Chatwoot is an open-source customer engagement suite that can be self-hosted. This guide will walk you through the steps to deploy Chatwoot using Docker.
What you need
You need an up-to-date version of Docker and Docker Compose, installed on your web-server (e.g., running on Ubuntu 20.04) and a domain, pointed to your server’s IP address.
- Docker installed on your server
- A domain name pointed to your server’s IP address
Note: We’ll use Hetzner Cloud as our hosting provider, but you can use any other provider as well.
Deploy Chatwoot using docker-compose
Step 1: Install Docker on your web-server or virtual machine
Simply copy and paste the code below into your cmd/terminal and follow the instructions.
apt-get update
apt-get upgrade
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
apt install docker-compose-pluginStep 2: Download the required files to run Chatwoot
Next, get the .env and docker-compose.yaml files.
wget -O .env https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chatwoot/chatwoot/develop/.env.example
wget -O docker-compose.yaml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chatwoot/chatwoot/develop/docker-compose.production.yamlStep 3: Tweak the .env and docker-compose.yaml files to your liking
See the available environment variables of Chatwoot. Optionally, remove dependent services like Postgres and Redis in favor of managed services configured via variables.
- .env: Update the redis and postgres passwords
- docker-compose.yaml: Update the same postgres password
nano .env
nano docker-compose.yamlStep 4: Run migrations to prepare the database
Run the migrations using Docker Compose.
docker compose run --rm rails bundle exec rails db:chatwoot_prepareStep 5: Run Docker Compose
Start the service and keep it running.
docker compose up -dStep 6: Configure Nginx
To access Chatwoot through your own domain, you need to configure Nginx to serve as a frontend proxy.
sudo apt-get install nginx
cd /etc/nginx/sites-enabled
nano yourdomain.com.confStep 7: Enter your domain
Change <yourdomain.com> for your domain.
server {
server_name <yourdomain.com>;
set $upstream 127.0.0.1:3000;
underscores_in_headers on;
location /.well-known {
alias /var/www/ssl-proof/chatwoot/.well-known;
}
location / {
proxy_pass_header Authorization;
proxy_pass http://$upstream;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Ssl on;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Connection “”;
proxy_buffering off;
client_max_body_size 0;
proxy_read_timeout 36000s;
proxy_redirect off;
}
listen 80;
}
Example using codecope.org:
server {
server_name codecope.org; # Example
set $upstream 127.0.0.1:3000;
underscores_in_headers on;
location /.well-known {
alias /var/www/ssl-proof/chatwoot/.well-known;
}
location / {
proxy_pass_header Authorization;
proxy_pass http://$upstream;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Ssl on;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Connection “”;
proxy_buffering off;
client_max_body_size 0;
proxy_read_timeout 36000s;
proxy_redirect off;
}
listen 80;
}Step 8: Verify and reload Nginx config
Next, please verify and reload your Nginx config using the following prompt.
nginx -t
systemctl reload nginxStep 9: Install a new SSL certificate
Run Let’s Encrypt to configure SSL certificate using Certbot. Replace yourdomain.com with your own domain.
apt install certbot
apt-get install python3-certbot-nginx
mkdir -p /var/www/ssl-proof/chatwoot/.well-known
certbot --webroot -w /var/www/ssl-proof/chatwoot/ -d yourdomain.com -i nginx
Example using codecope.org:
apt install certbot
apt-get install python3-certbot-nginx
mkdir -p /var/www/ssl-proof/chatwoot/.well-known
certbot --webroot -w /var/www/ssl-proof/chatwoot/ -d codecope.org -i nginx #ExampleCongrats, you’re all set! ✨
FAQ
Chatwoot is an open-source customer engagement platform that provides features like live chat, email management, and social media integrations. It can be used as a help desk, customer support tool, or team collaboration platform.
Yes, Chatwoot is open-source and free to self-host. There’s also a cloud version available with different pricing tiers for businesses that prefer a managed solution.
Minimum requirements:
2GB RAM
1 CPU core
20GB storage
Docker or Ruby on Rails environment
PostgreSQL database
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