Скачать или смотреть How to Properly Add Line Breaks in Curl with JSON Data for Rocket.Chat Messages

Learn how to successfully include line breaks in JSON data when using curl in a bash script to send messages to Rocket.Chat.
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Adding Line Breaks in JSON Data with Curl for Rocket.Chat

If you're working with Rocket.Chat and want to send messages using a bash script, you may quickly encounter the challenge of adding line breaks to your message. The CURL command is a powerful tool that enables you to send data over HTTP, but when it comes to JSON data, special handling is necessary for newline characters to ensure your message gets formatted correctly. In this post, we'll explore the solution to this common problem—helping you efficiently send multi-line messages to your Rocket.Chat instance.

Understanding the Problem

When using a bash script to send messages to Rocket.Chat, you might use a command like this to send a simple message:

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This works perfectly. However, when you try to include a line break in your message like this:

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You might find that your message ends up as:

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The expected line break is missing, causing your message to blend into a single line. So, how do we fix this?

The Solution

To correctly add line breaks in your JSON message, we need to make some adjustments to our bash script. Here’s how you can do it step by step:

Step 1: Modify the read Command

The first step is to modify how the read command handles the input. The problem causing the backslash (\) for the newline character (\n) to vanish is the missing -r flag in the read command. Update your script as follows:

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However, this solution has limitations, as it requires users to pre-escape strings before calling the script, which is cumbersome.

Step 2: Utilize jq for JSON Parsing

A more effective approach is to use the jq command-line tool, which makes it easy to build JSON structures while handling any special characters within your messages. Replace the previous read command with this one:

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Using jq lets you pass strings that can contain newline literals, quotes, backslashes, or any character that needs escaping in JSON.

Step 3: Amend the Calling Convention

Now, when you call your script, you need to format the message in such a way that Bash recognizes the newline character correctly. You can do this by using a special quoting method:

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This $'...' syntax allows for ANSI-C quoting, where escape sequences (like \n) are interpreted correctly.

Conclusion

By following these adjustments, you can successfully send multi-line messages to your Rocket.Chat channels without losing formatting. Implementing these changes ensures that your users can write messages naturally, without needing to worry about escaping characters themselves.

Now you can enhance your communication within Rocket.Chat using fully formatted, multi-line messages sent via Curl!

Summary of Key Steps:

Modify the read command to include -r and handle JSON properly.

Use jq for creating JSON, allowing for flexible content.

Call the script with the $'...' syntax for newline handling.

Now you’re ready to improve your Rocket.Chat messaging experience!