Chatwoot
Open-source customer support platform with a shared inbox across email, live chat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and more. Self-hosted alternative to Intercom and Zendesk with a clean agent UI
Quick Start
wget -O docker-compose.yaml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chatwoot/chatwoot/develop/docker-compose.production.yaml && cp .env.example .env && docker compose up -d Overview
Chatwoot is an open-source customer support platform that pulls conversations from email, live chat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, and other channels into a single shared inbox. Support teams work from one interface instead of monitoring separate tools per channel. When a customer emails, messages on WhatsApp, and then opens a live chat, agents see the full history across channels in one contact record.
The shared inbox model is the core of how Chatwoot operates. Conversations are assigned to agents or teams, labelled, and moved through statuses. Automation rules handle routine triage: route conversations with specific keywords to a particular team, assign new email conversations to the on-call agent, send a welcome message when a chat starts. The rule builder is event-based and does not require any code.
Contact profiles function like lightweight CRM records. Each contact accumulates conversation history, custom attributes you define, and notes from agents. For small teams handling repeat customers, this means an agent picking up a conversation can see who they are talking to without asking for context that was already provided.
The live chat widget installs with a JavaScript snippet and appears on your site within minutes. Email inboxes connect via IMAP/SMTP. WhatsApp requires a Meta Business API account, which adds a verification step that can take days.
Self-hosting runs on Ruby on Rails with PostgreSQL, Redis, and Sidekiq as dependencies. The Docker Compose setup handles all of this, but the stack is heavier than single-binary alternatives. The community edition covers the core inbox features and is MIT licensed. Some features visible in the cloud version require the paid plan.
Chatwoot: Pros & Cons
| Pros (The Wins) | Cons (The Friction) |
|---|---|
| Omnichannel inbox: Email, chat, WhatsApp, social all in one place. | Heavy Rails stack: PostgreSQL, Redis, Sidekiq; not a single-binary install. |
| Automation rules: Route, label, assign without manual triage. | WhatsApp requires Meta API: Business verification; no direct number connection. |
| CRM-style contacts: Full history and attributes across all channels. | Some features cloud-only: Advanced campaigns and reports gated behind paid plan. |
| 29.8k stars: Active development; large self-hosted community. | Email threading quirks: Inconsistent with some client reply formats. |
Use Cases
Specific ways to use Chatwoot for your workflow.
Deployment Strategy
Recommended ways to host Chatwoot in your own environment.