CustomChat

A chat app over your documents, set up with one YAML file. Answers cite their sources. Starts in offline Demo mode: no key, account or paid calls.

Start

No Python, Git or uv needed. Open Terminal (macOS/Linux) or PowerShell (Windows) and run:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Harsh23Kashyap/customchat/main/start.sh | sh

& { $f = Join-Path ([IO.Path]::GetTempPath()) ([IO.Path]::GetRandomFileName() + '.ps1'); try { Invoke-WebRequest https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Harsh23Kashyap/customchat/main/start.ps1 -OutFile $f; & powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File $f } finally { Remove-Item $f -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue } }

The app opens in your browser (or open the printed localhost URL). Ctrl+C stops it. Run the same command in the same folder to come back to your chats. Review start.sh or start.ps1 before running downloaded scripts.

Have uv? uvx customchat-app start

Prefer pip? In an empty folder:

python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/python -m pip install customchat-app
.venv/bin/python -m customchat start

On Windows use py -3 -m venv .venv and .\.venv\Scripts\python.exe. The package is customchat-app; customchat on PyPI is a different project. Both install paths use an isolated environment, so nothing touches your system Python.

macOS with Homebrew Python

From this repository folder, one command installs 0.1.5 in a private environment and opens the app:

python3 start_local.py

This handles Homebrew's externally-managed-environment error without sudo, global pip, activation, or --break-system-packages. Requires Python 3.10+ and internet for installation. It reuses .customchat-venv; it never deletes or resets your app, chats or keys. Ctrl+C stops the app. Run the same command from the same folder to resume.

To reopen a different existing workspace, pass its folder (the one containing app.yaml):

python3 start_local.py --directory /path/to/my-chat

Starts offline Demo for a new workspace. Existing workspaces keep their settings. Add --no-browser or --port 8081 if needed. This installs the published package, not uncommitted source changes in your clone.

Make it yours

uvx customchat-app start --directory my-chat

Edit my-chat/app.yaml, add documents, and open Configuration to pick a model, look and sources. Keep keys in environment variables or the private local store, never in YAML or Git. Add --lock-config for a chat-only app. See the configuration reference.

Features

• Upload files or add web links. Reads PDF, text/code, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODT and, with Tesseract, images.
• Quick, Standard and Deep answer modes.
• Saved chats with bounded history, a temporary chat mode and an optional profile.
• Themes, light/dark, logo, animated emojis and a live preview.
• Budget limits, document freshness checks and a portable app export.

Demo is the default. Choose and test a live provider in Configuration to use paid or local models.

Prompts and code helpers

Open Configuration, then Prompts or Code helpers in the sidebar. Both are visible in Simple and Advanced. Prompts can be edited or generated for review. Code helpers generate Python, check compilation and safety, and only run when you press Try it. In offline Demo, generation returns a starter template, not model-written code.

More

Install options · Hosting · Architecture · Tests: python -m unittest discover -s tests

Counterpart of Custom-Nerd. Harsh Kashyap, Shela Wu. Advisor: Dennis Shasha. MIT license.

Load a shared Nerd

Open Configuration → Load and share Nerds. Drop a ZIP or app.yaml, read the readiness check, review any Python connector, then Load and run. A separate workspace opens; the current app stays intact. Keys, accounts and chat history never come with the bundle. Python runs with your local user permissions after your review. Import checks are offline, not a model/network test.

customchat-app run app.yaml opens the browser after the server is ready. Use --no-browser for servers or terminals without a desktop.