A lightweight, real-time support chat widget for Django powered by SSE

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💬 django-supchat

A Lightweight, Real-Time Support Chat for Django

Zero dependencies. No WebSockets. No Redis. No React.
Just Django, vanilla JS, and Server-Sent Events.

Installation • Demo • Documentation • Examples

✨ Overview

django-supchat is a production-ready, drop-in support chat widget for Django projects. It provides a beautiful, real-time chat experience between website visitors (guests or authenticated users) and your support team — all powered by Django's ORM and Server-Sent Events (SSE).

🎯 Philosophy: Ship a powerful chat system without the complexity of WebSockets, Redis, or a frontend build step. Just pip install and go.

🚀 Key Features

🎨 Frontend

✨ Modern glassmorphism UI with smooth animations
🌓 Auto Light/Dark theme (respects OS preference)
🌐 Auto bilingual (Persian/English) with RTL support
⌨️ Real-time typing indicators
✅ Read receipts with visual feedback
📱 Fully responsive (mobile fullscreen)
♿ WCAG 2.1 accessible
🎭 Customizable colors via CSS variables

⚡ Backend

🔌 Zero external dependencies — no Redis, no Channels
📡 Real-time via Server-Sent Events (SSE)
🔒 Signed, HTTP-only guest cookies
🛡️ CSRF protection on all POST endpoints
🚦 Built-in rate limiting (pluggable)
🧹 HTML sanitization & control char stripping
👥 Multi-operator support with assignment

📦 Quick Start

Get up and running in under 2 minutes.

1. Install

pip install django-supchat

2. Configure Django

# settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    # ...
    "supchat",
]

# Optional: Customize the widget
SUPCHAT = {
    "TITLE": "Support",
    "POSITION": "right",        # "right" or "left"
    "THEME": "auto",            # "auto", "light", or "dark"
    "ALLOW_GUEST": True,
    "MAX_MESSAGE_LENGTH": 2000,
}

3. Add URLs

# urls.py
from django.urls import include, path

urlpatterns = [
    # ...
    path("supchat/", include("supchat.urls")),
]

4. Run Migrations

python manage.py migrate

5. Render the Widget

{% raw %}
{% load supchat %}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <title>My Site</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to my site!</h1>
    
    {% supchat %}
</body>
</html>
{% endraw %}

That's it! 🎉 Your chat widget is live.

📚 Documentation

Configuration Reference

Widget Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`TITLE`	`str`	`"Support"`	Widget title displayed in header
`POSITION`	`str`	`"right"`	Widget position: `"right"` or `"left"`
`THEME`	`str`	`"auto"`	Theme: `"auto"`, `"light"`, or `"dark"`
`ALLOW_GUEST`	`bool`	`True`	Allow anonymous visitors to chat
`MAX_MESSAGE_LENGTH`	`int`	`2000`	Maximum characters per message

Advanced Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL`	`int`	`25`	SSE heartbeat interval (seconds)
`SSE_RETRY_MS`	`int`	`5000`	SSE reconnection delay (ms)
`GUEST_COOKIE_NAME`	`str`	`"supchat_guest"`	Name of the guest identity cookie
`GUEST_COOKIE_AGE`	`int`	`31536000`	Cookie lifetime (1 year in seconds)
`RATE_LIMIT`	`dict`	`{"MESSAGES": 30, "WINDOW": 60}`	Default rate limit config
`RATE_LIMIT_CALLBACK`	`callable`	`None`	Custom rate limit function

Per-Render Overrides

You can override settings per template render:

{% raw %}
{% supchat title="Help Desk" position="left" theme="dark" %}
{% endraw %}

🔐 Security Model

django-supchat takes security seriously:

✅ CSRF Protection — All POST endpoints require valid CSRF tokens
✅ Signed Guest Cookies — Guest identity stored in signed, HTTP-only cookies
✅ Conversation Access Control — Every endpoint (including SSE) verifies access
✅ Input Sanitization — HTML stripped, control chars removed, length capped
✅ XSS Prevention — Frontend uses textContent, never innerHTML
✅ Rate Limiting — Cache-backed default + pluggable hook for custom logic

Custom Rate Limiting

# settings.py
def my_rate_limiter(request, action):
    # Return True to allow, False to deny
    if request.user.is_staff:
        return True
    return False  # Custom logic

SUPCHAT = {
    "RATE_LIMIT_CALLBACK": my_rate_limiter,
}

👥 Operator Management

Creating Operators

Create Operator records in Django admin for your support staff:

from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
from supchat.models import Operator

User = get_user_model()
user = User.objects.get(username="support_agent")
Operator.objects.create(user=user, is_online=True)

Assigning Operators Programmatically

from supchat.services import assign_operator

# Auto-assign to current user (if they're an operator)
assign_operator(request, conversation)

# Assign to a specific operator
assign_operator(request, conversation, operator=some_operator)

Operator Dashboard

Access the operator panel at /supchat/operator/ (requires staff permissions).

Features:

💬 Real-time conversation list with unread badges
📊 Analytics dashboard with 7-day & 30-day charts
🎯 Conversation assignment & status management
🌓 Dark/Light theme toggle
🌐 Bilingual interface (EN/FA)

🛠️ Public API

The service layer is the stable integration point. Use these functions in your views, signals, or management commands:

from supchat.services import (
    get_or_create_conversation,
    send_message,
    close_conversation,
    assign_operator,
    mark_messages_read,
)

`get_or_create_conversation(request) → (Conversation, guest_id | None)`

Returns an open conversation for the user/guest. Creates one if none exists.

conversation, guest_id = get_or_create_conversation(request)

`send_message(request, conversation, text) → Message`

Sends a message and broadcasts it via SSE.

message = send_message(request, conversation, "Hello!")

`close_conversation(request, conversation) → Conversation`

Closes a conversation (operators only).

close_conversation(request, conversation)

`assign_operator(request, conversation, operator=None) → Conversation`

Assigns an operator to a conversation.

assign_operator(request, conversation, operator=my_operator)

`mark_messages_read(request, conversation, message_ids=None) → int`

Marks messages as read. Returns count of updated messages.

count = mark_messages_read(request, conversation)

🎨 Customization

Override any of these in your project:

your_project/
├── templates/
│   └── supchat/
│       └── widget.html          # Override the widget template
└── static/
    └── supchat/
        ├── supchat.css          # Override styles
        └── supchat.js           # Override behavior

CSS Variables

Customize colors by overriding CSS variables:

.supchat-widget {
    --sc-primary: #6366f1;
    --sc-primary-hover: #4f46e5;
    --sc-bubble-user: linear-gradient(135deg, #6366f1, #8b5cf6);
    --sc-bubble-agent: #ffffff;
    --sc-bg: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.95);
    --sc-fg: #0f172a;
    --sc-border: rgba(226, 232, 240, 0.8);
}

JavaScript Events

Listen to chat events:

document.addEventListener('supchat:open', () => {
    console.log('Chat opened');
});

document.addEventListener('supchat:close', () => {
    console.log('Chat closed');
});

document.addEventListener('supchat:message', (e) => {
    console.log('New message:', e.detail);
});

🚢 Deployment

SSE Requirements

The built-in SSE manager is process-local and works great for:

Development
Single-process deployments
Small to medium traffic

For multi-worker deployments (Gunicorn, uWSGI with multiple workers), clients connected to different workers won't receive broadcasts. Solutions:

Option 1: Single Worker

gunicorn myproject.wsgi:application --workers 1 --threads 8

Option 2: Cross-Worker Fanout

Implement your own broadcast mechanism using Redis Pub/Sub, a message queue, or your cache backend:

# myproject/sse_bridge.py
from django.core.cache import cache
from supchat.sse import sse_manager

def broadcast_to_all_workers(conversation_id, event, data):
    # Publish to Redis/cache
    cache.set(f"supchat:broadcast:{conversation_id}", {
        "event": event,
        "data": data,
    }, timeout=5)
    
    # Each worker subscribes and calls:
    # sse_manager.broadcast(conversation_id, event, data)

Proxy Configuration

Nginx:

location /supchat/ {
    proxy_pass http://localhost:8000;
    proxy_buffering off;              # Critical for SSE
    proxy_cache off;
    proxy_read_timeout 86400s;        # Long timeout for SSE
    proxy_send_timeout 86400s;
}

Apache:

<Location /supchat/>
    ProxyPass http://localhost:8000/supchat/
    ProxyPassReverse http://localhost:8000/supchat/
    SetEnv proxy-nokeepalive 1
    SetEnv proxy-sendchunked 1
</Location>

🌐 Browser Support

Browser	Version
Chrome	90+
Firefox	88+
Safari	14+
Edge	90+
iOS Safari	14+
Android Chrome	90+

🗺️ Roadmap

File/image attachments
Message reactions & emoji
Conversation tags & categories
Canned responses / quick replies
Chat transcripts via email
Webhook integrations (Slack, Discord)
Bot/AI auto-responses
Multi-language support (beyond EN/FA)
Mobile SDK (iOS/Android)
WebSocket adapter (optional)

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how:

Fork the repo
Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
Push to the branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
Open a Pull Request

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/xo-aria/django-supchat.git
cd django-supchat
pip install -e '.[test]'
pytest

📄 License & Trademark

Code License

django-supchat is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0).

This means:

✅ You can use, modify, and distribute this software
✅ You can use it commercially
⚠️ You must disclose source code (even for SaaS/network services)
⚠️ You must include the same license in distributions
⚠️ You must state changes you made

📖 Read the full AGPL-3.0 license

Trademark Policy

The name "SupChat" is a trademark of xo-aria. See the Trademark Policy for details on:

✅ How to use the SupChat name
✅ Attribution requirements
❌ What you cannot do
🎨 Logo usage guidelines

Quick Summary:

You must keep "SupChat" in the name when distributing
You must include attribution: Based on SupChat by xo-aria - https://github.com/xo-aria/django-supchat
You cannot rebrand without mentioning SupChat
You cannot use SupChat logos without permission

Why AGPL-3.0?

We chose AGPL-3.0 to:

Protect user freedom - Ensure the software stays free
Close the SaaS loophole - Even network services must share source code
Encourage contributions - Improvements benefit everyone
Maintain quality - Prevent closed-source forks from fragmenting the project

Commercial Use

Yes, you can use SupChat commercially! Just:

✅ Comply with AGPL-3.0 (disclose source code)
✅ Follow the trademark policy (attribution)
✅ Document your changes

Need a commercial license without AGPL restrictions? Contact us.

🙏 Attribution

If you use SupChat in your project, we'd appreciate:

Required (by license):

Based on SupChat by xo-aria
https://github.com/xo-aria/django-supchat
Licensed under AGPL-3.0

Appreciated (but optional):

⭐ Star the repository on GitHub
📝 Mention "Powered by SupChat" in your docs/about page
🔗 Link back to https://github.com/xo-aria/django-supchat
🐦 Tweet about it (we'd love to see your projects!)

📞 Support & Contact

Bug Reports & Feature Requests:

🐛 GitHub Issues

Questions & Discussions:

💬 GitHub Discussions

Commercial Licensing:

📧 Email: [your-email@example.com]
💼 Custom licensing available for closed-source projects

Security Issues:

🔒 Please email security issues directly to [your-email@example.com]
⚠️ Do not open public issues for security vulnerabilities

If django-supchat helps your project, please consider:

⭐ Starring on GitHub • 🍴 Forking • 💬 Joining Discussions

Made with ❤️ by xo-aria

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with ❤️ for the Django community
Inspired by Intercom, Crisp, and Tawk.to
Icons from Lucide
Charts powered by Chart.js

📞 Support

🐛 Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
💡 Feature Requests: GitHub Discussions
📧 Email: your-email@example.com

If django-supchat helps your project, consider giving it a ⭐ on GitHub!

⭐ Star on GitHub • 💬 Join Discussions

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This version

1.8.0

Jun 22, 2026

1.7.0

Jun 22, 2026

1.6.0

Jun 22, 2026

1.5.0

Jun 22, 2026

1.3.0

Jun 22, 2026

1.0.0

Jun 22, 2026

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django-supchat 1.8.0

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Project links

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Project description

💬 django-supchat

A Lightweight, Real-Time Support Chat for Django

✨ Overview

🚀 Key Features

🎨 Frontend

⚡ Backend

📦 Quick Start

1. Install

2. Configure Django

3. Add URLs

4. Run Migrations

5. Render the Widget

📚 Documentation

Configuration Reference

Widget Settings

Advanced Settings

Per-Render Overrides

🔐 Security Model

Custom Rate Limiting

👥 Operator Management

Creating Operators

Assigning Operators Programmatically

Operator Dashboard

🛠️ Public API

get_or_create_conversation(request) → (Conversation, guest_id | None)

send_message(request, conversation, text) → Message

close_conversation(request, conversation) → Conversation

assign_operator(request, conversation, operator=None) → Conversation

mark_messages_read(request, conversation, message_ids=None) → int

🎨 Customization

CSS Variables

JavaScript Events

🚢 Deployment

SSE Requirements

Option 1: Single Worker

Option 2: Cross-Worker Fanout

Proxy Configuration

🌐 Browser Support

🗺️ Roadmap

🤝 Contributing

Development Setup

📄 License & Trademark

Code License

Trademark Policy

Why AGPL-3.0?

Commercial Use

🙏 Attribution

Required (by license):

Appreciated (but optional):

📞 Support & Contact

Bug Reports & Feature Requests:

Questions & Discussions:

Commercial Licensing:

Security Issues:

🙏 Acknowledgments

📞 Support

Project details

Verified details

Maintainers

Unverified details

Project links

Meta

Classifiers

Release history Release notifications | RSS feed

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Source Distribution

Built Distribution

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`get_or_create_conversation(request) → (Conversation, guest_id | None)`

`send_message(request, conversation, text) → Message`

`close_conversation(request, conversation) → Conversation`

`assign_operator(request, conversation, operator=None) → Conversation`

`mark_messages_read(request, conversation, message_ids=None) → int`