Node.js v18 or newer (v24 tested)
GROK_API_KEY env var (xAI) — optional; the bot runs without it
For the PostgreSQL backend: Linux x86_64, libpq5 installed on the host, and a reachable PostgreSQL server

Install & build

cd apps/simplex-support-bot
npm install
npm run build    # tsc

The native library is downloaded on first start into the user cache. To download it ahead of time (for example in a Dockerfile), run as the user that runs the bot:

npx simplex-chat install --backend sqlite
npx simplex-chat install --backend postgres   # Linux x86_64 only

Select the database with --db sqlite (default) or --db postgres.

Run

mkdir -p data    # state file lives here by default

# SQLite (default)
npm start -- --team-group "Support Team"

# PostgreSQL
npm start -- --team-group "Support Team" \
             --db postgres --pg-conn "postgres://user:pass@host/db"

Flags

Run npm start -- --help for the auto-generated reference. Summary:

Flag	Backend	Required	Default	Description
`--team-group`	both	yes	—	team group display name
`--state-file`	both	no	`./data/state.json`	path to bot state JSON
`--db`	both	no	`sqlite`	`sqlite` or `postgres`
`--sqlite-file-prefix`	sqlite	no	`./data/simplex`	DB file prefix (creates `<prefix>_chat.db`, `<prefix>_agent.db`)
`--sqlite-key`	sqlite	no	(unencrypted)	SQLCipher encryption key
`--pg-conn`	postgres	yes	—	PostgreSQL connection string
`--pg-schema`	postgres	no	`simplex_v1`	schema prefix used for bot tables
`-a` / `--auto-add-team-members`	both	no		comma-separated `ID:name` pairs (e.g. `1:Alice,2:Bob`)
`--timezone`	both	no	`UTC`	IANA zone for weekend detection
`--complete-hours`	both	no	`3`	auto-complete chats after N hours idle (`0` disables)
`--card-flush-seconds`	both	no	`300`	debounce card state writes
`--context-file`	both	required with `GROK_API_KEY`		text file with Grok system context
`--dry-run`	both	no		check config, database and state, then exit
`--allow-migrations`	both	no		with `--dry-run`: apply pending migrations instead of reporting them
`-h` / `--help`	both	no		show usage and exit

Environment variables

Var	Purpose
`GROK_API_KEY`	xAI API key; enables Grok replies
`SIMPLEX_LIBS_DIR`	directory with a local libsimplex build for the `--db` backend, instead of the downloaded one
`SIMPLEX_ADDON_PATH`	locally built Node.js add-on (`simplex.node`), instead of the downloaded one
`NODE_OPTIONS`	`--max-old-space-size=8192` on a bot with many chats: single API responses outgrow the default heap

Docker

scripts/support-bot/Dockerfile builds libsimplex (PostgreSQL backend), the Node.js library and the bot from this checkout. The first build compiles the core and takes hours on a cold cabal cache.

PG_CONN='postgres://simplex@127.0.0.1/simplex_support_bot' \
  docker compose -f scripts/support-bot/compose.yml up --build

The Grok context file is read from scripts/support-bot/config/grok-context.txt, and GROK_API_KEY from the environment.

Dry run

--dry-run opens the database, checks what the next start would do, and exits. It does not start chat, so nothing is sent to the network, and pending migrations are reported, not applied.

npm start -- --dry-run --team-group "Support Team" --db postgres --pg-conn "postgres://user:pass@host/db" \
             -a 3:alice --context-file ./data/grok-context.yaml

ok    database postgres opened, schema up to date
ok    active user: 1:Ask SimpleX Team
ok    team group 1: Support Team
FAIL  team member 3:alice has display name "bob", the bot would exit

A pending migration stops the checks:

FAIL  database: 2 migration(s) pending, a real start would apply them: 20261019_chat_layout, 20261021_badge_subscriptions

With --allow-migrations, the migrations are applied first and the checks run after them. Run it against a restored copy of the database unless the migration is intended, and with the bot stopped.

A line is ok, FAIL or ?. ? marks an id absent from the chat previews: with chat stopped, only chats that were used are listed, so the bot verifies such ids at startup.

The exit code is 0 when no line is FAIL, 1 otherwise. The checks cover the database connection and migrations, the persisted team group, Grok user and Grok contact, the --auto-add-team-members ids and names, and the --context-file.

Local development against unreleased lib changes

This package depends on simplex-chat from npm. To test against an in-tree version:

# In packages/simplex-chat-nodejs
npm install && npm run build
npm link

# In apps/simplex-support-bot
npm link simplex-chat
export SIMPLEX_ADDON_PATH=../../packages/simplex-chat-nodejs/build/Release/simplex.node

npm unlink simplex-chat && npm install reverts to the registry version.

Troubleshooting

--pg-conn is required with --db postgres — pass a connection string, or use --db sqlite.
libpq5 errors at startup — install libpq5 on the host (apt install libpq5 on Debian/Ubuntu).
ENOENT: no such file or directory, open './data/state.json' — the parent directory of --state-file must exist; mkdir -p data before starting.
JavaScript heap out of memory — a response outgrew the default heap; restart with NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=8192.