Self-host ɳChat in 5 minutes

Install the ɳSelf CLI

The ɳSelf CLI manages your backend stack. Install it via Homebrew (macOS / Linux) or download the binary directly.

brew tap nself-org/nself
brew install nself

curl -fsSL https://install.nself.org | sh

Verify: nself --version should output v1.1.0 or later.

Clone the ɳChat repo

ɳChat is an open-source reference app. Clone it and navigate into the backend project.

git clone https://github.com/nself-org/nchat
cd nchat/.backend

The .backend/ directory is an ɳSelf project pre-configured for ɳChat.

Set your ɳChat Bundle key

The ɳChat Bundle ($0.99/mo) enables LiveKit video, recording, bots, and moderation. Skip this step if you only need the free-tier features.

nself license set nself_pro_YOUR_KEY_HERE

Don't have a key? Get the ɳChat Bundle or try the live demo first.

Install the ɳChat plugins

Install the paid plugins your key enables. The nself plugin install command validates your license key server-side and downloads the plugin binaries.

# Full bundle, all 8 paid plugins
nself plugin install chat livekit recording moderation bots realtime auth support

# Or just the basics, free tier
nself plugin install realtime

Build and start

nself build generates a docker-compose.yml from your plugin config and env vars. nself start brings up the full stack.

nself build
nself start

On first boot, ɳSelf runs migrations, seeds the database, and starts Postgres, Hasura, Auth, and Nginx automatically.

Open the ɳChat client

Download the desktop app or open the web client. Point it at your server.