# papercups-io/papercups

Open-source live customer chat

Repository: https://github.com/papercups-io/papercups
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/papercups
Language: Elixir
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: elixir, phoenix-framework, phoenix, react, intercom, livechat, docker, heroku, frontend, typescript, drift, javascript, slack, elixir-phoenix, zendesk, help-desk, customer-support, chat-widget, gdpr-compliant, mattermost
Last push: 2024-02-15T05:21:47+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2240, "days_push": 930, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6101, forks 576 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:35.068102+00:00)

## What it is
Papercups is an open-source, self-hosted live customer support chat application built with Elixir/Phoenix and React, offering an embeddable chat widget plus integrations with Slack, Mattermost, email, and Twilio SMS. It is positioned as a privacy-focused alternative to Intercom and Zendesk for companies that want customer conversations to stay on their own infrastructure.

## Use cases
- self-hosted live chat for customer support on my website
- open-source Intercom alternative that keeps customer data in-house
- embed a customizable chat widget in a React or Flutter app
- reply to support tickets from Slack or Mattermost channels
- handle customer conversations over email and Twilio SMS from one dashboard
- GDPR-friendly customer messaging tool I can host myself

## When to choose
- you need a self-hosted, privacy-conscious alternative to Intercom, Zendesk, or Drift
- your stack is Elixir/Phoenix and you want to extend or audit the support tooling
- you want to answer customer chats directly from Slack or Mattermost
- you need an embeddable widget across web, React Native, and Flutter

## When to avoid
- you expect active development and major new features - the project is in maintenance mode
- you want a turnkey SaaS with a large support team behind it
- you need advanced help-desk features like ticketing workflows or deep CRM integrations
- you are not comfortable operating an Elixir/Phoenix deployment yourself

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: maintenance
- function: chat-interface, web-framework, websocket, self-hosted
- domain: chatbots, web-development, self-hosted, privacy
- platform: self-hosted, elixir
- tags: live-chat, chat-widget, intercom-alternative, zendesk-alternative, slack-integration, mattermost-integration, twilio-sms, email-replies, react-widget, flutter-widget, react-native-widget, gdpr, help-desk, phoenix-framework, heroku-deploy, customer-support, web-server, docker, javascript, typescript

## Member repositories
- papercups-io/papercups (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:35.068102+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:48:15.769668+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/papercups-io/papercups (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:35.068102+00:00, sha c6775d00339f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.