How to Install Chatwoot on Ubuntu VPS

This article provides a guide for how to install Chatwoot on Ubuntu VPS server.

What is Chatwoot?

Chatwoot is an open-source customer engagement platform that helps businesses manage customer communication across various channels. It acts as a unified inbox for handling customer queries, providing tools to engage with customers more effectively and efficiently.

Key Features

1. Unified Inbox:
   Manage conversations from multiple channels, including:
   • Email
   • SMS
   • Live chat on websites
   • Social media (Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram)
   • Messaging platforms (Telegram, Slack, etc.)
2. Real-Time Chat:
   Provide live chat support directly on your website or app, ensuring instant communication with visitors.
3. Automations and Workflows:
   Automate repetitive tasks like assigning conversations to agents, sending responses, or closing tickets.
4. Customizable and Scalable:
   Customize workflows, themes, and branding. Being open-source, it allows developers to tweak and expand the functionality to suit business needs.
5. Multilingual Support:
   Supports multiple languages, making it ideal for global businesses.
6. Reporting and Analytics:
   Gain insights into customer interactions, agent performance, and key metrics to improve your service.
7. Role-Based Access:
   Define roles for team members (e.g., admin, agent) and control access to features.
8. Integrations:
   Seamlessly integrate with other platforms like CRMs, help desks, and automation tools.
9. Self-Hosted Option:
   You can deploy it on your own infrastructure for complete data control or use their cloud-hosted service.

Who Can Use Chatwoot?

Chatwoot is designed for:

• Customer Support Teams: To manage inquiries across platforms.
• Sales Teams: To engage with prospects via live chat or social media.
• Startups and SMEs: Who need an affordable, flexible customer service solution.
• Developers: Interested in building or customizing customer engagement tools.

Benefits

• Cost-Effective: As an open-source solution, it can be self-hosted to reduce operational costs.
• Enhanced Customer Experience: Centralized and responsive communication leads to improved customer satisfaction.
• Data Privacy: Self-hosting ensures full control over customer data, adhering to privacy regulations.

Chatwoot competes with other customer support tools like Zendesk, Intercom, and Freshdesk but stands out due to its open-source nature and flexibility.

Pre-requisites

Supported Linux distribution​

• Ubuntu (20.04/22.04/24.04)

Installation of Chatwoot is possible on most Unix environments, but not officially supported.​

Storage​

The necessary hard drive space largely depends on your usage, the size and number of attachments that you receive through your conversations etc.

CPU​

CPU requirements are dependent on the usage and expected workload. Your workload is influenced by factors such as – but not limited to – how active your users are, how many conversations do you receive and the conversation channels which you are using.

The following is the recommended minimum CPU hardware guidance for a handful of example Chatwoot conversation base sizes.

• 4 cores is the recommended minimum number of cores and supports up to 10,000 conversations a day.
• 8 cores supports up to 20,000 conversations a day.
• More conversations? Consider scaling horizontally by adding more application servers.

Memory​

Memory requirements are dependent on the usage and expected workload. Your workload is influenced by factors such as – but not limited to – How active your users are, how many conversations do you receive and the conversation channels which you are using.

The following is the recommended minimum Memory hardware guidance for a handful of example Chatwoot conversation base sizes.

• 4GB RAM is the required minimum memory size and supports up to 10,000 conversations a day.
  • we are always working to reduce the memory requirement.
• 8GB RAM supports up to 20,000 conversations a day.
• More conversations? Consider scaling horizontally by adding more application servers.

Note: Add at least 1GB of swap memory to the machine to ensure that the machine doesn’t run out of resources during an upgrade.

Step-by-Step Guide to Install Chatwoot on Ubuntu VPS

Chatwoot is an open-source customer engagement platform that can be self-hosted. Follow this guide to install Chatwoot on Ubuntu VPS.

Step 1: Update and Prepare Your VPS

1. Log in to Your VPS:
   Use SSH to access your VPS:

   ssh username@your_vps_ip

2. Update the System:
   Update your Ubuntu package lists and upgrade installed packages.

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

3. Install Essential Tools:
   Install necessary dependencies like curl, git, and build-essential.

   sudo apt install curl git build-essential -y

Step 2: Install PostgreSQL

1. Install PostgreSQL:
   Chatwoot requires PostgreSQL as its database.

   sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib -y

2. Set Up a Database and User for Chatwoot:
   Switch to the PostgreSQL user and create a database and user.

   sudo -i -u postgres psql

   Run the following commands inside the psql shell:

   CREATE DATABASE chatwoot_db; CREATE USER chatwoot_user WITH PASSWORD 'your_secure_password'; ALTER ROLE chatwoot_user SET client_encoding TO 'utf8'; ALTER ROLE chatwoot_user SET default_transaction_isolation TO 'read committed'; ALTER ROLE chatwoot_user SET timezone TO 'UTC'; GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE chatwoot_db TO chatwoot_user; \q

   Exit the PostgreSQL user:

   exit

Step 3: Install Redis

Redis is used for background job processing and caching.

sudo apt install redis -y
sudo systemctl enable redis
sudo systemctl start redis

Step 4: Install Node.js

1. Add the NodeSource Repository:

   curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -

2. Install Node.js and Yarn:

   sudo apt install nodejs -y npm install --global yarn

Step 5: Install Ruby

Chatwoot is built on Ruby on Rails, so Ruby is essential.

1. Install RVM (Ruby Version Manager):

   sudo apt install gnupg2 -y curl -sSL https://rvm.io/mpapis.asc | gpg --import - curl -sSL https://rvm.io/pkuczynski.asc | gpg --import - curl -sSL https://get.rvm.io | bash -s stable

2. Add User to RVM group:

   sudo usermod -aG rvm root

3. Load RVM:

   source /etc/profile.d/rvm.sh

4. Install Ruby:

   rvm install 3.2.2 rvm use 3.2.2 --default ruby -v

Step 6: Clone Chatwoot Repository

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/chatwoot/chatwoot.git cd chatwoot

2. Install Dependencies:

   bundle install yarn install

Step 7: Configure Chatwoot

1. Set Environment Variables:
   Create an .env file and populate it with the necessary configuration.

   cp .env.example .env nano .env

   Update the file with your database credentials and other configurations:

   POSTGRES_HOST=localhost POSTGRES_PORT=5432 POSTGRES_USERNAME=chatwoot_user POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your_secure_password POSTGRES_NAME=chatwoot_db

2. Run Database Migrations:

   rails db:setup

Step 8: Precompile Assets

rails assets:precompile RAILS_ENV=production

Step 9: Start Chatwoot

1. Start the Application:

   foreman start -f Procfile.dev

2. Access Chatwoot:
   Open your browser and navigate to http://your_vps_ip:3000.

Step 10: Set Up Reverse Proxy (Optional)

For production deployment, set up a reverse proxy using Nginx.

1. Install Nginx:

   sudo apt install nginx -y

2. Configure Nginx:
   Create a new configuration file:

   sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/chatwoot

   Add the following content:

   server { listen 80; server_name your_domain_or_ip; location / { proxy_pass http://localhost:3000; proxy_http_version 1.1; proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade; proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade'; proxy_set_header Host $host; proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade; } }

3. Enable the Configuration:

   sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/chatwoot /etc/nginx/sites-enabled sudo nginx -t sudo systemctl restart nginx

4. Access the Application:
   Navigate to http://your_ip_address:3000.

Step 11: Secure with SSL (Optional but Recommended)

1. Install Certbot:

   sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

2. Obtain an SSL Certificate:

   sudo certbot --nginx -d your_domain

3. Verify SSL Setup:
   Access your site at https://your_domain.

Conclusion

You now know how to install Chatwoot on Ubuntu VPS. Configure further settings within the Chatwoot dashboard to tailor it to your requirements.