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$jsapi.startSession

This method starts a new session.

Calling the $jsapi.startSession method causes an immediate new session start:

  • The current user request and all bot reactions fall into the new session.
  • The contents of the $session variable are cleared immediately.

Syntax​

The method is called without arguments:

$jsapi.startSession();

Usage details​

In the phone channel, a call to $jsapi.startSession is ignored in the state triggered by the /start pattern. JAICP automatically starts a new session at the beginning of a phone call.

How to use​

New session on dialog start​

require: patternsEn.sc
    module = sys.zb-common

theme: /

    state: Hello
        q!: $regex</start>
        q!: * $hello *
        script:
            $jsapi.startSession();
        random:
            a: Hi! How can I help you?
            a: Pleased to meet you. What’s up?

Creating a new session after a timeout​

In this example, we use the bind function to set up two handlers that will be called on each user request:

  • A postProcess handler that calls the $jsapi.currentTime method and saves its result in $session as the last user activity time.
  • A preProcess handler that calculates the difference between the current time and the last activity time. If it is greater than the specified timeout, the script starts a new session.
init:
    var SESSION_TIMEOUT_MS = 172800000; // Two days

    bind("postProcess", function($context) {
        $context.session.lastActiveTime = $jsapi.currentTime();
    });

    bind("preProcess", function($context) {
        if ($context.session.lastActiveTime) {
            var interval = $jsapi.currentTime() - $context.session.lastActiveTime;
            if (interval > SESSION_TIMEOUT_MS) $jsapi.startSession();
        }
    });