Chapter 12: Ecosystem & Reference 🟡 BETA

General Bots supports full white-label customization, allowing you to rebrand the entire platform.

Overview

White-labeling allows you to:

• Replace “General Bots” branding with your own product name
• Enable/disable specific apps in the suite
• Set a default theme for all users
• Customize logos, colors, and other visual elements
• Control which APIs are available based on enabled apps

Configuration File

The white-label settings are defined in the .product file located in the root of the botserver directory.

File Location

botserver/
├── .product          # White-label configuration
├── src/
├── Cargo.toml
└── ...

Configuration Format

The .product file uses a simple key=value format:

# Product Configuration File
# Lines starting with # are comments

# Product name (replaces "General Bots" throughout the application)
name=My Custom Platform

# Active apps (comma-separated list)
apps=chat,drive,tasks,calendar

# Default theme
theme=sentient

# Optional customizations
logo=/static/my-logo.svg
favicon=/static/favicon.ico
primary_color=#3b82f6
support_email=support@mycompany.com
docs_url=https://docs.mycompany.com
copyright=© {year} {name}. All rights reserved.

Configuration Options

name

Type: String
Default: General Bots

The product name that replaces “General Bots” throughout the application, including:

• Page titles
• Welcome messages
• Footer text
• Email templates
• API responses

name=Acme Bot Platform

apps

Type: Comma-separated list
Default: All apps enabled

Specifies which apps are visible in the suite without turning Preview mode on. The shipped configuration lists only the stable surface:

apps=chat,drive,vibe

Applications not listed here are not removed — they are declared under preview_apps instead. To promote an app out of Preview mode, move its id from preview_apps to apps.

Example — promoting the advanced apps:

apps=chat,drive,vibe,mail,sheet

preview_apps

Type: Comma-separated list
Default: Empty

Applications that are installed and fully usable, but withheld from the launcher and the sidebar until the user turns on the Preview switch in the left sidebar (#1348). The shipped configuration declares every application except the three stable ones.

apps=chat,drive,vibe
preview_apps=admin,analytics,attendant,automations,banking,billing,biometry,
             browser,calendar,campaigns,canvas,compliance,concierge,crm,database,
             designer,docs,editor,fraud,goals,handoff,hr,integrations,jukebox,kyc,
             learn,lists,mail,marketing,meet,memory,minutes,monitoring,notes,o365,
             paper,people,photos,plan,player,pos,products,project,recycle,research,
             retail,sales,settings,sheet,slides,social,sources,store,tasks,tax,
             templates,terminal,tickets,timeclock,timer,vdi,video,vision,weather,
             workspace

Rules that matter when editing these lists:

• Never list the same id in both lists. A preview app must be absent from apps; that absence is what keeps it out of the launcher.
• Ids must exist. They are matched against the catalog in botserver/src/apps/registry.rs and the feature map in botserver/src/apps/mod.rs::is_app_compiled. An id in neither place is ignored by the launcher.
• Core surfaces stay visible. settings, auth and admin are always enabled regardless of these lists.
• Preview controls visibility, not installation. Preview apps keep working; only their launcher entry is withheld.

Stability classification

As of September 2026:

theme

Type: String
Default: sentient

Sets the default theme for new users and the login page.

Available themes:

theme=dark

logo

Type: URL/Path (optional)
Default: General Bots logo

URL or path to your custom logo. Supports SVG, PNG, or other image formats.

logo=/static/branding/my-logo.svg
logo=https://cdn.mycompany.com/logo.png

favicon

Type: URL/Path (optional)
Default: General Bots favicon

URL or path to your custom favicon.

favicon=/static/branding/favicon.ico

primary_color

Type: Hex color code (optional)
Default: Theme-dependent

Override the primary accent color across the UI.

primary_color=#3b82f6
primary_color=#e11d48

support_email

Type: Email address (optional)
Default: None

Support email displayed in help sections and error messages.

support_email=support@mycompany.com

docs_url

Type: URL (optional)
Default: https://docs.generalbots.org

URL to your documentation site.

docs_url=https://docs.mycompany.com

copyright

Type: String (optional)
Default: © {year} {name}. All rights reserved.

Copyright text for the footer. Supports placeholders:

• {year} - Current year
• {name} - Product name

copyright=© {year} {name} - A product of My Company Inc.

API Integration

Product Configuration Endpoint

The current product configuration is available via API:

GET /api/product

Response:

{
  "name": "My Custom Platform",
  "apps": ["chat", "drive", "tasks", "calendar"],
  "theme": "dark",
  "logo": "/static/my-logo.svg",
  "favicon": null,
  "primary_color": "#3b82f6",
  "docs_url": "https://docs.mycompany.com",
  "copyright": "© 2025 My Custom Platform. All rights reserved."
}

App-Gated APIs

When an app is disabled in the .product file, its corresponding APIs return 403 Forbidden:

{
  "error": "app_disabled",
  "message": "The 'calendar' app is not enabled for this installation"
}

UI Integration

JavaScript Access

The product configuration is available in the frontend:

// Fetch product config
const response = await fetch('/api/product');
const product = await response.json();

console.log(product.name);  // "My Custom Platform"
console.log(product.apps);  // ["chat", "drive", "tasks"]

Conditional App Rendering

The navigation menu automatically hides disabled apps. If you need to check manually:

function isAppEnabled(appName) {
  return window.productConfig?.apps?.includes(appName) ?? false;
}

if (isAppEnabled('calendar')) {
  // Show calendar features
}

Examples

Example 1: Simple Chat Bot

A minimal setup for a chat-only bot:

name=Support Bot
apps=chat
theme=dark
support_email=help@example.com

Example 2: Internal Tools Platform

An internal company platform with productivity tools:

name=Acme Internal Tools
apps=chat,drive,tasks,docs,calendar,meet
theme=light
logo=/static/acme-logo.svg
primary_color=#1e40af
docs_url=https://wiki.acme.internal
copyright=© {year} Acme Corporation - Internal Use Only

Example 3: Customer Service Platform

A customer service focused deployment:

name=ServiceDesk Pro
apps=chat,tasks,analytics,admin,monitoring
theme=blue
support_email=admin@servicedesk.com
docs_url=https://help.servicedesk.com

Example 4: Full Suite

Enable all features (default behavior):

name=Enterprise Suite
apps=chat,mail,calendar,drive,tasks,docs,paper,sheet,slides,meet,research,sources,analytics,admin,monitoring,settings
theme=sentient

Reloading Configuration

The product configuration is loaded at server startup. To apply changes:

1. Edit the .product file
2. Restart the server

# Restart the server to apply changes
systemctl restart botserver
# or
docker-compose restart botserver

Environment Variable Override

You can override the .product file location using an environment variable:

export PRODUCT_CONFIG_PATH=/etc/myapp/.product

Best Practices

1. Version Control: Include the .product file in your deployment configuration (but not in the main repo if it contains sensitive branding)

2. Minimal Apps: Only enable the apps your users need to reduce complexity and improve performance

3. Consistent Branding: Ensure your logo, colors, and theme work well together

4. Documentation: Update your docs_url to point to customized documentation for your users

5. Testing: Test the UI with your specific app combination to ensure navigation works correctly

Troubleshooting

Apps Not Hiding

If disabled apps still appear:

1. Clear browser cache
2. Verify the .product file syntax
3. Check server logs for configuration errors
4. Restart the server

API Returns 403

If APIs return “app_disabled” errors:

1. Check the apps list in .product
2. Ensure the app name is spelled correctly (lowercase)
3. Restart the server after changes

Branding Not Updating

If the product name doesn’t change:

1. Hard refresh the browser (Ctrl+Shift+R)
2. Clear application cache
3. Verify the name field in .product
4. Check for syntax errors (missing = sign)

Related Documentation

• Theme Customization - Detailed theme configuration
• UI Components - UI customization options
• Configuration - General server configuration
• Authentication - Auth customization for white-label