Creating a LINE Chatbot Using Laravel

Creating a LINE Chatbot involves several steps, including setting up a LINE Developer account, creating a Messaging API bot, and developing the bot using a backend framework like Laravel, Node.js, or Python. Here’s how you can do it step by step:

---

1. Create a LINE Developer Account

1. Go to LINE Developers Console
2. Sign in with your LINE account.
3. Create a Provider (a group for your chatbots and services).

---

2. Create a LINE Messaging API Bot

1. In the LINE Developers Console, click “Create a new channel” under the Messaging API.
2. Fill in details such as:
   • App name
   • Profile image
   • Description
3. Enable “Use Webhook” (important for receiving messages).
4. Copy these credentials from the “Basic settings” tab:
   • Channel Secret
   • Channel Access Token (Click “Issue” to generate it)

---

3. Setup Webhook & Backend (Laravel Example)

You need a backend server to process messages. You can use Laravel:

Install Laravel & LINE SDK

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel line-bot
cd line-bot
composer require linecorp/line-bot-sdk

Configure .env

Add your LINE credentials:

LINE_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_channel_access_token
LINE_SECRET=your_channel_secret

Create a Controller

Run:

php artisan make:controller LineBotController

Edit app/Http/Controllers/LineBotController.php:

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use LINE\LINEBot;
use LINE\LINEBot\HTTPClient\CurlHTTPClient;
use LINE\LINEBot\MessageBuilder\TextMessageBuilder;

class LineBotController extends Controller
{
    private $bot;

    public function __construct()
    {
        $httpClient = new CurlHTTPClient(env('LINE_ACCESS_TOKEN'));
        $this->bot = new LINEBot($httpClient, ['channelSecret' => env('LINE_SECRET')]);
    }

    public function webhook(Request $request)
    {
        $events = $request->all();

        foreach ($events['events'] as $event) {
            $replyToken = $event['replyToken'];
            $message = new TextMessageBuilder("Hello! You said: " . $event['message']['text']);
            $this->bot->replyMessage($replyToken, $message);
        }

        return response()->json(['status' => 'ok']);
    }
}

Setup Routes

Edit routes/web.php:

use App\Http\Controllers\LineBotController;

Route::post('/webhook', [LineBotController::class, 'webhook']);

---

4. Deploy Your Laravel App

• Deploy on VPS, AWS, or Cloud hosting (Make sure your app is accessible online).
• Use Ngrok if testing locally: ngrok http 8000 Copy the public URL and set it as your Webhook URL.

---

5. Set Webhook URL in LINE Console

1. Go to Messaging API settings in LINE Developer Console.
2. Set Webhook URL to: https://your-domain.com/webhook
3. Click “Verify” (It should say “Success”).

---

6. Test Your Bot

1. Add your bot as a friend in LINE.
2. Send a message like “Hello”.
3. Your bot should reply with “Hello! You said: Hello”.

---

Next Steps

• Improve your bot with rich messages, carousels, and buttons.
• Integrate AI/NLP for smart replies.
• Store chat logs in a database.