Deploy Chatwoot on Your VPS
Deploy Chatwoot on your VPS in one click. Open-source customer engagement — a live-chat widget plus a shared inbox for email, WhatsApp, and Instagram, on PostgreSQL and Redis.
Chatwoot is the open-source alternative to Intercom and Zendesk. Drop a live-chat widget on your site, then handle those conversations in a shared inbox alongside email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Telegram — with canned replies, labels, assignment rules, automations, and reports. Because you host it, your customers' conversations stay on your own server rather than a vendor's.
Vessl deploys the full stack: PostgreSQL with the vector extension, Redis, the Rails app, and the Sidekiq worker that handles email and automations. The database is prepared on first boot, your public URL is wired into invite links and the widget script, and account signup is closed so strangers cannot register on your support desk. Create your admin account on the first visit.
What's included
- Rails + Sidekiq + PostgreSQL + Redis deployed as one working stack
- Live-chat widget plus a shared inbox for email, WhatsApp, and Instagram
- Canned replies, labels, assignment rules, automations, and reports
- Database prepared on first boot — no manual migration step
- Signup closed by default; public URL configured automatically
Common use cases
- Customer support for a product, without a per-agent SaaS bill
- Conversations that must stay on infrastructure you control
- One inbox for a team already juggling email and WhatsApp
Frequently asked questions
Why are there four services?
Chatwoot is a Rails app (the web interface) plus Sidekiq (background jobs — outgoing email, notifications, automations), backed by PostgreSQL and Redis. Skip Sidekiq and nothing that happens in the background ever runs, so it is part of a working install rather than an extra.
Can anyone sign up on my instance?
No. Chatwoot ships with open registration, which on a public URL means strangers can create accounts on your support desk — so this template closes it. Your own first account is still created by the onboarding screen on the first visit, and you invite teammates from inside.
Do I need to run migrations myself?
No. Upstream expects a one-off database prepare before the first boot; this template runs it automatically, and because the task is idempotent it also handles migrations when you move to a newer image.
Ready to ship?
Deploy Chatwoot in under a minute.
Connect your VPS, pick this template, fill in any required fields. Vessl handles the container, SSL, and persistent storage.
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