Overview
The Hostwares AI Assistant is a context-aware DevOps agent that understands your entire infrastructure. It can deploy sites, configure domains, analyze logs, and troubleshoot issues - all through natural conversation.
Access it from Dashboard → AI Assistant or the chat sidebar on any dashboard page.
Key features
- Context-aware - Knows your sites, databases, domains, and their current status
- Action-capable - Can restart, deploy, configure, and diagnose in real-time
- Vision - Upload a screenshot of an error page, terminal, or dashboard and it reads it directly
- Cited answers - Root-cause explanations reference the actual log lines they're based on, not a paraphrase
- Autonomous on paid plans - Starter and above auto-execute most actions without a confirmation click; you can opt back into confirming everything (see below)
- Streaming - Responses stream in real-time for fast interaction
- Available 24/7 - No waiting for support tickets
How Credits Work
Pricing is task-based, not per-message: what decides the minimum is whether the AI only looked something up or actually changed something, and you're charged the higher of that minimum or the actual token cost with margin.
| Interaction type | Minimum charge | In credits | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chat / advice - no tools used | $0.10 | 2 credits | "What's my site status?", general questions |
| Read-only lookup | $0.10 | 2 credits | Listing sites, checking status, viewing logs, checking your balance |
| Task execution - anything mutating | $0.50 | 10 credits | "Restart my-site", "Deploy from GitHub", setting env vars, DNS/SSL changes |
A conversation that does several lookups AND one mutating action (e.g. reads logs, then restarts the site) is charged at the task rate once for the whole turn - never per tool call. Heavier tasks (long log analysis, many tool calls) can cost more than the minimum - you're charged actual token usage × margin when that exceeds the floor above. The minimum is a floor, not a cap.
Credit tips
- Credits are deducted once per full interaction, after the response is sent - not per tool call
- Failed requests (network errors) don't cost credits
- Billing and support messages are always free, even at 0 balance
- Every response includes the exact charge - check the
costfield via the API, or ask "how many credits did that use?"
Purchase credits from Dashboard → Credits.
Available Commands
The AI has access to these tools and can call them on your behalf:
Site Management
| Tool | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
list_sites | List all your deployed sites | "Show my sites" |
get_site_status | Check health, uptime, resources | "What's the status of my-app?" |
restart_site | Restart a container | "Restart my-site" |
redeploy_site | Fresh deployment from source | "Redeploy my-app" |
start_site | Start a stopped container | "Start my-site" |
stop_site | Stop a running container | "Stop my-app" |
Domains & SSL
| Tool | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
configure_domain | Add/update domain | "Add example.com to my-site" |
check_dns | Verify DNS records | "Check DNS for my-site" |
activate_ssl | Request SSL certificate | "Set up SSL for my-site" |
check_ssl_status | Certificate status | "Is my SSL active?" |
Debugging & Config
| Tool | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
get_deployment_logs | Build/deploy logs | "Show deploy logs for my-app" |
get_runtime_logs | Application logs | "Show runtime logs for my-site" |
get_site_config | Current configuration | "Show config for my-app" |
update_env_vars | Set env variables | "Set API_KEY=abc on my-site" |
Screenshots & Vision
Attach an image (paste, drag-drop, or the file picker) instead of describing a problem in words. The AI reads it directly - this is the fastest way to report something visual.
- Error page screenshots - it identifies the framework error and correlates it with your logs
- Terminal/console output - it reads the error text straight off the image
- Coolify or dashboard screenshots - it explains what's misconfigured
- DNS panel screenshots from another registrar - it tells you exactly what to change
- PDFs - Dockerfiles, config exports, architecture docs
Up to 5 images per message (PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF). When the AI explains a root cause, it cites the specific log line it's based on rather than a paraphrase - click a citation to see the source.
Scheduled Jobs
A few recurring checks can be set up once, in conversation, and then run on a schedule after that. These are the only things HW does without you asking each time - everything else is on-demand.
- "Back up my database nightly" - schedules automatic backups with retention
- "Email me if my SSL is expiring" - sends a notification as your certificate approaches expiry (does not auto-renew)
- "Send me a monthly cost report" - an email breaking down what you were charged and what changed, month over month
These are opt-in and scoped to notify-or-single-action - HW never decides on its own to watch a resource and act on it.
What It Can Do
- Deploy sites from GitHub repos or Docker images
- Configure custom domains and DNS
- Set up and manage SSL certificates
- Start, stop, restart, redeploy containers
- Set and manage environment variables
- Read and analyze deployment and runtime logs
- Diagnose build failures and suggest fixes
- Run commands and read/write files inside your deployed containers - on the web, not just the CLI
- Check DNS propagation and SSL status
- Explain error messages and provide solutions
- Guide you through complex multi-step operations
What It Cannot Do
The AI assistant is scoped to hosting and DevOps tasks. It will politely decline:
- Writing application code
- General programming help
- Non-hosting questions
- Accessing other users' resources
- Modifying billing/subscription settings
- Bypassing security restrictions
Safety Rules
The AI follows strict safety protocols to protect your infrastructure:
- Deletion always requires confirmation - this is the one action that always asks, on every plan, with no opt-out
- Scoped access - Can only access YOUR sites and databases
- No credential exposure - Never reveals secrets, passwords, or server IPs
- Rate limited - messages per minute are capped based on your AI plan (higher on paid tiers) to prevent abuse; you'll get a clear "slow down" message if you hit it, and your message is preserved so you don't lose it
- Abuse detection - Refuses crypto mining, phishing, malware, or ToS-violating deployments
- Audit trail - Every AI action is logged with timestamp and user ID
Confirmation & Autonomy
Other than deletion, whether an action runs immediately or waits for your confirmation depends on your plan and your preference:
- Free tier - every mutating action (restart, deploy, env vars, DNS, SSL, scaling, etc.) asks for confirmation first
- Starter, Pro, PAYG, Business - these actions auto-execute by default, so a multi-step request completes in one turn without you clicking through each step
- Your preference overrides the default - set "always confirm everything" in Dashboard → AI Assistant Settings to review every action regardless of plan, even on Business. You can't go the other way: a free account can't opt into autonomy it isn't entitled to.
Whichever mode you're in, deleting a resource always stops and asks - that check can't be turned off by any plan or preference.
Best Practices
Be specific
✓ "Restart my-app"
✗ "Restart it"
✓ "Show runtime logs for production-api"
✗ "Show logs"
✓ "Add domain api.example.com to my-backend"
✗ "Add a domain"Provide context
✓ "My Next.js site fails to build with a TypeScript error"
✓ "I added a new domain but it's not resolving after 1 hour"
✓ "My site shows 502 errors since the last deploy"Use follow-up questions
Stay in the same conversation for context-aware follow-ups (2 credits per chat, 10 credits per task execution):
You: "Why did my last deploy fail?"
AI: [analyzes logs, explains the error]
You: "Fix it and redeploy"
AI: [takes corrective action]Conversation History
All conversations are saved for 30 days. Access them from the chat sidebar.
- Each conversation has a unique ID visible in the URL
- Conversations maintain context across messages
- Previous conversations can be continued
- Delete conversations from the sidebar menu
- The last 30 messages are kept as active working context; older messages are summarized rather than dropped, so long-running conversations don't lose the plot
Example Conversations
Deploy a new site
You: "Deploy my app from github.com/user/my-nextjs-app"
AI: "I'll deploy that for you. Detected: Next.js app
Branch: main | Build: npm run build | Port: 3000
✓ Deployment started. I'll let you know when it's live.
[2 minutes later]
✓ Your site is live! Accessible at: https://app-id.hostwares.dev"Troubleshoot a failure
You: "Why did my last deployment fail?"
AI: "Let me check the deployment logs...
Found the issue: Your build failed at 'npm run build' with:
Error: Cannot find module '@prisma/client'
Fix: Add 'prisma generate' to your build command:
"build": "prisma generate && next build"
Want me to update the build command and redeploy?"
You: "Yes please"
AI: "✓ Build command updated. ✓ Redeployment triggered."Set up a custom domain
You: "Add domain myapp.com to my production site and set up SSL"
AI: "I'll configure that. Here's what you need to do:
1. Add this DNS record at your registrar:
Type: A | Name: @ | Value: 116.203.147.185
2. For www redirect, add:
Type: CNAME | Name: www | Value: myapp.com
Once DNS propagates (5-30 min), I'll automatically:
✓ Verify the domain
✓ Issue an SSL certificate via Let's Encrypt
✓ Enable HTTPS with HTTP redirect
Say 'check DNS for myapp.com' when you've added the records."