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nself-chat Documentation Wiki

Welcome to the nself-chat documentation! A production-ready, white-label team communication platform with multi-platform support (Web, iOS, Android, Desktop).

Version: 1.0.0 | Status: Production Ready | Last Updated: April 17, 2026

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Plugin Requirements

ɳChat's advanced features run on the nChat pro plugin bundle (7 plugins: chat, livekit, recording, moderation, bots, realtime, auth). See nChat Bundle for full install, env-var, and feature-detection reference.

Advanced features also leverage generic ɳSelf Pro Plugins: AI moderation, analytics, Stripe billing, GDPR/HIPAA compliance, live streaming, and more.

Pro Plugins license: starting at $0.99/month ($9.99/year) at nself.org/pricing. Set NSELF_PLUGIN_LICENSE_KEY in your backend .env and nself start installs them automatically.

Without a license: core messaging, auth, storage, and search work using the 15 free plugins. You can also implement any Pro Plugin's functionality as a Custom Service (CS_1–CS_10).

See the live demo. It runs the full stack with Pro Plugins active.

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🚀 Quick Start

New to nself-chat? Start here:

1. Quick Start Guide - Get running in 5 minutes
2. Installation Guide - Detailed setup instructions
3. Quick Reference - Common commands cheat sheet

Already familiar? Jump to:

• Architecture Overview - System design and structure
• Deployment Guide - Production deployment
• API Reference - Complete API documentation

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🏗️ Project Structure (v1.0.0)

nself-chat follows the nself-family clean organization pattern:

nself-chat/
├── backend/              # ɳSelf CLI backend infrastructure
│   ├── db/
│   │   └── migrations/   # Database migrations (incl. per-app RBAC)
│   ├── hasura/          # GraphQL metadata
│   └── README.md        # Backend documentation
├── frontend/            # Clean flat structure
│   ├── src/            # Source code
│   │   ├── app/        # Next.js App Router
│   │   ├── components/ # React components
│   │   ├── hooks/      # Custom hooks (incl. useAppPermissions)
│   │   ├── contexts/   # React contexts
│   │   ├── graphql/    # GraphQL queries (incl. RBAC)
│   │   ├── types/      # TypeScript types (incl. RBAC)
│   │   └── lib/        # Utilities
│   ├── platforms/      # Multi-platform builds
│   │   ├── mobile/     # Capacitor (iOS + Android)
│   │   └── desktop/    # Electron (Windows + macOS + Linux)
│   ├── public/         # Static assets
│   ├── tests/          # Jest + Playwright tests
│   └── README.md       # Frontend documentation
└── .wiki/              # Complete documentation (this folder)
    ├── ARCHITECTURE.md      # **NEW** - Monorepo setup guide
    └── ...

Key Features:

• ✅ Clean flat structure (nself-family pattern)
• ✅ "One of Many" Monorepo Compatible - Can run standalone or with other apps
• ✅ Per-App RBAC - Users can have different roles across apps
• ✅ Shared authentication with SSO
• ✅ Multi-platform support (Web, iOS, Android, Desktop)

Per-app RBAC/ACL system enables users to have different roles in different applications sharing the same backend. See ARCHITECTURE.md for monorepo setup.

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📖 Documentation Sections

🎯 Getting Started

Essential guides for new users:

• Quick Start - 5-minute setup
• Installation - Detailed installation guide
• Configuration - Environment variables and settings
• Quick Reference - Command cheat sheet

🎨 Features

Explore what nself-chat can do:

• Features Overview - Complete feature list
• Authentication System - 11 OAuth providers + 2FA
• End-to-End Encryption (coming soon) - Signal Protocol implementation
• Voice & Video Calls (coming soon) - WebRTC + LiveKit
• Search (coming soon) - MeiliSearch integration
• Messaging - Advanced messaging features
• White-Label - Branding and customization

📱 Platform Guides

Build for specific platforms:

• Web App (coming soon) - Next.js 15 web application
• Mobile Apps (coming soon) - iOS and Android (Capacitor)
• Desktop Apps (coming soon) - Windows, macOS, Linux (Electron)
• Multi-Platform Deployment (coming soon) - Deploy to all platforms

🔧 Development

For contributors and developers:

• Contributing Guide - How to contribute
• Architecture Overview - System design
• Code Standards (coming soon) - Coding conventions
• Testing Guide (coming soon) - Testing strategy
• Code Quality Report - Quality metrics

🚀 Deployment

Production deployment guides:

• Deployment Overview - General deployment guide
• Monorepo Setup - NEW - Run multiple apps with one backend
• Docker Deployment - Docker containers
• Kubernetes Deployment - K8s manifests
• Vercel Deployment (coming soon) - Vercel hosting
• Security Runbook (coming soon) - Security procedures

🔐 Security

Security features and best practices:

• Security Overview - Security architecture
• Security Runbook (coming soon) - Incident response procedures
• 2FA Implementation - Two-factor authentication
• PIN Lock System - App lock features
• OAuth Providers (coming soon) - OAuth integration guide

📚 Reference

Technical references:

• API Documentation - Complete API reference
• Database Schema (coming soon) - Database structure (222 tables)
• GraphQL API (coming soon) - GraphQL queries and mutations
• Backend Services - nself CLI services
• Environment Variables - All env vars

🤖 Advanced Topics

Power user features:

• Bot Framework - Build custom bots
• Analytics - Metrics and monitoring
• Integrations (coming soon) - Slack, GitHub, Jira, etc.
• Webhooks (coming soon) - Webhook integration
• Custom Plugins - Plugin development

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🎓 Learning Paths

For End Users

1. Start with Quick Start
2. Read User Guide
3. Explore Features Overview

For Developers

1. Read Architecture Overview
2. Follow Contributing Guide
3. Review Code Standards (coming soon)
4. Check API Documentation

For DevOps/SysAdmins

1. Review Deployment Guide
2. Read Security Runbook (coming soon)
3. Study Backend README (coming soon)
4. Check Troubleshooting

For Product Owners

1. Explore Features Overview
2. Review Roadmap
3. Check White-Label Guide
4. Read Multi-Tenancy (coming soon)

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🔍 Find What You Need

By Category

Category	Files	Description
getting-started/	5 files	Quick start, installation, configuration
features/	30+ files	Feature documentation and guides
guides/	40+ files	How-to guides and tutorials
deployment/	15+ files	Deployment guides for all platforms
api/	20+ files	API reference and examples
security/	10+ files	Security features and best practices
configuration/	12+ files	Configuration and settings
troubleshooting/	8+ files	Common issues and solutions
about/	6 files	Changelog, contributing, license

By Task

I want to...

• Get started quickly → Quick Start
• Install nself-chat → Installation Guide
• Deploy to production → Deployment Guide
• Customize branding → White-Label Guide
• Build a mobile app → Mobile Apps Guide (coming soon)
• Understand the architecture → Architecture Overview
• Contribute code → Contributing Guide
• Report a bug → GitHub Issues
• Ask a question → GitHub Discussions

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📋 Quick Reference

Essential Commands

# Backend (from /backend)
nself start          # Start all services
nself status         # Check service status
nself urls           # List service URLs
nself logs           # View logs

# Frontend Web (from /frontend/apps/web)
pnpm dev             # Start dev server
pnpm build           # Production build
pnpm test            # Run tests
pnpm lint            # Lint code

# Frontend Mobile (from /frontend/apps/mobile)
pnpm ios             # Open iOS in Xcode
pnpm android         # Open Android in Android Studio

# Frontend Desktop (from /frontend/apps/desktop)
pnpm start           # Start Electron app
pnpm dist:mac        # Build macOS app
pnpm dist:win        # Build Windows app

See Quick Reference for complete command list.

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🆘 Need Help?

Documentation

• Search this wiki - Use Cmd/Ctrl+F to search
• FAQ - Frequently asked questions
• Troubleshooting - Common issues and fixes
• Known Limitations - Current limitations

Community Support

• GitHub Issues - Bug reports and feature requests
• GitHub Discussions - Questions and community help
• Email Support - Direct support (paid plans)

Professional Support

• Enterprise Support - Available for production deployments
• Consulting - Architecture review and custom development
• Training - Team training and onboarding
• Contact: support@nself.org

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📚 Additional Resources

Project Links

• Main README (coming soon) - Project overview
• Backend README (coming soon) - Backend documentation
• Frontend README (coming soon) - Frontend monorepo docs
• GitHub Repository

External Resources

• ɳSelf CLI - Backend infrastructure
• Next.js Documentation - Web framework
• Capacitor Documentation - Mobile framework
• Electron Documentation - Desktop framework

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📝 Version History

• v1.0.0 (2026-04-17) - Stable release; aligned with nSelf CLI 1.0.6
• v0.9.2 (2026-02-10) - Monorepo restructure, security hardening, complete docs
• v0.9.1 (2026-02-03) - WebRTC, channels, OAuth, email integration
• v0.9.0 (2026-02-01) - Multi-tenancy, billing, AI moderation
• v0.8.0 (2026-01-31) - Mobile and desktop apps
• v0.7.0 (2026-01-30) - Vector search, bot framework

See CHANGELOG for complete version history.

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Brand

ɳChat (display) is the user-facing brand. nchat (system) is the package name; chat/ is the repo path. Brand assets are shared across nSelf — see master brand kit at ~/Sites/nself/.claude/docs/brand/ (PPI master) and the Brand Spec (F15) for color, typography, and naming rules.

Primary color: Indigo #6366F1. Background: #0F0F1A.

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⚖️ License

nself-chat is open source software licensed under the MIT License.

See LICENSE for full license text.

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📖 Browse Documentation | 🚀 Quick Start | 📝 Changelog | 🤝 Contributing