Chatwoot

Omnichannel support desk with documented Application, Platform and Client APIs; MIT core, env-configured.

AdaptableOperable Business appWeb app Hybrid RubyJavaScript API License: MIT with enterprise/ under commercial license

Live chat, email, WhatsApp, social and SMS in one inbox, with help center, campaigns, reports and the Captain AI agent. Self-host under MIT (enterprise/ is commercial) and configure through documented env vars. The Builder documents three REST APIs; there is no official MCP, though community wrappers exist.

Use it when

I want WhatsApp, email and website chat in one queue on our own server and our agent drafting replies through the API
I am paying per seat for Intercom or Zendesk and want a flat self-hosted desk

Gotchas

Platform API is self-hosted or managed hosting only, not cloud
enterprise/ directory (Captain and others) is commercially licensed; MIT covers the core
README warns of breakages if channel env vars are not set
1,300+ open issues: large surface, expect rough edges

Last activity Sep 3, 2026. Fit: adaptable 3, operable 3.

Editions

Community (self-hosted) · Free open source

Clonegit clone https://github.com/chatwoot/chatwoot
DeployDeploy
ImageContainer

Cloud · Free closed source

HostedOpen the hosted app

Enterprise (self-hosted) · Free closed source

No distribution recorded.

For agents: JSON · Markdown

Adaptable: what is yours to change

Make it yours

Config only25 things to editadmin-ui surface

The named env vars (.env.example) are deployment configuration: SECRET_KEY_BASE, FRONTEND_URL, POSTGRES_*, REDIS_URL, SMTP_*, inbound-mail ingress, storage and per-channel app ids; only INSTALLATION_NAME/BRAND_NAME/LOGO overrides in config/installation_config.yml touch branding. Business adaptation lives in the admin UI: inboxes and channels, teams and agents, canned responses, macros, automation rules, labels, help center and Captain settings.

Env vars: FRONTEND_URL SECRET_KEY_BASE POSTGRES_HOST POSTGRES_USERNAME POSTGRES_PASSWORD REDIS_URL SMTP_ADDRESS SMTP_USERNAME SMTP_PASSWORD MAILER_SENDER_EMAIL MAILER_INBOUND_EMAIL_DOMAIN RAILS_INBOUND_EMAIL_SERVICE ENABLE_ACCOUNT_SIGNUP FB_APP_ID FB_APP_SECRET SLACK_CLIENT_ID SLACK_CLIENT_SECRET GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID AZURE_APP_ID ACTIVE_STORAGE_SERVICE S3_BUCKET_NAME DEFAULT_LOCALE
Config files: .env.example docker-compose.yaml config/installation_config.yml
Prompt files: none
Accounts you need: SMTP providerMeta developer app (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp)Twilio (SMS, optional)OpenAI (Captain, optional)

Source

github.com/chatwoot/chatwoot
MIT with enterprise/ under commercial license license
Last commit Sep 3, 2026
36,413 stars

Operable: what an agent can drive

Interface

OfficialAPIpublished by the builderremote or local

How an agent can drive an Operable Listing, in five levels: native (built for the agent as the primary interface), official (the Builder ships an agent interface), wrapped (a third party wraps the software's API), config (an agent can only drive it by editing files), gui (screen control only). An interface is official only when it is published by the same organization that ships the software. GUI-level Listings are allowed and sorted last.

Docs: developers.chatwoot.com/api-reference/introduction

Reach

Partial coverage. 6 of 10 jobs reachable through the stated interface.

Job	Through the interface	Evidence
Read and reply to conversations	Reachable	Application API conversations and messages endpoints
Manage contacts and their attributes	Reachable	Application API contacts endpoints
Create and configure inboxes	Reachable	Application API inboxes; Platform API for installation-level setup
Manage agents and teams	Reachable	Application API agents; Platform API users and accounts
Receive events	Reachable	Webhooks documented in the API reference
Run reports (conversation, agent, CSAT)	Undetermined	Not confirmed on the API introduction page; check the Application API reports section
Automation rules, labels, canned responses	Undetermined	Not confirmed on the introduction page
Publish help center articles	Undetermined	Not confirmed on the introduction page
Configure the Captain AI agent	Undetermined	Captain is an enterprise/ feature; API coverage not documented on the intro page
Embed a custom chat widget	Reachable	Client API with inbox_identifier and contact_identifier

Code stack

Languages: RubyJavaScript
Frameworks: Ruby on RailsVue.jsSidekiq
Package manager: bundler + pnpm
Database: PostgreSQLRedis
Hosting target: DockerHerokuDigitalOcean Kubernetes
Built: Human-written (recorded, never ranked)

Model stack

Providers: OpenAI (Captain)
Models: none
Keys you need: none
Prompts live in: none

Evidence and confidence

Field	Where it was seen	Confidence
formFactor	README: Rails app deployed with Docker, Heroku, Kubernetes	95%
executionModel	README Captain AI agent on top of a deterministic desk	80%
operability	developers.chatwoot.com: Application, Client and Platform APIs with access tokens	95%
effort	README Deployment: link to environment-variables docs; .env.example with 120+ named vars	85%
editions	README: MIT core, enterprise/ commercial; chatwoot.com cloud	70%
active	GitHub pushedAt 2026-09-03	–
reach		65%

Open questions

Cloud plan prices and whether a free cloud plan exists
Confirm API coverage for reports, automation rules, labels, canned responses and help center
Which model provider does Captain require?

Sources

github.com/chatwoot/chatwoot sourcing:smb-ops-crm:github
developers.chatwoot.com sourcing:smb-ops-crm:github