Introduction
Elaras Chat is an AI chatbot platform. You configure chatbots with a personality, knowledge base, rules, and skills — then embed them on any website or integrate them into your app.
Key concepts
Chatbot — an AI assistant you configure in the Elaras dashboard. Each chatbot has a public key (cbt_...) used for embedding and API calls.
Session — a conversation with a user. Identified by a UUID you generate client-side and persist across page loads. A session contains the full message history and any lead data collected.
Skills — actions the AI can take in your systems. You register a webhook endpoint; when the AI decides to call a skill, Elaras POSTs to your endpoint with the extracted parameters and injects the result back into the conversation.
Webhooks — outbound HTTP notifications sent to your server when events happen (message created, session started, lead captured). Use them to sync data to your CRM, trigger automations, or notify your team.
Developer API — a server-side REST API authenticated with team secret keys (sk_...). Use it to send messages programmatically, inspect sessions, and build backend integrations.
Integration options
| Option | Best for |
|---|---|
| Widget (script tag) | Quick embed on any website — no build step required |
@elaras/chat-sdk | Custom UI, full control, any JS framework |
@elaras/react-chat | React apps — drop-in useChat() hook |
| Developer API | Server-side sending, backend integrations, CRM sync |
How it works
- You create a chatbot in the dashboard and configure its name, personality, knowledge base, and skills.
- You embed the widget or install the SDK and initialise it with your
cbt_...key. - When a user sends a message, Elaras processes it with the AI (applying your rules and knowledge base) and streams the response back via WebSocket.
- If the AI decides to call a skill, Elaras invokes your webhook, waits for the result, and continues generating the response.
- You receive webhook notifications for key events and can query or send messages via the Developer API.
Authentication overview
| Context | Header | Key format |
|---|---|---|
| Widget / SDK (client-side) | X-Chatbot-Key | cbt_... |
| Developer API (server-side) | Authorization: Bearer | sk_... |
| Skills (inbound to your server) | Authorization: Bearer | Your own API key |
| Webhooks (inbound to your server) | X-Elaras-Signature | HMAC-SHA256 |
Quick start
The fastest integration is the widget — one script tag, zero configuration required in your code:
<script src="https://cdn.elaras.ai/widget.js" data-chatbot-key="cbt_your_key_here" ></script>
For a custom UI, see the SDK docs or React hooks docs.