💬AskGov
This guide helps you deploy and maintain AskGov — a comprehensive citizen Q&A platform in your own infrastructure.
Welcome to the AskGov Self-Hosting Guide
Replicate the success of Singapore government using AskGov to:
Create a unified knowledge base for citizen inquiries across all agencies
Reduce duplicate questions with AI-powered search capabilities
Maintain complete data sovereignty within your jurisdiction
Integrate with existing government systems and identity providers
Build citizen trust through transparent, accessible information
Whether you're:
A government agency evaluating citizen engagement solutions
A public sector IT team planning your deployment strategy
A developer customizing AskGov for your specific needs
...this guide aims to assist your path from evaluation to production.
📖 Documentation Sources
This GitBook - Complete, currently developed, self-hosting guide
AskGov GitHub Repository - Source code and development resources
Deploy a test instance locally to evaluate the platform capabilities
What is AskGov?
AskGov is a comprehensive Q&A platform that enables government agencies to:
Answer citizen questions once and make them discoverable to everyone
Reduce repetitive inquiries through intelligent search and related questions
Track citizen feedback to continuously improve answer quality
Provide agency-specific portals while maintaining a unified knowledge base
Key Features:
Hybrid Search: Combines vector search (semantic understanding) with keyword matching
Multi-agency Support: Each agency maintains its own portal and content
Citizen & Officer Modes: Different access levels for public users and government staff
Interactive Guides: Step-by-step walkthroughs for complex procedures
Feedback Analytics: Track answer effectiveness and citizen satisfaction
This is not the end-user manual. For guides on managing questions and answers, visit your deployed instance's help documentation.
⚓ Choose Your Starting Point
This guide assumes you (or your team) have a reasonable level of technical aptitude. Specifically, experience with:
Basic Linux server administration
Docker or container orchestration
Managing environment variables and secrets
Working with Node.js applications
Database administration (PostgreSQL/CockroachDB)
While we have aimed to make this guide as clear and complete as possible, it is not an all-encompassing tutorial for every possible environment or level of expertise.
Civic tech teams have different practices, infrastructure, and skillsets. You are expected to adapt instructions as needed for your own context.
🎯 Decision Maker
"Should my organization adopt AskGov?"
Get frameworks for cost-benefit analysis, technical feasibility assessment, and understanding how AskGov fits into your digital government strategy.
👨💻 Developer
"I want to try AskGov locally first"
Get a local development environment running in 30 minutes to test AskGov's capabilities and understand the architecture hands-on.
🏗️ Mature Team
"We want to deploy to production"
Step-by-step AWS production deployment with security hardening, monitoring, and validation procedures.
☁️ Cloud Migration
"AWS may not be for us"
A starting guide for deploying on Azure, GCP, or on-premise infrastructure.
🔧 Platform Engineering Team
"We need to integrate with existing systems"
Replace authentication, email, search, and other components with your organization's preferred alternatives.
⚖️ Compliance Officer
"Is it okay to use AskGov?"
Covers legal and compliance requirements you must follow when forking AskGov.
📖 This guide is organized as a journey from evaluation through advanced deployment, with comprehensive reference materials.
Each section builds upon previous concepts while remaining modular for experienced teams who want to jump ahead.
🏛️ Key Architectural Components
Understanding AskGov's architecture helps you plan your deployment:
TODO: update remix -> nextjs
Core Stack
Framework: Remix (React-based full-stack framework)
Database: CockroachDB (distributed SQL, PostgreSQL-compatible)
Search Engine: Weaviate (vector database for hybrid search)
UI Components: Chakra UI with OGP Design System
Authentication: Email/Password with OTP support
Integration Points
Email Service: PostmanGovSG (replaceable with any SMTP service)
Monitoring: Datadog RUM (optional)
Analytics: Custom implementation (replaceable)
File Storage: Local filesystem (extensible to S3/cloud storage)
Deployment Options
Container-based: Docker/Kubernetes ready
Traditional: VM or bare-metal deployment supported
🚀 Quick Feature Overview
Before diving into deployment, understand what AskGov offers:
For Citizens
Instant Answers: Search across all government FAQs
Related Questions: AI-powered suggestions for similar inquiries
Agency Portals: Direct access to specific agency information
Feedback System: Rate answers and provide improvement suggestions
For Government Officers
Content Management: Create and manage Q&As without technical knowledge
Analytics Dashboard: Track popular questions and feedback trends
Multi-agency Collaboration: Share knowledge across departments
Bulk Operations: Import/export capabilities for migration
For Administrators
Superadmin Controls: System-wide configuration and monitoring
Agency Management: Create and configure agency-specific settings
User Management: Control access levels and permissions
Search Configuration: Fine-tune hybrid search parameters
📋 Pre-Deployment Checklist
Before beginning your AskGov journey, ensure you have:
🤝 Support and Community
While self-hosting means managing your own deployment, you're not alone:
GitHub Issues: Report bugs and request features
Documentation Updates: This guide is continuously improved
Community Forum: Connect with other government teams using AskGov
Professional Services: Commercial support available through OGP partners
⚖️ License and Attribution
AskGov is open-source software released under the MIT License. When deploying:
Remove Singapore-specific branding (required)
Maintain open-source attribution (required)
Customize for your jurisdiction (recommended)
Contribute improvements back (encouraged)
Ready to begin? Start with the Evaluation Guide to assess if AskGov meets your needs, or jump straight to the Quickstart to see it in action.
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