Tiledesk

Tiledesk is a fully‑open source, multi‑channel conversational platform built on Node.js and Express. At its core it stitches together instant‑messaging, AI‑powered chatbots, and a visual design studio into a single ecosystem that can be deployed via Docker or Kubernetes. The system exposes a rich set of REST APIs and webhooks that let developers embed the chat widget in any web page, or hook custom business logic into chatbot flows. Because every channel (Web, WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, etc.) shares the same script engine, a single conversation design can be rendered natively across all platforms without duplication.

• Unified bot‑human workflow – chatbots are first‑class citizens; they can hand off to live agents or run fully autonomously.
• Visual conversation designer – a drag‑and‑drop studio that outputs JSON scripts consumable by the runtime.
• Multi‑channel adaptation – a single script automatically morphs to fit WhatsApp, Messenger, web widget, or custom mobile apps.
• Extensible data layer – built on MongoDB for flexible schema, with optional external Atlas clusters or replica sets.
• Real‑time messaging engine – Chat21 (WebSocket‑based) powers low‑latency chat for web and Ionic mobile apps.

The repository ships a Docker Compose file that starts all components, and a set of Helm charts for production‑grade Kubernetes deployments. The charts are intentionally minimal—no logging or monitoring baked in—to allow customers to plug in their own ELK, Prometheus, or external observability stacks.

• RESTful CRUD for agents, conversations, and bot scripts.
• Webhooks that fire on message events, agent status changes, or custom triggers.
• SDKs (JavaScript/TypeScript) for embedding the widget and interacting with the backend.
• Chat21 HTTP API for programmatic message sending and receipt confirmation.
• Bot scripting language (JSON‑based) that supports images, buttons, quick replies, and conditional logic.

These interfaces enable developers to build sophisticated workflows—e.g., a chatbot that pulls product data from an external API, or a support ticket system that escalates to an agent when sentiment analysis flags negative tone.

The platform is container‑first. A single docker-compose.yml will bring up:

1. Tiledesk Server (Express API)
2. Dashboard & Design Studio (React/Node)
3. Chat21 WebSocket server
4. Chat21 HTTP proxy
5. MongoDB (standalone container)
6. NGINX proxy

For production, the Helm charts expose configurable values: database URI, replica set settings, TLS termination, resource limits, and autoscaling. The stack can run on bare metal, a managed Kubernetes cluster (EKS, GKE, AKS), or even on a local VM. The use of MongoDB means you can either keep the bundled instance for quick demos or point to a managed Atlas cluster with replica sets for high availability.

• Plugin system: Custom modules can hook into the Express middleware pipeline or extend the Chat21 protocol.
• External data sources: The design studio allows integration of knowledge bases, document stores, or REST APIs via connectors.
• Webhooks & Callbacks: Any external system can subscribe to conversation events or push updates back into Tiledesk.
• SDK hooks: Developers can extend the client‑side widget with custom UI components or analytics tracking.

These extensibility points make it straightforward to embed Tiledesk into existing SaaS platforms, CRM systems, or internal tooling.

The project ships comprehensive documentation in the docs/ folder and a live demo environment. The API is well‑structured, with Swagger/OpenAPI specs automatically generated by Express decorators. Community support is active on GitHub Discussions and a dedicated Slack channel, while enterprise customers can request private Docker images for tighter integration. The codebase follows common Node.js conventions, making onboarding quick for developers familiar with JavaScript/TypeScript.

• Customer Support: Deploy a web widget that escalates to live agents or an AI bot for 24/7 triage.
• E‑commerce Assistants: Use the visual studio to build product recommendation flows that run on WhatsApp or Messenger.
• Internal Help Desk: Integrate with an existing knowledge base and let chatbots auto‑populate tickets.
• Data Retrieval Bots: Connect to external APIs (e.g., weather, finance) and expose them through conversational UI.

• Open source & no vendor lock‑in: Full control over the code, license, and deployment