Legacy Web Forms sample. These steps require the older ChatApi.asmx deployment and a separate API demo package. They do not apply to the current .NET 8 download, and the sample package is not available from this site. Get the current package for a new installation.
DChat API Demo is a simple Web API application. It demonstrates the powerful capabilities of DChat API.
The examples below use chat.example.com for the main DChat deployment and api-demo.example.com for the companion API demo site. Replace those placeholders with your own domains.
Unzip the install zip to a new folder where you want the site to be hosted from (eg C:\inetpub\APITestWeb).
Open up IIS Manager, select the Default Web Site (under Sites) and click the Stop button. Now, right click on Sites and select Add Website...
Provide a site name and the folder you want the site to be hosted from.
ChatApiKey is used to create a trusted connection between the main DChat deployment (chat.example.com) and the API demo site (api-demo.example.com).
Please open the main DChat site's web.config and register the notification URL used by the API demo listener, for example https://api-demo.example.com/handle_chatapi_notification.ashx. The main DChat deployment sends event notifications to that listener.
ChatApiKey in the API demo web.config must match the ChatApiKey configured in the main DChat deployment.
Please open the API demo site's web.config and register the service URL exposed by your DChat deployment, for example https://chat.example.com/ChatApi.asmx.
If you installed the API Demo correctly, you will see the following screen that lets you know you're good to go.
Event notifications received from the main DChat deployment are stored in the demo site's log files. Reviewing those files is a practical way to understand how the API sample handles notifications.
Use the API demo to validate notification flow and service authentication before wiring DChat into your own CRM, helpdesk, or internal systems.
DChat gives you the installable server, web dashboard, website widget, and desktop agent tools in one self-hosted product, with live chat free to run, and an AI agent that answers, acts with the approvals you set and hands off to your team when you want one. Run it on infrastructure you trust, on the model you choose.
Deployment
Install on Windows or Linux, behind IIS or Nginx, in a VM, or in Docker if that fits your stack.
Commercial model
Live chat is free with unlimited agents. Premium, with the AI agent, is billed per agent per month, never per conversation.
AI Flexibility
Run the AI agent on a local Ollama model, or connect OpenAI and Anthropic with your own provider accounts.