Installing AsyncUp for your team

AsyncUp is fully self-hosted, which means you (the operator) own all three moving parts, and they're inseparable:

1. Server + database — your container (this is what you run)
2. GCP project — the Chat API config + service account
3. The Chat app on Google's side — what users actually install

There is no central AsyncUp app on the Google Workspace Marketplace that everyone shares — there can't be. A Marketplace listing is tied to one Google Cloud project, and a Chat app points at exactly one HTTP endpoint. A single published app routes every install to that one endpoint — so the only way one listing could serve many orgs is if they all talked to the same server (that's SaaS). Because AsyncUp runs on your server, you register your own Chat app in your own Google project. Your data and credentials never touch the maintainer or any other org.

This page is only about step 3 — how your team gets the bot. For the GCP project + service-account setup, do Google Chat setup first.

The principle that should decide your path

A standup bot only works if everyone reliably receives their DM prompt — the bot can only message someone it shares a DM space with. So the real question is whether you can count on each person to add the bot themselves, or whether you want it installed for them.

	Path A — Allowlist + self-add	Path B — Private Marketplace + admin install
Best for	small teams (≤ a handful, or one Google Group)	whole org / departments, mandatory standups
Setup effort	minutes, no Marketplace	~1 hour one-time (listing + assets)
Who installs	each user adds the bot once	admin force-installs for an OU/group
Risk	someone forgets → silently never prompted	none — everyone gets it

Path A — Visibility allowlist + self-add (small teams)

No Marketplace listing needed.

1. Admin console → Apps → Google Workspace → Google Chat → Chat apps → set "Allow users to install Chat apps" to On (docs).
2. In your Chat app's Configuration (the GCP project), set Visibility to the people who'll use it. Google allows up to five individuals, or one or more Google Groups from your domain (docs) — so for more than five people, point it at a Google Group.
3. Each user opens Google Chat → + → Find apps → AsyncUp → Add, or just messages the bot once. That first interaction creates the DM space so AsyncUp can prompt them.

That's it. The catch is step 3: anyone who never adds the bot won't be prompted, and you won't get an error — they're just quietly absent. Fine for a team you can nudge in a channel; not great for a mandatory company-wide standup.

Path B — Private Marketplace listing + admin install (org-wide, zero-touch)

This makes AsyncUp installable org-wide and lets an admin force-install it, so every targeted user (and every future new hire in the OU) gets the bot with a DM space automatically — no action from them.

1. Publish a private listing via the Google Workspace Marketplace SDK in the same GCP project as your Chat app (docs):

• Enable the Marketplace SDK, then APIs & Services → Google Workspace Marketplace SDK → App Configuration: App Visibility = Private (your domain only), Installation = Admin Install (and/or Individual), App Integrations = your Chat app.
• OAuth consent screen = Internal — a private app to your own domain skips Google's public verification review.
• Store Listing (all required to publish): name, short/long description, category, pricing = Free, icons (32×32, 128×128), a 220×140 banner, ≥1 screenshot, and Terms of Service / Privacy Policy / Support URLs. (AsyncUp ships ready-made icons, a banner, and a screenshot — see the repo's docs/public assets — so this is mostly paste-and-upload.)
• Publish.

2. Install it (docs): Admin console → Apps → Google Workspace Marketplace apps → Apps list → Add app to allowlist / Install, scoped to the OU or group that should have AsyncUp.

Publish ≠ install. Publishing the listing only makes it available. Nobody has the bot until you complete the install/allowlist step in the Admin console. This is the single most common place people get stuck.

Set the request audience to "Project Number"

In your Chat app's Connection settings, the Authentication Audience field has two modes (docs):

• Project Number (recommended) — Google sends a JWT signed by chat@system.gserviceaccount.com whose aud is your project number. This is exactly what AsyncUp verifies. Paste that number into the dashboard's Audience field (Settings → Google Chat).
• HTTP endpoint URL — Google instead sends an OIDC ID token whose aud is your endpoint URL. AsyncUp's dashboard will accept a URL here, but the recommended, fully-supported mode is Project Number — use it unless you have a specific reason not to.

Who's responsible for what (Google side)

	Maintainer (the project)	You (operator)	Google
GCP project + Chat app + service-account key	ships docs + avatar asset	owns & configures	provides the APIs
Distribution choice (allowlist vs listing)	documents both	chooses & configures	hosts Marketplace
Admin install / domain-wide delegation	documents	performs in your Admin console	enforces it
Marketplace listing + its legal URLs	provides a starter kit	owns it (it's in your project)	reviews public listings only
Standup data + credentials	no access, ever	data controller	stores nothing beyond delivery

The maintainer has zero access to your Google project, keys, or data — that's the point of self-hosting.

What it costs

$0 on the Google side, every path. Registering a Chat app, publishing a private Marketplace listing, and admin-installing it are all free; Chat API and Calendar API usage is free within quota; an internal app skips paid verification. You already pay for Google Workspace (Chat is included). Your only real cost is the server that runs AsyncUp — see Setup guide (≈ $0 if you co-locate on existing infra, ≈ $5/mo otherwise) and the optional, pennies-per-month AI summaries.

"AsyncUp not responding" — checklist

If @AsyncUp setup says the app isn't responding, Google usually isn't reaching your endpoint. Check, in order:

1. App status = Live in the Chat API Configuration.
2. Visibility is not empty — a blank allowlist ("Input is required") means the app is visible to nobody. Add the people/Group (Path A) or publish + install (Path B).
3. Installed, not just published — complete the Admin-console install (Path B).
4. Endpoint reachable over HTTPS — curl https://<your-host>/chat/events should answer (a 401 is fine; it means the app is up and rejecting an unsigned probe). The app now logs every arrival and the concrete 401 reason, so check docker compose logs to see whether Google's request even arrived.
5. Audience matches — dashboard Audience = your project number, with Authentication Audience = Project Number on the Google side.