Documentation

Everything you need to get Encloso up and running - whether we host it for you or you deploy it on your own infrastructure. New here? Start with the onboarding form, and reach out via the contact page any time.

Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Hosted vs Self-Hosted
  3. Hosted (Managed) Setup
  4. Self-Hosted Setup
  5. First-Run Setup Wizard
  6. Core Concepts
  7. Email (SMTP)
  8. CAPTCHA (Turnstile)
  9. Mobile App
  10. Encryption
  11. Updates & Backups
  12. Getting Help

1. Overview

Encloso is an encrypted support and community platform that combines real-time chat, a ticketing help desk, private messaging, announcements, and granular role-based access. It runs on ASP.NET (.NET Framework 4.8) with SQL Server, and ships with a native Android app. You can run it as a fully managed service or self-host it on your own server.

2. Hosted vs Self-Hosted

Both options run the same platform. The difference is who operates the infrastructure.

Hosted (Managed)

  • We provision, host, secure, update, and back up the instance for you.
  • You get a ready-to-use URL and an owner account - no servers to manage.
  • Best if you want to be up and running fast without operational overhead.

Self-Hosted

  • You deploy Encloso on your own Windows server and own the data end to end.
  • Available with the Lifetime license, which includes the source code.
  • Best if you need full control, white-labelling, or multi-tenant/reseller hosting.

3. Hosted (Managed) Setup

With a managed plan, getting started is short:

  • Complete onboarding and choose Web Only or Web + Mobile.
  • Once approved and paid, we provision your instance and send your access details.
  • Sign in with your owner account, then create roles, topics, and channels.
  • Custom domain and branding are configured on request as part of provisioning.

There is nothing to install - updates and backups are handled for you.

4. Self-Hosted Setup

Requirements:

  • Windows Server with IIS
  • .NET Framework 4.8
  • SQL Server (Express or full) reachable from the web server
  • A SQL login permitted to create a database (the setup wizard runs CREATE DATABASE)
  • HTTPS (recommended) so the authentication cookie is sent securely

Deploy:

  • Publish the application files to your server (the bin folder already contains the required assemblies).
  • Create an IIS site (or application) pointing at the folder, using a .NET 4.x application pool.
  • Browse to the site - you’ll be redirected to the first-run setup wizard.

Encloso is multi-tenant by host name: each host:port gets its own configuration file in App_Data/instances/ and its own database, so one deployment can serve multiple isolated portals.

5. First-Run Setup Wizard

The first time you open an unconfigured instance, the setup wizard collects:

  • SQL Server name and authentication (Windows or SQL).
  • Business name - shown throughout the portal.
  • Database name - letters, numbers, and underscores.
  • Owner account - username, email, and password.

On submit, Encloso creates the database, builds the schema, seeds the default roles, creates your owner account, signs you in, and stores the instance configuration. After that, the wizard is locked and the site goes straight to login/dashboard.

6. Core Concepts

Roles & permissions

Six default roles (Owner, Admin, Moderator, Support Agent, User, Pending) plus unlimited custom roles with colour badges. Over 25 permissions cover chat, tickets, announcements, rules, user management, and admin access. Permissions are enforced server-side.

Topics & channels

Organise conversations into topics (categories) and channels. Each can be restricted to specific roles, or left open to everyone.

Tickets

A full help desk with priorities (Low → Urgent), a status workflow (Open → In Progress → Resolved → Closed), staff vs user replies, attachments, and email notifications.

Announcements, rules & private messages

Broadcast announcements with priority and reactions, publish rules, and let users exchange encrypted direct messages.

7. Email (SMTP)

Configure SMTP in the admin dashboard so the portal can send ticket notifications, announcement emails, and password resets. Each instance has its own SMTP settings, so hosted tenants can send branded email from their own provider.

8. CAPTCHA (Turnstile)

Each instance can enable Cloudflare Turnstile (site key + secret key) to protect login and registration from bots. It’s configured per instance in the admin dashboard.

9. Mobile App

The Web + Mobile plan includes a native Android app built with Capacitor, with Firebase Cloud Messaging push notifications and deep linking straight into a conversation or ticket. It provides full access to chat, DMs, and the ticket system on the go.

10. Encryption

Messages are encrypted on the client with AES-256 before they reach the server, and keys are exchanged using RSA. The server stores only ciphertext - it cannot read message content. Per-channel keys rotate, and an encrypted search index lets you search without exposing plaintext. Because of this zero-knowledge design, keep your keys and passwords safe: lost keys cannot be recovered.

11. Updates & Backups

Hosted: we handle updates and backups for you. Self-hosted: back up your SQL database and the App_Data and uploads folders regularly, and apply updates as released. Test restores periodically.

12. Getting Help

Can’t find what you need? Reach us through the contact page - we’re happy to help.