Redmine Reminder Plugin (with Google Chat & Slack support)

This plugin enhances Redmine by adding a powerful reminder feature. It allows users to create scheduled and recurring reminders for projects, which are then sent as notifications to specified Google Chat spaces or Slack channels.

This plugin is based on the original redmine-slack plugin and has been extended to include robust support for Google Chat and a dedicated reminder management system.

Features

• Create reminders for specific projects.
• Schedule reminders for a specific date and time.
• Set up recurring reminders (daily, weekdays, weekly, custom days).
• Link reminders to specific Redmine issues.
• Send notifications to Google Chat and/or Slack.
• Per-project notification settings.
• Multi-language support (English, Vietnamese, Japanese).

Installation

1. Clone the Plugin From your Redmine plugins directory, clone this repository:

   git clone <your-repository-url> redmine_reminder

2. Install Dependencies Ensure you have the httpclient gem. From your Redmine root directory, run:

   bundle install

3. Run Migrations Run the database migration to create the necessary tables for the reminders:

   bundle exec rake redmine:plugins:migrate RAILS_ENV=production

4. Restart Redmine Restart your Redmine application server (e.g., Puma, Unicorn, Passenger) for the changes to take effect. You should see "Redmine Reminder" in Administration > Plugins.

Configuration

1. Set up Custom Fields for Notifications

To tell the plugin where to send notifications for each project, you must create a Project Custom Field.

• Navigate to Administration > Custom fields.
• Click New custom field and select Projects.
• Create the following field:
  • Name: Google Chat Webhook
  • Format: Long text
  • For all projects: Check this box. You can do the same for Slack by creating Slack URL and Slack Channel custom fields if needed.

2. Configure Webhook URL in Project Settings

• Go to a project's Settings tab.
• In the "Custom fields" section, paste the Incoming Webhook URL for your Google Chat space into the Google Chat Webhook field.

3. Set Up Cron Job for Sending Reminders

The plugin relies on a Rake task to check for and send due reminders. You need to set up a cron job to run this task periodically (e.g., every minute).

• Create a Rake task file if it doesn't exist, or simply use the command directly.

• Open your crontab for editing:

  crontab -e

• Add the following line, making sure to replace /path/to/redmine with the absolute path to your Redmine installation:

  * * * * * cd /path/to/redmine && bundle exec rake redmine_reminder:send_reminders RAILS_ENV=production >> log/cron.log 2>&1

  This command runs the task every minute and logs its output to log/cron.log.

• Add the following line, making sure to replace /path/to/redmine with the absolute path to your Redmine installation:

  * * * * * /bin/bash -l -c 'cd /opt/bitnami/redmine && bundle exec rake redmine_reminder:send_reminders RAILS_ENV=production >> log/cron.log 2>&1'

Note on cron environment: The command is wrapped in /bin/bash -l -c '...' to ensure it runs in a login shell. This is crucial because cron jobs run with a minimal environment and often cannot find the bundle command. This wrapper loads your user's shell profile (like .bash_profile or .profile), which sets up the correct PATH for Ruby and Bundler.

Usage

Once configured, a "Reminders" tab will appear in the project menu.

• Click the tab to view, create, edit, and delete reminders.
• When creating a reminder, you can set its content, schedule, and recurrence rules.
• The content field supports Google Chat's formatting syntax.

Google Chat Message Formatting

When writing a reminder's content, you can use the following syntax for formatting in Google Chat:

• *bold text* for bold
• _italic text_ for italics
• ~strikethrough text~ for strikethrough
• <https://example.com|Link Text> for hyperlinks.
• <users/all> to mention everyone in the space.
• <users/[email protected]> to mention a specific person.

Rake Tasks for Maintenance

The plugin provides several Rake tasks for administrative purposes. Run them from your Redmine root directory.

• Send due reminders (the main task for cron):

  bundle exec rake redmine_reminder:send_reminders RAILS_ENV=production

• Test the webhook for a specific project:

  bundle exec rake "redmine_reminder:test_webhook[PROJECT_ID]" RAILS_ENV=production

  Replace PROJECT_ID with the actual ID or identifier of the project.

Troubleshooting

• Reminders not sending?

  1. Check that the project has the Google Chat Webhook custom field correctly configured.
  2. Ensure the reminder is marked as "Active".
  3. Verify that your cron job is running correctly and there are no errors in log/cron.log.
  4. Run the send_reminders task manually and check the output in log/production.log.

• Webhook Errors?

  1. Double-check the webhook URL.
  2. Use the test_webhook task to see if Redmine can reach the URL.
  3. Ensure the bot has permission to post in the Google Chat space.