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Papercups

Papercups is an open-source customer-messaging and live-chat platform built on Elixir/Phoenix, positioned as a self-hosted alternative to Intercom. It exposes a REST API for conversations, messages, and customers, a realtime chat surface over Phoenix WebSocket channels, and outbound webhooks. The project is in maintenance mode (community-maintained, no major new features).

6 APIs 0 Features
Customer MessagingLive ChatOpen SourceSupportIntercom Alternative

APIs

Papercups Conversations API

REST endpoints to create, list, retrieve, update, and delete conversations (threads of messages), with filtering by status, priority, customer, and assignee.

Papercups Messages API

REST endpoints to create, list, retrieve, and delete messages within conversations, including agent and customer messages and their metadata.

Papercups Customers API

REST endpoints to create, list, retrieve, update, and delete customer records (users, leads, or contacts), filterable by name, email, host, and company.

Papercups Notifications & Webhooks API

Outbound event subscriptions delivered as webhooks (message:created, conversation:created, conversation:updated, and a webhook:verify challenge handshake) notifying external sys...

Papercups Realtime Chat API (WebSocket / Phoenix Channels)

Bidirectional realtime live chat over Phoenix WebSocket channels. Clients join conversation, conversation-lobby, and account-room channels and exchange shout (message), messages...

Papercups Webhooks

Register external HTTPS endpoints to receive Papercups events as POSTed JSON payloads of shape { event, payload }, with a verify-challenge handshake on registration.

Event Specifications

Papercups Realtime Chat (WebSocket / Phoenix Channels)

AsyncAPI 2.6 description of Papercups' **realtime live chat** surface. Unlike many providers, Papercups exposes a genuine, bidirectional **WebSocket** transport: the chat widget...

ASYNCAPI

Resources

👥
GitHubOrganization
GitHubOrganization
🔗
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
🔗
Website
Website
🔗
Documentation
Documentation
🔗
Plans
Plans
🔗
RateLimits
RateLimits
🔗
FinOps
FinOps

Sources

Raw ↑
aid: papercups
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/papercups/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
name: Papercups
kind: company
description: Papercups is an open-source customer-messaging and live-chat platform
  built on Elixir/Phoenix, positioned as a self-hosted alternative to Intercom. It
  exposes a REST API for conversations, messages, and customers, a realtime chat surface
  over Phoenix WebSocket channels, and outbound webhooks. The project is in maintenance
  mode (community-maintained, no major new features).
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
- Customer Messaging
- Live Chat
- Open Source
- Support
- Intercom Alternative
created: '2026-06-20'
modified: '2026-06-20'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: papercups:conversations
  name: Papercups Conversations API
  tags:
  - Conversations
  - Support
  - Threads
  image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
  humanURL: https://docs.papercups.io/api-endpoints
  baseURL: https://app.papercups.io/api/v1
  properties:
  - url: https://docs.papercups.io/api-endpoints
    type: Documentation
  - url: https://docs.papercups.io/api-endpoints
    type: APIReference
  - url: openapi/papercups-openapi.yml
    type: OpenAPI
  - url: https://github.com/papercups-io/papercups
    type: GitHub
  description: REST endpoints to create, list, retrieve, update, and delete conversations
    (threads of messages), with filtering by status, priority, customer, and assignee.
- aid: papercups:messages
  name: Papercups Messages API
  tags:
  - Messages
  - Support
  - Chat
  image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
  humanURL: https://docs.papercups.io/api-endpoints
  baseURL: https://app.papercups.io/api/v1
  properties:
  - url: https://docs.papercups.io/api-endpoints
    type: Documentation
  - url: https://docs.papercups.io/api-endpoints
    type: APIReference
  - url: openapi/papercups-openapi.yml
    type: OpenAPI
  - url: https://github.com/papercups-io/papercups
    type: GitHub
  description: REST endpoints to create, list, retrieve, and delete messages within
    conversations, including agent and customer messages and their metadata.
- aid: papercups:customers
  name: Papercups Customers API
  tags:
  - Customers
  - Contacts
  - CRM
  image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
  humanURL: https://docs.papercups.io/api-endpoints
  baseURL: https://app.papercups.io/api/v1
  properties:
  - url: https://docs.papercups.io/api-endpoints
    type: Documentation
  - url: https://docs.papercups.io/api-endpoints
    type: APIReference
  - url: openapi/papercups-openapi.yml
    type: OpenAPI
  - url: https://github.com/papercups-io/papercups
    type: GitHub
  description: REST endpoints to create, list, retrieve, update, and delete customer
    records (users, leads, or contacts), filterable by name, email, host, and company.
- aid: papercups:notifications
  name: Papercups Notifications & Webhooks API
  tags:
  - Webhooks
  - Notifications
  - Events
  image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
  humanURL: https://docs.papercups.io/webhook-events
  baseURL: https://app.papercups.io/api/v1
  properties:
  - url: https://docs.papercups.io/webhook-events
    type: Documentation
  - url: https://github.com/papercups-io/papercups/wiki/Event-Subscriptions-with-Webhooks
    type: APIReference
  - url: https://github.com/papercups-io/papercups
    type: GitHub
  description: Outbound event subscriptions delivered as webhooks (message:created,
    conversation:created, conversation:updated, and a webhook:verify challenge handshake)
    notifying external systems of activity.
- aid: papercups:realtime-chat
  name: Papercups Realtime Chat API (WebSocket / Phoenix Channels)
  tags:
  - Realtime
  - WebSocket
  - Phoenix Channels
  image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
  humanURL: https://docs.papercups.io/chat
  baseURL: wss://app.papercups.io/socket/websocket
  properties:
  - url: https://docs.papercups.io/chat
    type: Documentation
  - url: asyncapi/papercups-asyncapi.yml
    type: AsyncAPI
  - url: https://github.com/papercups-io/papercups
    type: GitHub
  description: Bidirectional realtime live chat over Phoenix WebSocket channels. Clients
    join conversation, conversation-lobby, and account-room channels and exchange
    shout (message), messages:seen, and presence events for two-way messaging.
- aid: papercups:webhooks
  name: Papercups Webhooks
  tags:
  - Webhooks
  - Events
  - Integrations
  image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
  humanURL: https://github.com/papercups-io/papercups/wiki/Event-Subscriptions-with-Webhooks
  baseURL: https://app.papercups.io/api/v1
  properties:
  - url: https://docs.papercups.io/webhook-events
    type: Documentation
  - url: https://github.com/papercups-io/papercups/wiki/Event-Subscriptions-with-Webhooks
    type: APIReference
  - url: https://github.com/papercups-io/webhooks-demo
    type: GitHub
  description: Register external HTTPS endpoints to receive Papercups events as POSTed
    JSON payloads of shape { event, payload }, with a verify-challenge handshake on
    registration.
common:
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/papercups-io
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/papercups
- type: Website
  url: https://papercups.io
- type: Documentation
  url: https://docs.papercups.io
- type: Plans
  url: plans/papercups-plans-pricing.yml
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/papercups-rate-limits.yml
- type: FinOps
  url: finops/papercups-finops.yml
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com