Cariosan Documentation
Free realtime chat SDK for startups — managed on Cariosan Cloud or self-hosted on your own infrastructure. The leaner alternative to Stream Chat and SendBird.
START HERE
Get up and running
Cariosan Cloud
Sign up, get a workspace + API keys in seconds. No Docker required.
Quick start (self-host)
Spin up Cariosan with docker-compose in under 5 minutes.
Introduction
Why Cariosan exists, who it's for, and what it replaces.
Concepts
Workspaces, users, channels, messages — the mental model.
BUILD WITH IT
SDKs for every stack
TypeScript client
Browsers, Node, React Native. Lifecycle, auth, and event API.
React components
ChannelList, MessageList, MessageInput, and the hooks behind them.
React Native UI kit
Native mobile chat components on the same headless core.
Go server SDK
Backend integration: provision users, mint JWTs, manage workspaces.
RUN IT
Self-host with confidence
Docker Compose
The reference self-host deploy — Postgres, Redis, MinIO, Caddy, all wired up.
Environment variables
Every CARIOS_* knob, organised by area, with sensible defaults.
Performance & scaling
500 concurrent on a $12 droplet at 0% CPU. Sizing tiers and scaling guide.
PROTOCOLS
Wire-level reference
WebSocket protocol
Frame format, lifecycle events, and reconnection semantics.
Webhook guide
Signed event payloads with HMAC verification samples in Go, Node, Python.
REST API
Full REST reference, rendered from the server's live OpenAPI spec.
REFERENCE