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Chat Client

BareNOC ships an AIM-style desktop chat client — talk to the Queue Manager (Juniper) like a colleague.

The feature can be switched off in Settings → General → Enable desktop chat client (CHAT_CLIENT_ENABLED). When disabled, the Downloads page and the chat API return 403 — the desktop client cannot sign in. Turn it back on there at any time.

Install & launch

  • Linux: cd client && ./install.sh then barenoc-chat (or run python3 barenoc_chat.py --server https://<appliance>).
  • Windows: install.bat (installs + Start Menu/Desktop shortcuts).
  • macOS: ./install.command (builds BareNOC Chat.app).
  • Standalone binary (no Python): build.sh / build.bat (PyInstaller).

The Queue Manager (Juniper) conversation flow

flowchart LR
    MSG[Your message] --> Q{Ticket or queue question?}
    Q -->|"yes"| ANS[Answered from the queue]
    Q -->|"no"| TK{Ticket in context?}
    TK -->|"yes, open"| APP[Appended to that ticket]
    TK -->|"no"| NEW[New ticket opened]
    APP --> AI[AI Technician]
    NEW --> AI
    AI -->|"answers / acts"| FEED[Customer Action — verify]
    FEED -->|"confirmed"| CLOSE[Closed]

What the Queue Manager answers directly: tickets and the queue — status, counts, filters ("what's open?", "what's escalated?", "what needs customer action?", "how many tickets?", "status of TKT-…"), and identity questions ("what's your name?", "who are you?"). Everything else becomes a ticket (new, or appended to the ticket you're discussing).

Ticket actions you can speak:

  • "make TKT-… a P1" · "assign TKT-… to bob" · "close TKT-…" · "close this"
  • "are there any notes yet?" (about the ticket in context)

Buddy list

  • ☎ Queue Manager — the main conversation. The chat header shows her name
    • role (Juniper — Queue Manager); replies are labeled with her name.
  • Devices — click a device and message it to open a ticket targeted at it.
  • Tickets — click a ticket to read its conversation; messages you send are appended as comments for the AI/human tech.

Slash commands

/help                 this list
/tickets [filter]     open | in_progress | escalated | customer_action | closed | P1 …
/status TKT-…         full status + conversation for a ticket
/logs [n]             recent activity
/devices              device list
/system               host + queue status
/me                   your account info
/refresh              refresh now
/clear                clear the window

How a request flows

  1. You message the Queue Manager (or a device/ticket buddy).
  2. Ticket/queue questions → answered immediately.
  3. Anything else → ticket opened (or appended) + confirmation with the ID.
  4. AI Technician picks it up: sanitizes, judges, executes approved actions.
  5. Needs a human → Escalated. Needs you → Customer Action.
  6. You verify ("that fixed it") → the AI closes it; updates post in-thread.

Tip: "what vlans are on my network?" is an info request — the AI Technician answers it from the UniFi controller and posts the result in the ticket.