Bitty 2.0

Python, GitHub Actions, Discord
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Overview

Bitty 2.0 is a complete rewrite of my Bitcoin price notification system, migrating from a Home Assistant integration to a standalone Python bot running serverless on GitHub Actions. The migration fixed critical timing issues, eliminated duplicate notifications, and resolved baseline logic problems that plagued the original implementation.

The bot runs completely serverless, executing every five minutes via scheduled GitHub Actions workflows. It sends Discord notifications for significant Bitcoin price movements with configurable alert thresholds and automatic spam prevention.

Key Features

Smart Timing

Runs every 5 minutes with daily midnight baseline resets

Tiered Alerts

Configurable price bands (5%, 10%, 15%) with escalating notification urgency

Spam Prevention

Intelligent cooldown system prevents duplicate notifications within the same price band

ATH Tracking

Automatic all-time high detection and alerts with celebratory notifications

Summary Reports

Weekly and monthly performance summaries with price statistics and percentage changes

Serverless

Zero infrastructure costs - runs entirely on GitHub Actions free tier

Technical Details

Language Python 3.11+
Platform GitHub Actions (ubuntu-latest)
Schedule Cron: */5 * * * * (Every five minutes)
Price API CoinGecko API (Free Tier)
Notifications Discord Webook API
State Storage GitHub Repository Secrets & Files

Problems Solved

  • Timing Issues: Home Assistant's automation timing was unreliable. Migration to GitHub Actions cron ensures consistent 5-minute intervals.
  • Duplicate Notifications: Fixed baseline reset logic to properly trigger at midnight CST/CDT, eliminating duplicate alerts.
  • Baseline Logic Problems: Rewrote percentage calculation logic to properly handle daily baselines and prevent false positives.
  • Alert Fatigue: Added smart cooldown system that prevents spam while ensuring important price movements aren't missed.

Why Rewrite?

The original Bitty bot was tightly coupled to Home Assistant, which created several limitations:

  • Home Assistant is tied to home network so any network or electric outages inhibit functionality/reliability
  • YAML-based logic became unwieldy for complex price tracking algorithms
  • Testing required full Home Assistant restart cycles
  • State management in Home Assistant was unreliable for financial data
  • Limited observability into what the bot was actually doing

Moving to standalone Python with GitHub Actions provided:

  • Proper version control with Git
  • Easy local testing and debugging
  • Complete control over timing and execution
  • GitHub Actions logs for full observability
  • Zero hosting costs (GitHub Actions free tier)
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