointments. E.g. if you want an appointment in the next month, use 4 weeks                                                                                                                                              |                                 4 |
| `fetching.wait_seconds`    | The interval between checks for open appointments. It is best to use a value <= 60                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                10 |
| `fetching.locations`       | Which Global Entry interview locations to check. Accepts many locations for use cases where multiple locations are feasible (e.g. EWR or JFK if you live in NYC). See [here](https://github.com/oliversong/goes-notifier#goes-center-codes) for the full set of codes | `[{ name = "JFK", code = 5140 }]` |
| `sending.to_numbers`       | The phone numbers to send alerts to. Include +1 (or whatever country code)                                                                                                                                                                                            |                  `["+11231231234"]` |


## Development

### Pre-commit hooks
This project uses [pre-commit](https://pre-commit.com) to enforce linting on all commits. Install it with:
```bash
$ poetry run pre-commit install
```

### Formatting
This project uses [black](https://github.com/psf/black) and [flake8](https://flake8.pycqa.org/en/latest/) to enforce a consistent style.
To format the project according to the rules, run:
```bash
make format
```

### Test Mode
Running in test mode will fetch appointments using the settings in `config.toml`, but will not actually send alerts.
Use this when developing to avoid incurring Twilio costs:
```bash
poetry run global-entry-alerter --test 
```