How can we set context variables for IBM Watson from backend

Question

I want to pass some values to frontend in form of context variables in IBM Watson through my Node app. How can I achieve it?

I tried to add the value I want to add to current context variable object and sent that back. Still no help. Is there any way I can do it?

Edit:

Right now, I am adding the required value as a new key-value pair to the context object from Node app as follows.

...
let user_name = "MJ"
context.user_name = user_name
response.send({
    output: output,
    context: JSON.stringfy(context)
})
...

And in Watson Console, in one of the dialogue nodes I have used like,

Hey $user_name, How are you?

But the output I am getting is,

Hey , How are you?

I can see user_name value in the context object, but I can't use it in the way I mentioned above. Is there any other way to do so?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 25 '18 at 18:35

I was having the same problem. My solution was changing the code when you call the IBM server and request .json:

...
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      text,
      context: {username :  variable}, 
...

The username I set in Watson Assistant as well as a context, the variable I used a function to get the name though Query (Because in my application, I am calling the chatbot though an IFrame.), but you can use any variable set on javascript.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 20 '18 at 07:56

You can add any value to the Context object, which can be accessed in your Node.JS app and if you send that value to the front-end, then it should be accessible in the UI as well.

Below I've mentioned a sample welcome response from Conversation service. You can access the Context object from the response of Conversation service and add a new key-value pair to that object. In the response, you'll see that I'm accessing a context variable username that has the value MJ, which has been added dynamically to the context.

`

{
"intents": [],
"entities": [],
"input": {
    "text": ""
},
"output": {
    "text": ["Hello MJ! How can I help you today?"],
    "nodes_visited": ["Conversation Start"],
    "log_messages": []
},
"context": {
    "username": "MJ",
    "conversation_id": "5835fa3b-6a1c-4ec5-92f9-22844684670e",
    "system": {
        "dialog_stack": [{
            "dialog_node": "Conversation Start"
        }],
        "dialog_turn_counter": 1,
        "dialog_request_counter": 1,
        "_node_output_map": {
            "Conversation Start": [0]
        }
    }
}

`

Now to update the context, fetch the response and add a new key-value pair

`

var convResponse = <responseObj from Conversation call>;
var context = convResponse.context;
//add new value to context
context["new_key"] = "new value";

`

Now the next call that you make to Conversation, use this updated context instead of the context you received from the previous call. You can send back the response from Conversation to the front-end as well which can then be shown to the user.

I have added the value and sent the response to the front end. But my doubt is how to use that context variable. I have added more details to the question for better understanding. Could you please have a look once again? — bharadhwaj, Mar 20 '18 at 08:19
You need to use the updated context object for the next Conversation call. Then only those new values will be accessible for the Conversation service to use directly. Every call to Conversation takes the input and the context. You need to use the latest updated context for it to be available with the service. — Mrutyunjaya Jena, Mar 20 '18 at 09:05

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 15 '20 at 15:25

var payload = {
    assistantId: assistantId,
    sessionId: req.body.session_id, 
    context: {
        skills: {
           "main skill": {
              user_defined: {
                 username: 'John Doe'
               }
            }
         }
    },
    input: {
      message_type: 'text',
      text: "blah",
    },
  };

works for me. Seen here: https://medium.com/@pranavbhatia_26901/watson-assistant-v2-context-sharing-3ca18626ed0d

How can we set context variables for IBM Watson from backend

3 Answers3