NOT ALL HAS TO BE AN AI-AGENT! Ever feel like you’re drowning in repetitive tasks? Wish you had a digital buddy to handle the mundane so you could focus on the awesome? That’s where Hubot comes in. And trust me, in 2025, it’s still a powerhouse! Today, I’m breaking down Hubot and the 10 best plugins you *need* in your arsenal.
I’m Alexander Gräf, a full-stack developer, founder, and startup enthusiast. For 20 years, I’ve been diving deep into the world of code, always looking for ways to innovate and streamline processes. If you want to know more about me and what I do, check out my about page and my services.
What the Heck is Hubot Anyway?
Think of Hubot as your company’s chatty, programmable robot assistant. It lives in your chatroom (Slack, Microsoft Teams, whatever you’re using), listening for commands and automating tasks. Need to deploy code? Ask Hubot. Want to pull up the latest server stats? Hubot’s got you. It’s seriously like having an extra pair of hands (or circuits!) on your team.
It’s your code-powered companion for automating all sorts of tasks right from your chat window. You can build a bot that’s tailored to your specific needs and environment. It’s all about making life easier and freeing you up to focus on what matters.
Why Hubot Still Rocks in 2025
Okay, I know what you’re thinking: “Isn’t Hubot, like, old news?” Hear me out. While new technologies emerge, Hubot’s simplicity and extensibility keep it relevant. Its open-source nature means a vibrant community constantly updates and improves it. Plus, its integration with various chat platforms makes it a universal tool. Here’s why it stays winning:
- Simple setup: It’s written in JavaScript, so if you know your way around that, you’re good to go.
- Highly customisable: Because of its open source nature, it provides endless possbilities to change, adapt and modify.
- Super-Extensible: Plugins, plugins, plugins! That’s where the magic happens.
- Ubiquitous Integration: Works with most chat platforms (Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc.).
Getting Started with Hubot Plugins
Installing these plugins is straightforward. For any plugin you want to add:
- In your Hubot project directory, run:
npm install --save plugin-name - Add the plugin to your
external-scripts.jsonfile:["hubot-diagnostics", "hubot-help", "hubot-redis-brain", ...] - Configure any necessary environment variables
- Restart your Hubot instance
The 10 Killer Hubot Plugins You Need in 2025
Alright, let’s get to the good stuff. These are the plugins that’ll turn your Hubot into a lean, mean, automation machine. I’ve handpicked these based on my own experience and what I’ve seen consistently delivering value across various projects.
1. hubot-diagnostics (733,836 weekly downloads)
Link: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hubot-diagnostics
The most widely used Hubot plugin provides essential diagnostic commands to ensure your bot is functioning correctly. This plugin should be considered mandatory for any Hubot installation.
Key Features:
- Simple health checks with
hubot ping - Echo functionality to confirm message passing
- Adapter testing capabilities
- Time reporting
Sample Usage:
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user> hubot ping hubot> PONG |
2. hubot-pugme (31,802 weekly downloads)
Link: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hubot-pugme
Sometimes your team needs a morale boost! This surprisingly popular plugin delivers adorable pug images on demand, making it a favorite across organizations of all sizes.
Key Features:
- Fetch random pug images
- “Bomb” mode delivers multiple pugs at once
- Simple, fun commands that teams love
Sample Usage:
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user> hubot pug me hubot> [delivers random pug image] user> hubot pug bomb 3 hubot> [delivers 3 random pug images] |
3. hubot-help (36,983 weekly downloads)
Link: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hubot-help
As your Hubot instance grows with more plugins, this essential tool helps users discover available commands. The help plugin organizes and presents command documentation clearly.
Key Features:
- List all available commands with
hubot help - Filter help by keyword with
hubot help <query> - Configurable to reply privately or in-channel
- Web interface option for browsing commands
- Ability to hide sensitive commands from general help
Sample Usage:
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user> hubot help hubot> hubot help - Displays all of the help commands hubot> hubot help <query> - Displays all help commands that match <query> |
4. hubot-redis-brain (33,638 weekly downloads)
Link: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hubot-redis-brain
Memory persistence is crucial for any production Hubot deployment. This plugin ensures your bot retains information across restarts by storing its “brain” in Redis.
Key Features:
- Persistent data storage between bot restarts
- Flexible Redis connection configuration
- Support for authentication and secure connections
- Compatible with Redis Cloud, Redis To Go, and other providers
- Automatic integration with Boxen environments
Implementation Tip: Set REDIS_URL environment variable to connect to your Redis instance. For example:
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export REDIS_URL=redis://:password@hostname:port/prefix |
5. hubot-slack (29,484 weekly downloads)
Link: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hubot-slack
For teams using Slack, this official adapter is essential. It enables Hubot to seamlessly integrate with Slack’s features and API.
Key Features:
- Native integration with Slack’s messaging platform
- Support for direct messages, channels, and threads
- Handles file sharing and rich formatting
- Emoji reaction capabilities
- User presence awareness
Setup Tip: Generate a Slack API token from your Slack App settings and set it as HUBOT_SLACK_TOKEN in your environment variables.
6. hubot-auth (112 weekly downloads)
Link: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hubot-auth
Security matters! This plugin adds role-based authentication to Hubot, letting you control who can trigger sensitive commands.
Key Features:
- Role assignment and management
- Command restriction capabilities
- Permission checking for other scripts
- Simple user management interface
Sample Usage:
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user> hubot user2 has admin role hubot> OK, user2 has the admin role |
7. hubot-pager-me (2,985 weekly downloads)
Link: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hubot-pager-me
For DevOps teams, integration with PagerDuty is invaluable. This plugin lets you manage incidents directly from your chat platform.
Key Features:
- Trigger PagerDuty incidents from chat
- Acknowledge and resolve incidents
- View on-call schedules
- Create schedule overrides
- Real-time notifications via webhooks
Sample Usage:
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user> hubot pager trigger ops site is down hubot> :pager: triggered! now assigning it to the right user... hubot> :pager: assigned to ops! |
8. hubot-markov (trending plugin)
Link: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hubot-markov
Add some personality to your bot! This plugin builds a Markov chain model based on chat conversations, enabling your bot to generate human-like text.
Key Features:
- Learns from chat conversations
- Generates random text based on learned patterns
- Forward and backward chaining options
- Configurable response triggers
- Multiple storage backend options
Sample Usage:
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user> hubot markov hubot> [generates random text based on chat history] user> hubot markov let's discuss hubot> let's discuss the deployment schedule for next week's release |
9. hubot-jenkins (classic plugin)
Link: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hubot-jenkins
Though an older plugin, Jenkins integration remains essential for many CI/CD pipelines, making this a staple for development teams.
Key Features:
- Trigger Jenkins builds from chat
- List available jobs
- View build status and details
- Support for parameterized builds
- Last build information retrieval
Sample Usage:
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user> hubot jenkins build project-name hubot> Building project-name #123 user> hubot jenkins list hubot> [lists all available Jenkins jobs] |
10. hubot-cron (utility plugin)
Link: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hubot-cron
Automation is key in DevOps, and this plugin lets you schedule recurring messages and actions using familiar cron syntax.
Key Features:
- Schedule recurring messages
- Standard cron syntax for timing
- List and remove scheduled jobs
- Support for different timezones
- Persistence across restarts (with redis-brain)
Sample Usage:
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user> hubot cron add 0 9 * * 1-5 Good morning team! Daily standup in 15 minutes. hubot> Cron job added! |
Pro Tips for Hubot Plugin Domination
Alright, you’ve got your plugins. Now, how do you truly *master* Hubot? Here are a few golden nuggets I’ve picked up over the years:
- Prioritise Security: Don’t skimp on authentication and authorisation. Protect your sensitive commands!
- Customise Extensively: The real power is in tailoring Hubot to your specific workflows. Experiment and iterate.
- Automate the Mundane: Identify repetitive tasks and automate them with Hubot. Free up your time for more important things.
- Document Everything: Keep your scripts well-documented so you can maintain them easily. Future you will thank you.
- Leverage Internal Links: Integrate Hubot with internal sites like portalZINE to make everything seamless.
Hubot in Action: A Real-World Example
A tech company integrated Hubot (nicknamed “DevBot”) into their Slack workspace to automate key DevOps processes:
- Deployment automation: Simple chat commands trigger complete deployment pipelines
- Real-time monitoring: Quick status checks and proactive alerts for system issues
- On-call management: Easy lookup and rotation of on-call responsibilities
- Knowledge sharing: Instant access to documentation via chat commands
Results included 70% faster deployments, 45% reduction in incident resolution time, faster onboarding, and more time for valuable development work instead of repetitive tasks.
Common Hubot Questions Answered (FAQ)
What programming language is Hubot written in?
Hubot is written in JavaScript. Find out more on JavaScript.com.
Is Hubot still relevant in 2025?
Absolutely! Its flexibility and extensibility keep it a valuable tool for automation. Many development teams continue to use Hubot for workflow automation and DevOps tasks because of its robust plugin ecosystem and ease of customization.
Can I use Hubot with Slack?
Yes, Hubot integrates seamlessly with Slack and other popular chat platforms. The hubot-slack adapter is one of the most downloaded Hubot plugins, making it easy to connect your bot to Slack workspaces. Check out Slack Features for more details.
Where can I find more Hubot plugins?
GitHub is a great resource for finding Hubot plugins. The npm registry also hosts hundreds of Hubot plugins that you can easily install. Explore Hubot Plugins on GitHub or search for “hubot-” on npm.
Does portalZINE support Hubot integrations?
Yes, at portalZINE Services, we can customize Hubot plugins to enhance your project. We currently have a development version of a BOT running on Rocket.Chat, demonstrating our expertise in chatbot integrations. Contact portalZINE for custom Hubot development solutions tailored to your business needs.
Wrapping Up
So, there you have it. Hubot and its amazing ecosystem of plugins are still a force to be reckoned with in 2025. Embrace automation, streamline your workflows, and let Hubot do the heavy lifting. You might be surprised at how much time and energy you save. Now go forth and build awesome things!
Ready to take your automation to the next level? These Hubot and the 10 best plugins are the perfect place to start.
