ChiefOnboarding

ChiefOnboarding is a self‑hosted, open‑source platform that orchestrates end‑to‑end employee onboarding workflows. From a technical standpoint, it exposes a RESTful API layer for programmatic manipulation of blueprints, hires, and sequences while simultaneously rendering an interactive dashboard and a Slack bot that consume the same underlying data model. The core business logic—timed triggers, conditional sequencing, and webhook dispatch—is encapsulated in a Go‑based service that communicates with a PostgreSQL database via an ORM. The frontend is a modern React application built with TypeScript, leveraging a component library for rapid UI composition and internationalization support.

• Backend: Go (v1.22+) with the gin framework for routing, gorm for ORM, and sqlx for raw queries where performance is critical. The service exposes a versioned API (v1) that follows HATEOAS principles for discoverability.
• Database: PostgreSQL 15+ stores all domain entities—Blueprint, Hire, TodoItem, Badge, and integration configurations. The schema is fully normalized but includes materialized views for common queries such as upcoming tasks per hire.
• Frontend: React 18 with Vite, TypeScript, and react-query for data fetching. The UI is built around a drag‑and‑drop timeline component that persists changes via the API.
• Messaging: Slack integration uses the Bolt framework for Go, exposing a bot that listens to slash commands and sends proactive messages. Webhook support is implemented as an HTTP endpoint that accepts POST payloads, validates a secret token, and forwards the event to configured destinations.
• Containerization: A single Docker image (chiefonboarding/chiefonboarding) bundles the Go binary and static assets. The official Docker Compose example pulls this image, mounts a PostgreSQL container, and exposes ports 3000 (API) and 8080 (frontend). Kubernetes manifests are available under deploy/k8s, featuring a StatefulSet for PostgreSQL and a Deployment with HorizontalPodAutoscaler for the app.

• Blueprint Builder: Drag‑and‑drop UI to assemble sequences of TodoItem, Resource, and Badge objects. Each item can be time‑based or event‑driven, allowing complex onboarding flows.
• Pre‑boarding: Custom landing pages that can be rendered before the employee’s first day, with form capture and email notifications.
• Webhooks & Integrations: Built‑in connectors for common SaaS platforms (Slack, GitHub, Jira) and a generic webhook endpoint. Developers can extend the integration registry by publishing new adapters in Go, following the Integration interface.
• Multilingual & Timezone: All string resources are stored in JSONB columns, and the UI pulls language packs via the API. Timezone offsets per hire are respected in scheduling logic.
• Badge System: Earned badges trigger additional workflow steps and can be displayed in the dashboard or sent via Slack.

ChiefOnboarding is designed for cloud‑native environments but can run on any Linux host. The Docker image supports both standalone and clustered deployments; the PostgreSQL container can be replaced with a managed database service. For high availability, replicate the PostgreSQL cluster and run multiple app replicas behind an ingress controller (NGINX/Traefik). The application’s stateless nature makes it amenable to autoscaling; the API layer can be horizontally scaled, while the database remains the single source of truth.

The plugin architecture is intentionally minimal: developers implement the Integration interface and register it in a central registry. The API exposes /integrations for CRUD operations on integration instances, and webhooks are discovered via a GET /webhooks endpoint. Custom Slack bot commands can be added by extending the Bolt handler map without touching core code. The platform also offers a GraphQL endpoint (experimental) for fine‑grained data retrieval, enabling third‑party tools to query onboarding state without exposing the full REST surface.

• Configuration: All runtime settings are environment‑based, with sensible defaults. A .env.example file illustrates the required variables (DB URL, Slack token, webhook secret).
• Documentation: The public docs site (docs.chiefonboarding.com) includes API references, integration guides, and deployment tutorials. The source repository is heavily commented; the codebase follows Go conventions with golangci-lint enforced via CI.
• Community & Support: The project is hosted on GitHub with an active issue tracker and a Discord channel for real‑time help. Licensing under AGPLv3 ensures that any derivative work remains open, fostering a collaborative ecosystem.

• Remote‑First HR Teams: Automate pre‑boarding emails, schedule onboarding tasks across time zones, and track completion via Slack or a web portal.
• DevOps Pipelines: Trigger account provisioning in GitHub, Jira, or cloud IAM systems via webhooks when a new hire reaches the “create accounts” milestone.
• Compliance Auditing: Export onboarding reports in CSV or JSON for audit purposes; the API supports filtering by date ranges and status.
• Custom Onboarding Flows: Build bespoke sequences for specialized roles (e.g., contractors, interns) and expose them through a single integrated dashboard.

ChiefOnboarding delivers full control over the onboarding experience