nChat Bundle

nChat Bundle

The nChat bundle is the pro plugin bundle that activates the full chat feature surface on a self-hosted nSelf backend. It is included in the Basic membership tier ($0.99/mo or $9.99/yr) and in every higher tier.

What the bundle includes

Plugin	Role
chat	Core message store hooks, retention policy, archiving
livekit	WebRTC voice + video calls
recording	Call + screen-share recording egress
moderation	Automated content filtering, manual review queue
bots	Programmable bots + slash command framework
realtime	Presence, typing indicators, live cursors over WS
auth	SSO, LDAP, SAML, MFA enforcement (pro auth extension)

Installing the bundle

cd nchat/backend

# 1. Set your membership key (obtain at https://nself.org/pricing)
nself license set nself_pro_xxxxx...

# 2. Install all 7 plugins in one call
nself plugin install chat livekit recording moderation bots realtime auth

# 3. Rebuild and start the stack
nself build && nself start

After nself build, docker-compose.yml regenerates to include the bundle containers and the matching NEXT_PUBLIC_* env vars propagate to the frontend.

Frontend feature detection

The frontend never assumes a bundle plugin is available. It checks public env vars at runtime and hides the corresponding UI surface if the env var is absent or empty:

Plugin	Env var	Feature
livekit	NEXT_PUBLIC_LIVEKIT_URL	Voice / video call buttons
recording	NEXT_PUBLIC_RECORDING_ENABLED	Record call button
moderation	NEXT_PUBLIC_MODERATION_ENABLED	Auto-filter, review queue
bots	NEXT_PUBLIC_BOTS_ENABLED	Bot accounts, slash commands
realtime	NEXT_PUBLIC_REALTIME_URL	Presence, typing indicators
auth	NEXT_PUBLIC_AUTH_SSO_ENABLED	SSO login flow
chat	NEXT_PUBLIC_CHAT_ENABLED	Core chat hooks

Use @/lib/features/bundle-detect to query bundle state in React:

import { nchatBundle, isFullBundleInstalled, missingPlugins } from '@/lib/features'

if (nchatBundle.livekit) {
  // Show video call button
}

if (!isFullBundleInstalled()) {
  console.info('Missing plugins:', missingPlugins())
}

Env var reference

The canonical env-var reference lives in nchat/backend/.env.example under the nChat Bundle section. It documents every variable each plugin contributes. Copy the variables you need into .env (or set them via nself env) rather than editing .env.example.

Without a license

Without a license key, the chat core runs on the 25 free plugins (auth, storage, search, mail, etc.) and the app degrades gracefully:

• Call buttons hide
• Moderation review queue hides
• Bot management UI hides
• SSO settings redirect to built-in email auth

No hard crashes. Set NSELF_PLUGIN_LICENSE_KEY to a valid key and rerun nself build && nself start to unlock the bundle at any time.

Related docs

• nchat/backend/.env.example — nChat Bundle section with every env var
• chat/frontend/src/lib/features/bundle-detect.ts — runtime detection helpers
• https://nself.org/pricing — Basic, Pro, Elite, Business, and Enterprise tiers
• https://docs.nself.org/plugins — plugin registry and install guide