AWS News Feed to Google Chat Notifier

AWS News Feed to Google Chat Notifier

A serverless AWS Lambda function that automatically fetches AWS news updates and sends daily notifications to Google Chat spaces.

Overview

This solution monitors the AWS "What's New" RSS feed and sends a daily digest of new announcements to a Google Chat space. It filters updates from the last 24 hours and formats them for easy reading in chat.

Features

• Automated Daily Updates: Fetches AWS news from the official RSS feed
• Smart Filtering: Only sends updates from the last 24 hours
• Google Chat Integration: Posts formatted messages to Google Chat spaces
• Serverless Architecture: Runs on AWS Lambda with minimal infrastructure
• Error Handling: Comprehensive logging and error management
• Cost Effective: Pay-per-execution model with minimal resource usage

Architecture

CloudWatch Events (Daily Trigger) → AWS Lambda → Google Chat Webhook
                                        ↓
                                   AWS RSS Feed

Prerequisites

• AWS Account with Lambda access
• Google Chat space with webhook configured
• Python 3.12+ runtime environment
• AWS CLI configured (for deployment)

Setup Instructions

1. Google Chat Webhook Setup

1. Open Google Chat and navigate to your target space
2. Click on the space name → Manage webhooks
3. Click Add webhook
4. Provide a name (e.g., "AWS News Bot")
5. Copy the webhook URL (starts with https://chat.googleapis.com/v1/spaces/)

2. Deploy Lambda Function

Option A: Using AWS CLI

# Build deployment package
./build.sh

# Create Lambda function
aws lambda create-function \
  --function-name aws-news-notifier \
  --runtime python3.14 \
  --role arn:aws:iam::YOUR_ACCOUNT:role/lambda-execution-role \
  --handler lambda_function.lambda_handler \
  --zip-file fileb://lambda-deployment.zip \
  --environment Variables='{WEBHOOK_URL=YOUR_GOOGLE_CHAT_WEBHOOK_URL}'

Option B: Using AWS Console

1. Navigate to the AWS Lambda console
2. Click Create function
3. Choose Author from scratch
4. Function name: aws-news-notifier
5. Runtime: Python 3.14
6. Upload the lambda-deployment.zip file
7. Set the environment variable WEBHOOK_URL with your Google Chat webhook URL

3. Configure Scheduled Execution

Using EventBridge (CloudWatch Events)

# Create a rule for daily execution at 9 AM UTC
aws events put-rule \
  --name aws-news-daily \
  --schedule-expression "cron(0 9 * * ? *)"

# Add Lambda as target
aws events put-targets \
  --rule aws-news-daily \
  --targets "Id"="1","Arn"="arn:aws:lambda:REGION:ACCOUNT:function:aws-news-notifier"

# Grant permission
aws lambda add-permission \
  --function-name aws-news-notifier \
  --statement-id aws-news-daily \
  --action lambda:InvokeFunction \
  --principal events.amazonaws.com \
  --source-arn arn:aws:events:REGION:ACCOUNT:rule/aws-news-daily

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Required	Example
WEBHOOK_URL	Google Chat webhook URL	Yes	https://chat.googleapis.com/v1/spaces/...

Lambda Configuration

• Runtime: Python 3.14
• Memory: 128 MB (minimum)
• Timeout: 30 seconds
• Architecture: x86_64

Usage

Manual Execution

# Test the function
aws lambda invoke \
  --function-name aws-news-notifier \
  --payload '{}' \
  response.json

Scheduled Execution

The function runs automatically based on the configured EventBridge rule. The default schedule is daily at 9 AM UTC.

Message Format

The Google Chat message includes:

• Number of new updates
• Bulleted list of update titles
• Direct links to each announcement

Example output:

AWS Daily Updates (3 new):

• Amazon EC2 now supports new instance types
https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/...

• AWS Lambda adds support for Python 3.11
https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/...

Monitoring & Troubleshooting

CloudWatch Logs

Monitor function execution in CloudWatch Logs:

• Log group: /aws/lambda/aws-news-notifier
• Check for parsing errors or webhook failures

Common Issues

1. No messages received

   • Verify webhook URL is correct
   • Check Lambda execution logs
   • Ensure the function has internet access

2. SSL Certificate errors

   • Function includes SSL context workaround
   • Check network connectivity

3. Rate limiting

   • AWS RSS feed has built-in rate limiting
   • Function includes appropriate delays

Cost Estimation

• Lambda: ~$0.01/month (daily execution)
• CloudWatch Logs: ~$0.50/month (standard retention)
• EventBridge: Free tier covers daily triggers

Total estimated cost: < $1/month

Security Considerations

• Store webhook URL as environment variable (encrypted at rest)
• Use least privilege IAM role
• Enable CloudTrail for audit logging
• Consider VPC deployment for enhanced security

Development

Local Testing

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Set environment variable
export WEBHOOK_URL="your_webhook_url"

# Run locally
python lambda_function.py

Customization Options

• Frequency: Modify EventBridge schedule expression
• Content Filtering: Add keyword filters in lambda_function.py
• Message Format: Customize message template
• Multiple Channels: Add support for multiple webhook URLs

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Test changes locally
4. Submit a pull request with a description

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Support

For issues and questions:

• Check CloudWatch logs for errors
• Review AWS Lambda documentation
• Open GitHub issue with error details

GitHub Link

https://github.com/prashantgupta123/devops-automation/tree/main/aws-news