Configuration

Before starting the project, there are a few things that need to be configured, such as session storage backend, USSD gateway, and pagination.

Session storage

Ananse supports several backends for storing user sessions - in memory, Redis, MySQL and Postgres. In-memory session storage is used by default but can be changed to another backend. The session storage can be configured using the session option in the configure method.

import { Ananse } from "ananse";

const ananse = new Ananse().configure({
  session: { type: "redis" }, // Database to store session data. Eg. mysql, postgres and redis
  ...
});

export default ananse;

Below is a list of supported session storage backends:

• memory - In-memory session storage
• redis - Redis session storage
• mysql - MySQL session storage
• postgres - Postgres session storage

Refer to session storage guide on how to create a custom session storage.

USSD Gateway

Ananse can be configured to support any USSD gateway. The USSD gateway to use can be configured using the gateway option in the configure method.

const ananse = new Ananse().configure({
  gateway: "hubtel", // USSD gateway to use, eg. hubtel, africas_talking.
  ...
});

Below is a list of supported USSD gateways:

Gateway	Key	Supported
Wigal USSD v1	wigal	✅
Wigal USSD v2		❌
Emergent Technology USSD	emergent_technology	✅
AfricasTalking USSD		❌

Is your USSD gateway not supported? Feel free to open an issue or create a pull request to add support for it.

Middlewares

Ananse supports middleware, which are custom classes, that can access the request and response object in the application’s request-response cycle. The USSD gateways are implemented as middleware classes. Middleware can perform the following tasks:

• Execute any code.
• Make changes to the request and the response objects.
• End the request-response cycle.

Middleware can be added to the application using the middlewares option in the configure method.

const ananse = new Ananse().configure({
  middlewares: [MyCustomGateway, MyOtherMiddleware],
  ...
});

danger

The order in which middleware are added is important. Middleware are executed in the order they are added.

Pagination

Pagination is enabled by default, it is triggered if the menu content exceeds the *182 character limit. Set the enabled option to false to disable pagination. The navigation options can be configured using the pagination option in the configure method.

const ananse = new Ananse().configure({
  pagination: {
    enabled: true,
    nextPage: {
      display: "*. More",
      choice: "*",
    },
    previousPage: {
      display: "#. Back",
      choice: "#",
    },
  },
  ...
});