explaingit

kdar/fbpoke

Analysis updated 2026-07-17 · repo last pushed 2012-07-04

5JavaScriptAudience · generalComplexity · 1/5DormantSetup · moderate

TLDR

A joke automation script that logs into Facebook and automatically pokes back anyone who pokes you, built with PhantomJS from the era when poking was popular.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Auto pokes back on Facebook
      Logs in with credentials
      Runs via PhantomJS
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      PhantomJS
    Use cases
      Get back at a poking friend
      Fun automation experiment
      Study old browser automation
    Audience
      Hobbyist tinkerers

Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Automatically poke back a friend who keeps poking you on Facebook

USE CASE 2

Study a minimal example of headless-browser automation using PhantomJS

USE CASE 3

Explore how old Facebook automation scripts logged in and interacted with the site

What is it built with?

JavaScriptPhantomJS

How does it compare?

kdar/fbpoke00kaku/wp-rest-playgroundchalarangelo/mini-active-record
Stars555
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Last pushed2012-07-04
MaintenanceDormant
Setup difficultymoderatehardeasy
Complexity1/53/51/5
Audiencegeneraldevelopervibe coder

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Relies on PhantomJS, which is no longer maintained and likely won't run on Facebook's current site.

In plain English

This is a small automation tool that automatically pokes people back on Facebook, so you don't have to do it manually. If someone keeps poking you as a joke or to get your attention, this script will poke them back automatically whenever they poke you. The way it works is straightforward: the script logs into your Facebook account using your email and password, then watches for incoming pokes and responds by sending pokes back. It uses a tool called PhantomJS, which is basically a headless browser, think of it as a web browser that runs without a visual window, so a computer can automate clicking and typing on websites the way a human would. To use it, you run the script from your computer's command line and provide your Facebook email and password as arguments. Alternatively, if you're not comfortable passing your credentials as a command-line argument, you can edit the script file directly and hardcode your login information. Then PhantomJS launches, logs in as you, and sits there automatically responding to pokes. This is a joke project from back when Facebook's "poke" feature was more commonly used (it's less popular now). It's the kind of thing someone might have written to get back at a friend who kept poking them repeatedly, or just to have fun with automation. The project is very minimal, just a few lines of code, and probably hasn't been maintained in years, since PhantomJS itself is no longer actively developed and Facebook's interface has changed significantly. If someone wanted to actually run this today, they'd likely run into compatibility issues.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Explain how this script uses PhantomJS to log into Facebook and detect incoming pokes
Prompt 2
What would need to change to make this script work with a modern headless browser instead of PhantomJS?
Prompt 3
Rewrite this poke-back automation using a currently maintained browser automation tool

Frequently asked questions

What is fbpoke?

A joke automation script that logs into Facebook and automatically pokes back anyone who pokes you, built with PhantomJS from the era when poking was popular.

What language is fbpoke written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, PhantomJS.

Is fbpoke actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2012-07-04).

How hard is fbpoke to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is fbpoke for?

Mainly general.

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