Chatwoot

Application1024MB+ RAM

Open-source customer engagement platform

Download Server Compass View Documentation

chatcustomer-supportintercom-alternative

Deploy Chatwoot in 3 Steps

Connect Your VPS

Add your server credentials to Server Compass

Select Chatwoot

Choose from our template library

Deploy & Configure

Fill in settings and click Deploy

No Docker knowledge required

Manual Setup Guide

Set Up Chatwoot from Terminal

Get your hands dirty: manual Chatwoot deployment guide for developers.

Connect to Your VPS via SSH

Fire up your terminal application and establish a connection to your remote server.

terminal

# Access your VPS
ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

# With SSH key authentication
ssh -i ~/.ssh/your-private-key root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

First time? Ensure Docker is installed first: curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

Initialize Project Folder

Create a folder to house your Docker Compose configuration.

terminal

# Create and navigate to project directory
mkdir -p ~/apps/chatwoot
cd ~/apps/chatwoot

Create Docker Configuration

Define your services in a docker-compose.yml file:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  chatwoot_setup:
    image: chatwoot/chatwoot:latest
    environment:
      - RAILS_ENV=production
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - SECRET_KEY_BASE=<your-secret-key>
      - FRONTEND_URL=<your-frontend-url>
      - POSTGRES_HOST=db
      - POSTGRES_DATABASE=chatwoot
      - POSTGRES_USERNAME=chatwoot
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<your-db-password>
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
    command: bundle exec rails db:chatwoot_prepare
    restart: "no"
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_started

  chatwoot:
    image: chatwoot/chatwoot:latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - RAILS_ENV=production
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - SECRET_KEY_BASE=<your-secret-key>
      - FRONTEND_URL=<your-frontend-url>
      - POSTGRES_HOST=db
      - POSTGRES_DATABASE=chatwoot
      - POSTGRES_USERNAME=chatwoot
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<your-db-password>
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
    command: bundle exec rails s -p 3000 -b '0.0.0.0'
    volumes:
      - chatwoot_storage:/app/storage
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      chatwoot_setup:
        condition: service_completed_successfully
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_started

  sidekiq:
    image: chatwoot/chatwoot:latest
    environment:
      - RAILS_ENV=production
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - SECRET_KEY_BASE=<your-secret-key>
      - POSTGRES_HOST=db
      - POSTGRES_DATABASE=chatwoot
      - POSTGRES_USERNAME=chatwoot
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<your-db-password>
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
    command: bundle exec sidekiq -C config/sidekiq.yml
    volumes:
      - chatwoot_storage:/app/storage
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      chatwoot_setup:
        condition: service_completed_successfully
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_started

  db:
    image: pgvector/pgvector:pg16
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=chatwoot
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<your-db-password>
      - POSTGRES_DB=chatwoot
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    restart: unless-stopped
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U chatwoot"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 10

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  chatwoot_storage:
  postgres_data:
  redis_data:

Environment Variables

PORTHost port(default: 3000)

FRONTEND_URLFrontend URL

SECRET_KEYSecret key

DB_PASSWORDDB password

Execute the Deployment

Start your containers and verify they're running correctly.

terminal

# Launch the stack
docker compose up -d

# Verify container status
docker compose ps

# Follow the logs
docker compose logs --follow

Allow Network Access

Update UFW rules to allow traffic on the application port.

terminal

# Allow the application port through firewall
sudo ufw allow 3000/tcp
sudo ufw reload

# Access your app at:
# http://your-server-ip:3000

Skip the Terminal

Don't want to type commands? We've got you.

Why type commands when you can click? Deploy Chatwoot the easy way with Server Compass.

No terminal required
Point-and-click setup
Auto SSL certificates
Rolling deployments
Health monitoring
Instant rollbacks

Download Server Compass$29 one-time • Lifetime license

After Deployment

After deploying Chatwoot with Server Compass, complete these steps to finish setup

Complete setup wizard

Create admin account

Configure email channels

Need help? Check out our documentation for detailed guides.

Chatwoot FAQ

Common questions about self-hosting Chatwoot

How do I deploy Chatwoot with Server Compass?

Simply download Server Compass, connect to your VPS, and select Chatwoot from the templates list. Fill in the required configuration and click Deploy. The entire process takes under 3 minutes.

What are the system requirements for Chatwoot?

Chatwoot requires a minimum of 1024MB RAM. We recommend a VPS with at least 2048MB RAM for optimal performance. Any modern Linux server with Docker support will work.

Can I migrate my existing Chatwoot data?

Yes! Server Compass provides volume mapping that allows you to import existing data. You can also use standard Chatwoot backup and restore procedures.

How do I update Chatwoot to the latest version?

Server Compass makes updates easy. Simply click the Update button in your deployment dashboard, and the latest Chatwoot image will be pulled and deployed with zero downtime.

Is Chatwoot free to self-host?

Chatwoot is open-source software. You only pay for your VPS hosting (typically $5-20/month) and optionally Server Compass ($29 one-time). No subscription fees or per-seat pricing.