curl - Slack PHP API - Avoid Timeout error

Question

I am trying to use Slack Custom command and not pretty sure how to use delayed messages since the Yoda Speak External API takes more than 3 seconds to respond.

I have done the following:

• Sent the slack command /Yoda in my case and received the reponse_url.
• Used the following to post the following to the response URL.

$data_string = '{"response_type": "in_channel", "text":"Checking,please wait..."}' ;
$chs = curl_init();
curl_setopt($chs, CURLOPT_URL, $response_url);
curl_setopt($chs, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($chs, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data_string); 
curl_setopt($chs, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, FALSE);
curl_setopt($chs, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, FALSE);
curl_setopt($chs, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($chs, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
curl_setopt($chs, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array('Content-Type:application/json'));
$results = curl_exec($chs);

• Now, when I call the Yoda API, it gives the following error "Timeout was reached". I read about delayed responses but not sure how should I proceed from here.

$chsres = curl_init();
curl_setopt($chsres, CURLOPT_URL, "https://yoda.p.mashape.com/yoda?sentence=welcome+to+stack");
curl_setopt($chsres, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, FALSE);
curl_setopt($chsres, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, FALSE);
curl_setopt($chsres, CURLOPT_VERBOSE, true);
curl_setopt($chsres, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 45);
curl_setopt($chsres, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($chsres, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array('Content-Type:application/json', "X-Mashape-Key:> deMeGoBfMvmshQSemozTqJEY9z0jp1eIhuAjsnx9cQAQsHUifD"));
$resultchsres = curl_exec($chsres);
echo $resultchsres;

Can someone please let me know how to get rid of the timeout error using delayed responses?

UPDATED CODE:

$response_url = $_POST['response_url'];
$text = $_POST['text'];

$term = str_replace(' ', '+', $text);

//https://paypal.slack.com/services/B0VQMHX8W#service_setup
//initial respond with 200OK for timeout
ignore_user_abort(true);
set_time_limit(0);
ob_start();
echo('{"response_type": "in_channel", "text": "Checking, please wait..."}');
header($_SERVER["SERVER_PROTOCOL"] . " 200 OK");
header("Content-Type: application/json");
header('Content-Length: '.ob_get_length());
ob_end_flush();
ob_flush();
flush();


    $chsres = curl_init();
    curl_setopt_array($chsres, array(
        CURLOPT_URL => "https://yoda.p.mashape.com/yoda?sentence=$term",
        CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER => FALSE,
        CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST => FALSE,
        CURLOPT_VERBOSE => true,
        CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => FALSE,
        CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => array('Content-Type:application/json', "X-Mashape-Key: deMeGoBfMvmshQSemozTqJEY9z0jp1eIhuAjsnx9cQAQsHUifD"),
        CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true
    ));
    $yodaresponse = curl_exec($chsres);

    $curl = curl_init();
    curl_setopt_array($curl, array(
        CURLOPT_URL => $response_url,
        CURLOPT_POST => 1,
        CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
        CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => $yodaresponse
    ));

    $resp = curl_exec($curl);
    var_dump($resp);
    curl_close($curl);

I still get the same error "Darn – that slash command didn't work (error message: Timeout was reached). Manage the command at slash-command"

Answer 1

You're doing all the right things, just need to change the order.

1. Respond to the original request with a 200 OK response immediately. See this answer for details, but essentially:

   ignore_user_abort(true);
   ob_start();
   echo('{"response_type": "in_channel", "text": "Checking, please wait..."}');
   header($_SERVER["SERVER_PROTOCOL"] . " 200 OK");
   header("Content-Type: application/json");
   header('Content-Length: '.ob_get_length());
   ob_end_flush();
   ob_flush();
   flush();
   

2. Then make the Yoda API request using curl, as you're doing

3. Once you have the Yoda results, send them to Slack at $response_url using curl, as you're doing.