Introduction
Overseer — a self-hosted AI assistant for your own server, explained in plain language.
Welcome to Overseer
Overseer is your own private AI assistant for a server or computer you control.
You can talk to it in a web chat, Telegram, or Discord. It can help you inspect files, answer questions about your system, and automate everyday tasks from one dashboard.
This documentation is written to help both:
- people who just want to get it running without learning every technical detail
- developers who want to customize, extend, or self-host it in production
Start fast with the shortest setup path
Detailed step-by-step setup for each option
Learn how it works behind the scenes
Connect your own tools and apps
Deploy the app or just the docs
Day-to-day use of chat, files, bots, and settings
Start Here
If you are not technical, this is the simplest way to think about it:
- Overseer app: the actual AI assistant and dashboard
- Docs site: the help website you are reading now
Use this guide based on what you want:
- If you want to try Overseer itself, go to Quick Start
- If you want to run Overseer for real on your own server, go to Deployment
- If you want to publish only the docs on Vercel, go to Deployment
Why People Use Overseer
+It gives you one place to manage everything
Instead of jumping between terminals, config files, dashboards, and chat apps, you can manage your setup from one interface.
+You keep control
Overseer is self-hosted. Your settings, files, and providers stay under your control instead of living only inside a third-party hosted product.
+You can chat with it the way you like
Use the built-in web chat, Telegram, or Discord. You can also upload files, attach images, and work inside each user’s own file area.
+It can grow with you
Start with the basics, then add skills, more providers, bots, MCP servers, or custom workflows when you need them.
+It is built for real usage
It supports multiple users, separate sandboxes, permissions, audit logs, and production deployment patterns.
Quick Install
If you just want the fastest path:
curl -fsSL https://overseer.sh/install | bashIf you prefer doing it yourself:
git clone https://github.com/Quad-Labs-LLC/overseer.git
cd overseer
pnpm install
pnpm run db:init
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your credentials, then:
pnpm devNew here? Follow the Quick Start first. It is the shortest, least technical path.