the initial simple stub code

.gitignore

@@ -56,4 +56,4 @@ typings/
 
 # dotenv environment variables file
 .env
-
+.env.local

README.md

@@ -1,2 +1,70 @@
 # fb-bot-stub
-Stub Implementation of a facebook messenger bot
+
+Stub Implementation for a facebook messenger bots using [`serverless`](https://serverless.com) deployment to AWS.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+* one facebook page per `stage` (must not be published when developing)
+* one facebook app configured with *Messenger* per `stage` (can be test app)
+* facebook page access token generated for the app in the Messenger configuration per `stage`
+* create `.env` file:
+```
+FB_MESSENGER_VERIFICATION_TOKEN=verfification-token-of-your-choosing
+FB_PAGE_ACCESS_TOKEN=token-generated-for-app
+```
+
+**NOTES:**
+
+* For `serverless` deployment to AWS you need an AWS account and user credentials for programmatic access with admin permissions set up
+* If you want different settings for local development and the deployment `stage` also create `.env.local` containing settings for local development.
+* If you want to have more than one deployment `stage` you should consider using the [`serverless-env-generator`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/serverless-env-generator) and do not use a manually edited `.env` file.
+
+## Local developmenent
+
+Start the local development server (powered by [`serverless-local-dev-server`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/sserverless-local-dev-server)):
+
+```
+npm start
+```
+
+Use something like [`forward`](https://forwardhq.com/) making you local server accessible on the internet:
+
+```
+forward 5005
+```
+
+Then configure the webhook for the facebook app using `https://<your-forward-subdomain>.fwd.wf/http/fbmessenger` using the `FB_MESSENGER_VERIFICATION_TOKEN` set in your `.env` or`.env.local` file
+
+## Deployment
+
+You may want to edit the `serverless.yml` to your liking for customizing
+* `service` name
+* AWS `region`
+* AWS `profile` name
+* etc.
+
+or for adding additional
+* resources
+* AWS Lambda functions
+
+You should not (have) change the AWS Lambda function configurations for the messenger bot (`FBMessengerBotMain`, `FBMessengerBotVerify`).
+
+To deploy to the default `stage` run:
+```
+npm run deploy
+```
+or if you want to use a different `stage`
+```
+npm run deploy -- --stage production
+```
+
+**Notes:**
+
+* the default deployment `stage` is set to `development`
+* the default AWS `profile` name used for deployment is set to `<service-name>-<stage>`, e.g. `fb-bot-stub-development`
+* so you need to have an AWS `profile` with that name configured using the appropriate AWS user credentials
+
+## TODOs
+
+* Implement your own logic
+* etc.