The open-source ManyChat alternative. Chat-marketing automation you host yourself.

Build flows once and run them across Telegram, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, and email, with a visual builder, shared inbox, broadcasts, sequences, analytics, and a public API.

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About BrightBean Chat

BrightBean Chat aims at ManyChat's feature set: keyword triggers, comment-to-DM, story mentions, drip sequences, broadcasts, a shared inbox, and a visual flow builder. The difference is where it runs. You bring your own server and your own platform developer apps, and in exchange there is no per-contact pricing, no plan that gates the feature you need, and nobody sitting between you and your audience.

The application calls each platform's official API with your credentials. There is no aggregator in the middle and no payment provider to sign up for. Every installation has every feature.

How it compares to ManyChat

	ManyChat	BrightBean Chat
Hosting	Managed SaaS	Your server, or one click on Railway
Pricing	Per-contact tiers, with features gated by plan	Free. Unlimited contacts, every feature
Your data	Lives in ManyChat's account	Your database, your storage
Platform access	Through ManyChat's Meta app	Your own apps, straight to each API. No middleman
Source	Proprietary	Open source, AGPL-3.0
Extensibility	Catalog of native integrations	REST API, signed webhooks, and HTTP calls from any flow
Channels	Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS, email, TikTok	Everything but TikTok
AI features	Built-in reply generation and intent detection	None, by design

There is no per-contact pricing, so growing your audience never pushes you onto a pricier plan, and every contact, flow and conversation stays in a database you own.

Features

Multi-channel automation	One normalized event pipeline for Telegram, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, and email.
Visual flow builder	Versioned React Flow graphs with conditions, delays, randomizers, nested flows, external requests, data collection, actions, SMS, and email nodes.
Triggers	Keywords, default replies, story mentions and replies, comment-to-DM, follows, ref URLs and QR codes, inbox rules, and the public API.
Shared inbox	Threaded conversations with assignment, labels, reminders, scheduled replies, inbox rules, and human takeover that pauses automation.
Contacts	Custom fields, tags, segments, cross-channel identities, import, and export.
Sequences & broadcasts	Multi-step drip campaigns, audience filters, compliance checks, token-bucket pacing, live counters, and cancellation.
Analytics	Per-node sent, delivered, failed, and clicked counters, plus flow and broadcast statistics.
Public API	Bearer-authenticated REST endpoints and signed outbound webhooks for Make, Zapier, n8n, and custom integrations.
Multi-tenancy	Organizations, workspaces, invitations, two-tier RBAC, and enforced tenant isolation. Cross-tenant object access answers 404.
Secure by default	Encrypted credentials at rest, SSRF protection for user-supplied URLs, CSP nonces, webhook signature checks, opt-out enforcement, and production settings that reject placeholder secrets.

Supported channels

Every channel uses the same flow and compliance engine. Unsupported message blocks are downgraded visibly where possible, and platform-specific rules are checked before every send.

Channel	Inbound	Outbound	Important behavior
Telegram	Messages, button presses, and /start referrals	Text, images, audio, video, files, buttons, and quick replies	No messaging window; contacts must have opted in by messaging the bot.
Instagram	DMs, comments, story mentions, and story replies	Text, media, cards, galleries, buttons, and quick replies	24-hour messaging window; comment-to-DM supports one private reply per comment within seven days; broadcasts reach only contacts inside that window.
Facebook Messenger	DMs, postbacks, referrals, and Page comments	Text, media, cards, galleries, buttons, and quick replies	24-hour window; approved message tags support permitted outside-window sends and broadcasts.
WhatsApp	Messages and delivery/read status updates	Text, media, buttons, quick replies, and approved templates	24-hour window; approved templates are required outside it. Template management is built in.
SMS	Inbound texts and carrier opt-out keywords	SMS and outbound MMS images	Bring your own Twilio account. STOP/HELP/START handling and GSM-7/UCS-2 segment previews are built in.
Email	Provider bounce notifications only (not conversations)	HTML and plain-text email, inline images, unsubscribe links, and tracked links	Bring your own SMTP, Resend, or SES credentials. Unsubscribe and hard-bounce suppression are enforced.

Meta's platforms need a developer app of your own, set as environment variables. See Platform credentials. SMS and email need no app: you connect them from inside the product with your own provider account. See Email and SMS. Per-channel webhook URLs, permissions, and platform quirks are in docs/channels/.

Try it locally

To see the flow builder, inbox, contacts, and campaign surfaces, run the development stack:

git clone https://github.com/brightbeanxyz/brightbean-chat.git
cd brightbean-chat
docker compose up

Docker builds the image, starts PostgreSQL, runs migrations, and serves the app at http://localhost:8000. No .env is required for development. Sign up at /accounts/signup/; the first account gets its own organization and workspace. Account email is written to the console, so verification messages are visible in docker compose logs.

A running instance serves the design system's style guide at http://localhost:8000/ui/.

Deploy it

The full self-hosting guide covers first boot, TLS, backups, upgrades, storage, tick mode, and hardening. The reference production stack is Docker Compose and is secure by default: no placeholder secrets, DEBUG off, PostgreSQL closed to the internet, and only Caddy exposed publicly.

Docker Compose on a VPS

git clone https://github.com/brightbeanxyz/brightbean-chat.git
cd brightbean-chat
cp deploy/env.prod.example .env
make prod-secrets

Fill in APP_DOMAIN, ACME_EMAIL, SECRET_KEY, ENCRYPTION_KEY_SALT, and POSTGRES_PASSWORD, then start the stack:

docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d
make smoke URL=https://your-host.example

The stack runs PostgreSQL, a one-shot migration, the Gunicorn web process, the background worker, and Caddy with automatic HTTPS. Uploaded media is stored in the shared Docker volume. See storage guidance when web and worker run on separate hosts or a PaaS.

One click on Railway

The template provisions PostgreSQL, the web service, and the worker, generates the two crypto secrets once and shares them, and points the app at its own generated domain. You supply one thing: an S3-compatible bucket.

That bucket is not optional. A Railway volume attaches to a single service, so the web and worker processes share no filesystem. Without STORAGE_BACKEND=s3 a queued contact import cannot find the file the web process wrote, and uploaded media disappears on the next restart. AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, and MinIO all work through the same five S3_* variables. The Railway guide has a worked R2 example and the manual three-service setup if you would rather build it yourself.

The worker is required

The web process handles pages, the API, and inbound webhooks. The worker runs everything time-based from the PostgreSQL queue:

• smart delays, retries, and crash recovery;
• sequence steps and broadcast fanout; and
• hourly housekeeping such as token refresh, stale-execution expiry, and log pruning.

A deployment with only the web process looks healthy but silently leaves queued work undone. If your host cannot run a second long-lived process, the supported tick mode provides a cron or HTTP-triggered worker cycle with documented tradeoffs.

Run it from source

Prerequisites

• Python 3.12+
• Node.js 24+
• PostgreSQL 16

Setup

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
make setup

make setup copies .env.example, installs the development dependencies, builds the frontend bundles, and runs migrations. Then use two terminals:

make server

make worker

The frontend uses Tailwind 4 and a single React 19 flow-builder island. During development, run make css-watch and make js-watch alongside the server when you need live CSS or builder bundle rebuilds. make help lists every available target.

Platform credentials

Instagram, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp each need a Meta developer app of your own. There is no shared app to borrow and nothing to register with us.

Two fields, both called "callback"

Meta asks for two different URLs and calls them similar things. They are not interchangeable, and putting the OAuth one in the webhook field fails with "The callback URL or verify token couldn't be validated."

Meta's field	Value
Callback URL, under the use case's Configure webhooks step, next to a Verify token box	https://<your-host>/webhooks/<platform>/
Redirect URI, under Set up Instagram business login (Instagram) or Valid OAuth Redirect URIs (Messenger)	https://<your-host>/channels/<platform>/callback/

<platform> is instagram, messenger or whatsapp. WhatsApp has only the first: it never runs OAuth.

One URL each per deployment, not one per workspace. Meta matches them character for character, and the workspace travels in a signed state instead.

Instagram and Messenger keep separate allowlists, because they are separate OAuth systems: Instagram authorizes at www.instagram.com, Messenger at www.facebook.com. The Redirect URI Validator on the Facebook Login for Business page therefore only checks Messenger's list. Paste Instagram's callback into it and it answers "This is an invalid redirect URI for this application" however Instagram is configured, because Instagram's URI is not supposed to be on that list. It goes under Instagram → Set up Instagram business login instead.

Use cases and permissions

The App Dashboard is organized by use case. Add the use case, then open its Permissions and features page and add the permissions.

Channel	Use case, as the picker names it	Permissions to add
Instagram	Manage messaging & content on Instagram	instagram_business_basic, instagram_business_manage_messages, instagram_business_manage_comments
Messenger	Engage with customers on Messenger from Meta	pages_messaging
Messenger	Manage everything on your Page	pages_manage_metadata, pages_read_engagement, pages_manage_engagement
WhatsApp	Connect with customers through WhatsApp	none here, the two WhatsApp permissions go on a system user token

Messenger needs both of its use cases: pages_messaging is not offered under the Page use case, and the Page use case is the only place the rest appear. pages_show_list comes with it automatically and needs no action.

Once a use case is added, the dashboard's use case switcher shortens its name. "Engage with customers on Messenger from Meta" becomes "Messenger from Meta". Same use case.

Nothing else in the picker applies. Marketing API, ads MCP server, Audience Network, app ads, Catalog, Threads, Instant Games, Live Video, oEmbed, fundraiser, data portability and ThreatExchange are all unrelated, and each one you add is another permission set to justify at App Review.

Instagram

Runs on the Instagram API with Instagram Login, against professional accounts, Business or Creator. No Facebook Page in the middle.

1. Create an app and add the use case Manage messaging & content on Instagram.

2. Permissions and features: add the three instagram_business_* permissions above. The dashboard's Add all required permissions button adds exactly those three.

3. Instagram → Set up Instagram business login: open Business login settings and put https://<your-host>/channels/instagram/callback/ in the Redirect URI field.

   That screen leads with an embed URL to drop into an anchor tag or button on your own website. Ignore it. This deployment builds its own authorize URL and starts the flow from Settings → Channels → Instagram, so the redirect URI is the only field on that screen you need.

4. Instagram → API setup: copy the Instagram app ID and Instagram app secret, which are not the Facebook app id and secret, then set:

   PLATFORM_INSTAGRAM_CLIENT_ID=...
   PLATFORM_INSTAGRAM_CLIENT_SECRET=...
   PLATFORM_INSTAGRAM_VERIFY_TOKEN=...   # any long random string you choose

5. Instagram → Configure webhooks: callback URL https://<your-host>/webhooks/instagram/, verify token from step 4, then Verify and save and subscribe to messages, messaging_postbacks, comments, mentions and message_deletions.

All three permissions are requested at connect time rather than incrementally, because connecting without manage_comments succeeds and then fails every public reply. Verification passes while the app is in development, but no deliveries arrive until it is published. See docs/channels/instagram.md.

Facebook Messenger

1. Create an app of type Business, add both Messenger use cases, and add the Facebook Login for Business product.

2. Permissions and features, on each use case: add pages_messaging to the Messenger one, and the three pages_* permissions to the Page one.

3. Facebook Login for Business → Settings: add https://<your-host>/channels/messenger/callback/ to Valid OAuth Redirect URIs. Strict Mode is forced on, so the match is exact. The Redirect URI Validator at the top of that page checks a URI before you save it.

4. App settings → Basic: copy the app ID and app secret, then set:

   PLATFORM_MESSENGER_CLIENT_ID=...
   PLATFORM_MESSENGER_CLIENT_SECRET=...
   PLATFORM_MESSENGER_VERIFY_TOKEN=...

5. Messenger API Settings → Configure webhooks: callback URL https://<your-host>/webhooks/messenger/, verify token from step 4, then Verify and save.

Skip the dashboard's Generate access tokens step. This deployment connects pages through its own OAuth flow and subscribes each one to messages, messaging_postbacks, messaging_referrals, message_deliveries, message_reads and feed at connect time. Without pages_manage_metadata that subscription fails, and a page then connects and silently never delivers. See docs/channels/messenger.md.

WhatsApp

No OAuth. You paste a system user token into the connect page rather than authorizing through Meta. The app secret is still required, because it is what every inbound delivery's signature is verified against.

1. Create an app of type Business and add the use case Connect with customers through WhatsApp. It needs a business portfolio.

2. WhatsApp → API Setup: add a phone number and verify it. Note the phone number ID, which is the numeric API id rather than the number itself, and the WhatsApp Business Account ID.

3. Business Settings: create a system user, give it access to the WABA, and generate a token carrying whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management. Choose never expires.

4. App settings → Basic: copy the app ID and app secret, then set:

   PLATFORM_WHATSAPP_CLIENT_ID=...
   PLATFORM_WHATSAPP_CLIENT_SECRET=...
   PLATFORM_WHATSAPP_VERIFY_TOKEN=...

5. WhatsApp → Configuration: callback URL https://<your-host>/webhooks/whatsapp/ and the verify token from step 4.

Those two permissions ride on the token rather than on the use case's permission list, because WhatsApp runs no login dialog and nobody is ever shown a consent screen. A 60-day token becomes a silent outage two months after launch, which is why step 3 says never expires. Finish at Settings → Channels → WhatsApp → set it up, which reads the number back from Meta to prove the token before storing anything. See docs/channels/whatsapp.md.

Environment variables

Variable	Required	Description
PLATFORM_INSTAGRAM_CLIENT_ID	For Instagram	Instagram app ID, from Instagram → API setup
PLATFORM_INSTAGRAM_CLIENT_SECRET	For Instagram	Instagram app secret. Neither value works without the other
PLATFORM_INSTAGRAM_VERIFY_TOKEN	For Instagram	Any long random string you choose, pasted into Meta's Verify token box
PLATFORM_MESSENGER_CLIENT_ID	For Messenger	Facebook app ID, from App settings → Basic
PLATFORM_MESSENGER_CLIENT_SECRET	For Messenger	Facebook app secret
PLATFORM_MESSENGER_VERIFY_TOKEN	For Messenger	As above, for the Messenger webhook
PLATFORM_WHATSAPP_CLIENT_ID	For WhatsApp	Meta app ID that owns the WhatsApp Business account
PLATFORM_WHATSAPP_CLIENT_SECRET	For WhatsApp	Meta app secret. Required even though WhatsApp runs no OAuth, because it verifies every inbound signature
PLATFORM_WHATSAPP_VERIFY_TOKEN	For WhatsApp	As above, for the WhatsApp webhook

Meta's console labels the first two of each App ID and App Secret, and PLATFORM_<PLATFORM>_APP_ID and _APP_SECRET are accepted as aliases. The full variable reference is .env.example.

How credentials resolve

These are developer credentials. They belong in the deployment's .env beside SECRET_KEY and DATABASE_URL, not in a settings page: no workspace admin should be able to change which Meta app the deployment speaks as.

A deployment serving several organizations can give each its own app id and secret from the Django admin, at /admin/ → Credentials → Platform credentials, which is superuser-only. The environment wins. When a platform is configured in both places the admin row is never consulted, so it is a fallback for organizations that have none rather than an override. A level is used only when it is complete, so a secret without its id leaves that platform unconfigured rather than half-configured.

PLATFORM_<PLATFORM>_VERIFY_TOKEN is the exception and is always deployment-level, including when the app id and secret come from an organization row. Meta's verification GET arrives unauthenticated and names no organization, so the endpoint reads only the environment. Leave it unset and that platform's verification answers 404, which means the webhook cannot be subscribed and no inbound events arrive at all.

Telegram, SMS and the email channel have no deployment-level credentials. A BotFather token, a Twilio account SID and an SMTP login all live on the individual channel connection. The EMAIL_* variables in .env are something else, the deployment's own account email.

What Meta has to approve

A new app starts with Standard Access, which reaches only accounts whose users hold a role on the app: the owner, and anyone added as a developer or tester. That is enough to build against and enough for a self-hoster running their own accounts, so until App Review, connect an account that holds one of those roles. For Instagram, assign the account the Instagram Tester role under the app's Roles tab first.

Connecting an account belonging to someone else means asking Meta for Advanced Access on each permission through App Review, backed by Business Verification of the business behind the app.

Platform	Permissions to request	Also required
Instagram	All three instagram_business_* permissions	App Review, submitted per permission with a screencast showing each one used end to end; Business Verification
Facebook Messenger	pages_messaging, plus pages_read_engagement and pages_manage_engagement if you use the comment trigger	Business Verification, a privacy policy URL, and a Data Deletion Request URL under Facebook Login for Business → Settings
WhatsApp	whatsapp_business_messaging, whatsapp_business_management, on the system user token	No App Review, since a system user token has no consent screen to review. Business Verification and message quality set the per-number messaging limit, and every template is approved individually

Budget weeks rather than days, and expect at least one rejection asking for a clearer screencast. This is Meta's process; nothing in this product changes it.

Telegram, SMS and email have nothing to request. A BotFather token, a Twilio account SID and auth token, and an SMTP or provider key are all issued on the spot and reach every contact from the first message.

Email and SMS

SMS and email need no developer app and no approval. Each is connected from inside the product, per workspace, with your own provider account, and takes a few minutes.

"Email" means two separate things here, and they are set up in different places:

	Account email	Email channel
What it sends	Signup verification, password resets, member invitations, and notification emails	Flow, broadcast, and inbox messages
Who receives it	People who log in to BrightBean Chat	Your contacts
Where you set it up	.env, once per deployment	In the app, once per workspace
Providers	Any SMTP server	SMTP, Resend, or Amazon SES

The two share nothing. Setting up one does not set up the other, and using the same provider for both means entering its credentials twice.

Account email

Add your SMTP server to .env and restart:

EMAIL_HOST=smtp.example.com
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_HOST_USER=your-smtp-username
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=your-smtp-password
EMAIL_USE_TLS=true
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=noreply@example.com

EMAIL_USE_TLS means STARTTLS, so use your provider's port 587. Port 465 (implicit TLS) is not supported here. Resend and SES both offer an SMTP endpoint, so the provider behind your email channel can send these too. On Railway, set the variables on both web and worker, because the worker sends the notification emails.

The app works without account email, since nothing is gated on a verified address. But nobody can reset a forgotten password, and invitations never arrive. In development, account email is always printed to the console instead of sent, whatever .env says.

SMS channel (Twilio)

You need a Twilio account with a phone number, and a deployment that Twilio can reach over HTTPS at the address in APP_URL.

1. In the Twilio console, copy the Account SID and Auth Token.
2. In BrightBean Chat, open Settings → Channels, find SMS under Available to connect, and click Set up. Paste the two values, plus either your number in E.164 form (+15551234567) or a Messaging Service SID (MG…), not both.
3. Open the new connection and copy its Webhook URL.
4. In Twilio, open the number (Phone Numbers → Manage → Active numbers). Under Messaging Configuration, set A message comes in to that URL, with HTTP POST, and save.
5. Text the number. The connection's status changes from Connected, but nothing has arrived yet to Healthy, and the text appears in the inbox.

If Twilio reports 403 errors, the URL in Twilio does not match APP_URL character for character. US numbers also need A2P 10DLC registration, which you do in Twilio. Messaging services, local development, and the STOP/HELP/START rules are in the SMS guide.

Email channel

1. Pick the domain you will send from, and publish the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records your provider gives you. Gmail and Yahoo reject bulk mail from domains without them.
2. In BrightBean Chat, open Settings → Channels, find Email under Available to connect, and click Set up. Choose SMTP, Resend, or SES, then enter a from-address on that domain and the provider's credentials. They are checked with the provider before anything is saved.
3. On the new connection's page, click Send a test email. It goes to the address you log in with.

That is enough to send. Bounce handling is optional and needs Resend or SES: you point the provider at the connection's Webhook URL, then paste the secret it gives you into Bounce handling on the same page. The email guide has both providers step by step.

The email channel only sends. Replies go to the from-address's mailbox, not to the BrightBean Chat inbox. Each domain can be claimed by only one workspace on a deployment.

API & webhooks

BrightBean Chat exposes a bearer-authenticated REST API at /api/v1/ and signed outbound webhooks for event-driven integrations. The deployment serves an interactive reference at /api/v1/docs and OpenAPI JSON at /api/v1/openapi.json.

Issue an API key from Settings → Organization → API keys, then send it as a Bearer token:

curl https://chat.example.com/api/v1/contacts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer bb_..."

The API supports contacts, tags, custom fields, flow starts, messages, and read-only lists of flows, tags, and fields. Requests are workspace-scoped, rate-limited per key, and subject to the same compliance and permission checks as the web UI. Outbound webhook deliveries use HMAC-SHA256, retry through the worker, and automatically disable after repeated failures.

See the API reference for authentication, scopes, pagination, errors, endpoints, webhook verification, and a complete integration scenario.

Tech stack

Layer	Technology
Backend	Python 3.12+, Django 5.x, Gunicorn
UI	Django templates, HTMX, Alpine.js, Tailwind CSS 4
Flow builder	React 19, React DOM, @xyflow/react, Vite, TypeScript
Data and queue	PostgreSQL 16; the database also provides locking, rate limiting, and scheduled-action storage
Deployment	Docker Compose, Caddy, and a one-click Railway template

Project structure

brightbean-chat/
├── apps/
│   ├── accounts/          # Authentication and sessions
│   ├── organizations/     # Organizations and workspaces
│   ├── members/           # Invitations and RBAC
│   ├── channels/          # Platform connections, adapters, and webhooks
│   ├── flows/             # Flow models, builder API, engine, and triggers
│   │   └── frontend/      # The flow builder, the application's React island
│   ├── contacts/          # CRM, tags, fields, and segments
│   ├── inbox/             # Shared conversations and human takeover
│   ├── campaigns/         # Sequences
│   ├── broadcasts/        # Broadcast composer and fanout
│   ├── analytics/         # Flow and broadcast counters
│   ├── media_library/     # Workspace-scoped uploads and media
│   ├── api/               # REST API and outbound webhooks
│   └── theme/             # Tailwind source and design tokens
├── templates/             # Django templates and UI components
├── docs/                  # Product, deployment, channel, and API docs
├── docker-compose.yml     # Development stack
├── docker-compose.prod.yml # Hardened production stack
└── Makefile               # Setup, development, checks, and deployment helpers

Documentation

Document	What it covers
docs/self-hosting.md	Production deployment, TLS, storage, backups, upgrades, tick mode, and hardening
docs/channels/	Setup for Telegram, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, email, and media
docs/api/v1.md	REST API, authentication, rate limits, and outbound webhooks
docs/flow-templates.md	Flow export/import format and shareable templates
docs/SPEC.md	Authoritative engineering and product specification
docs/ROADMAP.md	Build layers, workstreams, and interface contracts
docs/SECURITY-BASELINE.md	Per-PR security checklist
docs/security-audit.md	Security-baseline traceability and open gaps
docs/pentest-runbook.md	Probing and verifying a self-hosted instance
tests/acceptance/README.md	SPEC §21 acceptance criteria and manual runbooks
CONTRIBUTING.md	Local development, frontend conventions, tenant scoping, and review checks
SECURITY.md	How to report a vulnerability

Running checks

make lint       # ruff lint and format check, including security rules
make typecheck  # mypy type check
make test       # pytest in parallel
make audit      # pip-audit, npm audit, and the audit-gate self-test
npm run typecheck:js  # TypeScript check for the flow-builder island
npm run test:js       # Vitest tests for the flow-builder island

Before opening a pull request, run at least:

make lint typecheck test

CI also runs the JavaScript tests, frontend build checks, migration consistency checks, dependency audits, and deployment-focused validation.

Contributing

Start with CONTRIBUTING.md. The project specification and security baseline are part of the development workflow, not background reading. New endpoints must be tenant-scoped, new URLs must follow the project routing conventions, and security-sensitive behavior needs a regression test.

Security

Please do not report vulnerabilities through public issues. Follow the process in SECURITY.md, which explains the supported versions, scope, safe-harbor terms, and what to include in a report.

License

GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. If you run a modified copy as a network service, the AGPL requires you to offer its corresponding source to the people who use that service.