Weather Information Fetcher

Fetches current weather data for any city using OpenWeatherMap API.

Dependencies

• curl or wget for HTTP requests
• OpenWeatherMap API key (free registration at openweathermap.org)
• Environment variable: OPENWEATHER_API_KEY

Installation

1. Sign up for API key at https://openweathermap.org/api
2. Set environment variable: export OPENWEATHER_API_KEY=your_api_key
3. Ensure curl is installed: which curl

Usage

1. When user asks for weather information for a specific city
2. Extract the city name from the request
3. Make API call: curl "http://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=CITY&appid=$OPENWEATHER_API_KEY&units=metric"
4. Parse the JSON response and format for user
5. Handle errors gracefully if city not found or API unavailable

Examples

bash
# Example API call
curl "http://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=London&appid=your_api_key&units=metric"

Expected response includes temperature, description, humidity, and pressure.

Error Handling

• No API key: Prompt user to set OPENWEATHER_API_KEY environment variable
• City not found: Return "City not found, please check spelling"
• API down: Fallback to generic message "Weather service temporarily unavailable"
• Network error: Retry once, then inform user of connection issue

Limitations

• Requires internet connection
• API has rate limits (1000 calls/day for free tier)
• Only supports current weather (not forecasts)
• City names must be in English

Troubleshooting

If you get "unauthorized" error:

1. Verify API key is correct
2. Check if key is activated (can take up to 10 minutes)
3. Ensure environment variable is set properly