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Self-Hosted Open Source Privacy Communication Business Chat Customer Support

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Last Updated: 07-10-2026 06:42 PM (UTC)

Papercups

Companies with privacy and security concerns about piping customer conversations through Intercom or Zendesk run Papercups - open-source live customer chat. The stack is a deliberate strength: an Elixir/Phoenix API over PostgreSQL, with real-time messaging powered by Phoenix Channels and Presence - the same BEAM foundation trusted by Discord and PagerDuty for fault-tolerant, low-latency messaging. Customers see a customizable chat widget that embeds in any site as an HTML snippet, a React component, or even inside React Native apps, with configurable colors, greetings, and away messages. Your team sees a dashboard for managing conversations - close, assign, and prioritize - with Markdown and emoji in replies. The killer workflow is the reply-channel integration: connect Slack or Mattermost and every customer conversation becomes a synced thread your team answers without leaving the tool they already live in, with two-way message syncing handled by webhooks. Email and SMS channels extend intake beyond the widget, an analytics dashboard tracks communication patterns, and the Storytime feature adds real-time screen sharing to watch users navigate while you help them. A documented API supports fully custom chat UIs in Svelte, Flutter, or Vue. MIT-licensed and GDPR-conscious - customer data stays in your PostgreSQL.

Papercups

Benefits

  • Customer Data Never Leaves
  • Conversations live in your PostgreSQL, not a third-party support cloud - built for GDPR-sensitive teams.
  • Reply From Slack
  • Two-way thread syncing means your team answers customers from Slack or Mattermost without a new tool.
  • Real-Time by Construction
  • Elixir/Phoenix Channels deliver fault-tolerant, low-latency messaging on the BEAM.
  • Widget Anywhere
  • Embed via HTML snippet, React component, or React Native for in-app support.

Features

  • Customizable Chat Widget
  • Configurable colors, greetings, and away messages embedded on any website.
  • Slack and Mattermost Sync
  • Customer conversations become synced threads with two-way replies via webhooks.
  • Conversation Management
  • Close, assign, and prioritize conversations with Markdown and emoji replies.
  • Multi-Channel Intake
  • Live chat, email, and SMS conversations handled in one dashboard.
  • Storytime Screen Sharing
  • Watch and interact with a user's session in real time while supporting them.
  • Hackable API
  • Documented API for building fully custom chat UIs in Svelte, Flutter, or Vue.