This Python script monitors a specific course (like "COMMST3029") and alerts you instantly when a spot opens up so you can register before it fills up again!

It works by checking the course site every 10 minutes, then sends a desktop notification and a text message when the course is available.

• Automatically checks the course availability in a loop
• Uses BeautifulSoup to parse the HTML and look for keywords
• Sends SMS notifications via Twilio
• Pops up a desktop notification with details
• Keeps your credentials secure in a .env file

• Python 3.7+
• Twilio account
• Your public course registration URL

1. Clone this repository

   git clone https://github.com/datababedev/CourseNotificationScript.git
   

2. Install required packages

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

3. Create a .env file In the project root, create a file named .env and paste the following:

   COURSE_URL=https://your-college-course-page.com
   COURSE_CODE=COMMST3029
   TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID=your_account_sid
   TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=your_auth_token
   MESSAGING_SERVICE_SID=your_messaging_service_sid
   MY_NUMBER=+12045551234

Don’t share this file! It contains your private API keys and phone number.

Run the script with:

python course_checker.py

You’ll see output like:

Still full... checking again soon.
Still full... checking again soon.
COMMST3029 might be available! Sending notification...
Twilio text sent! SID: SMxxxxxxxxxxxx

• The script sends a request to the course registration page using requests
• It uses BeautifulSoup to parse the HTML and search for your course code
• If the course code is found and doesn't say "Full" nearby:
  • It sends a desktop notification using plyer
  • It sends an SMS alert using Twilio
• The script runs every 10 minutes in a loop until the course becomes available

• Update your Course Code
• Change what the notifications say
• Add a testing feature to test if it works
• Change text notifications to emails or completely change it from SMS to discord or other notification servers
• Remove or update the desktop notifications
• Change the amount of time it takes to refresh the check

Q: Can I use this for a different course?
A: Yes! Just change COURSE_CODE and COURSE_URL in your .env file.

Q: Will this work if the course page is behind a login?
A: No, unfortunately the script can only access publicly available pages.

Q: Can I get email alerts instead of SMS?
A: This version uses Twilio for SMS. You can modify it to use smtplib for email.

Q: Can I run this script on a schedule in the background?
A: Yes! You can use Task Scheduler (Windows) or cron (Mac/Linux) to run it at intervals.

Q: Can I use this without having my laptop running?
A: Not by default. This script runs locally on your computer, so it only works while your laptop is on and the script is running.

If you want it to run 24/7 without keeping your laptop open, you have a few options:

• Host it on a cloud server
• Use a Raspberry Pi or another device that stays on
• Deploy it on AWS Lambda or another serverless platform Let me know what you do!

Join the Discussions to ask questions or suggest features!