Botsharp
AI Multi-Agent Framework in .NET
Last verified:
What is Botsharp?
BotSharp is an open source application framework for integrating LLMs into existing business systems. It is written in C# and runs on .NET, with an emphasis on enterprise-grade applications, cross-platform support, and modular design. The platform is built to help developers turn natural language into structured data that software can act on, rather than forcing users into rigid input formats. It is positioned for building conversational interfaces, intelligent robot assistants, and chatbot platforms on top of products and services.
A core idea in BotSharp is that the framework handles natural language understanding for you. The documentation says it can interpret user sentences, translate them into structured meaning, and support conversational experiences through agents. It also describes BotSharp as a high-compatible, high-scalable platform builder where different UIs, NLP taggers, and NER algorithms can be swapped through unified interfaces. The platform architecture is modular, with separate components such as storage, corpus extraction, and an NLU engine.
BotSharp also provides a complete Web API for integrating with your own systems. The docs mention support for several LLM providers, and the setup flow includes running a backend web project, accessing Swagger APIs, and optionally launching an official UI for visualizing backend configuration. It also integrates channels such as Twilio, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and WeChat, plus some RPA-related channels to make bots usable in real-life workflows.
It is aimed at .NET developers and teams building business-oriented AI systems. The documentation repeatedly frames it as useful for enterprise scenarios, internal platforms, and developers who want to extend the framework or run it locally in debug mode. It can be installed from source or as a NuGet package, and the docs recommend reading the module documentation carefully so you can choose the right packages for your project.
Botsharp pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
The website does not describe paid plans or subscription tiers. BotSharp is presented as open source, and the docs say you can either build from source or install released packages from NuGet such as BotSharp.Core. The documentation also mentions that BotSharp can work with several LLM providers, and the sample configuration includes Azure OpenAI model cost fields, which indicates that any model usage cost would come from the external LLM provider rather than BotSharp itself. No free-versus-paid feature matrix is listed on the site.
Botsharp pros
- Open source framework
- Built for .NET and C#
- Cross-platform runtime support
- Enterprise-oriented positioning
- Modular architecture
- Separates views and logic
- Complete Web API interface
- Supports multiple LLM providers
- Natural language understanding engine
- Agent-based conversation handling
- Structured-data output from sentences
- Swappable UI and NLP components
- Support for memory and Redis storage
- Corpus extractor for training data
- Official front-end UI available
- Swagger endpoint for API testing
- Postman collection is shared publicly
- Channel integrations for messaging apps
- Local debug-friendly development workflow
- NuGet package installation option
Botsharp cons
- Requires .NET 6.0+ environment
- Primarily focused on .NET developers
- Setup involves multiple projects
- Official UI is optional, not built in
- Configuration is manual in appsettings.json
- Docs contain some awkward or unclear wording
- No pricing page is shown in the docs
- No hosted cloud service is described
- Many capabilities depend on chosen modules
- Some integrations require separate setup
Frequently asked questions about Botsharp
What is BotSharp designed to do?
BotSharp is designed to help developers integrate LLMs into existing business systems and build conversational interfaces on top of products and services. It focuses on converting unstructured user sentences into structured meaning that software can use, especially for chatbot and intelligent assistant scenarios.
Is BotSharp open source?
Yes. The documentation describes BotSharp as an open source application framework and open source AI framework. It is also available through source code on GitHub and through released NuGet packages.
What technology stack does BotSharp use?
BotSharp is written in C# and runs on .NET. The installation docs specifically reference a .NET 6.0+ build environment and use dotnet CLI commands for building and running the backend.
How does BotSharp handle conversations?
BotSharp uses agents and an NLU engine to interpret natural language, understand meaning, and translate user text into structured output. The docs explain that this lets applications support conversational user experiences instead of forcing users into rigid command formats.
What architectural style does BotSharp follow?
BotSharp follows a modular design principle and separates views from logic. The documentation also says its architecture uses hooks and events for different purposes, which allows the chatbot’s dialogue capabilities to be extended without changing the kernel.
Can BotSharp be integrated with other systems?
Yes. BotSharp provides a complete Web API interface for integration with your own system, and the docs show Swagger access for local testing. It is positioned as a framework for adding LLM-powered conversational behavior to current business systems.
Which channels does BotSharp support?
The documentation mentions integrations with Twilio, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, WeChat, and some RPA-related channels. These integrations are intended to make the bot usable across real-world communication channels.
Does BotSharp support multiple LLM providers?
Yes. The installation guide says BotSharp can work with several LLM providers, and the sample configuration shows Azure OpenAI as one backend option. The docs present provider configuration as part of the setup process.
Can I run BotSharp locally for development?
Yes. The documentation includes local development steps such as cloning the repository, running dotnet build, starting the WebStarter project, and accessing the API locally. It also notes that .NET developers can run it in debug mode and develop extensions or fixes.
Is there a user interface available?
Yes. BotSharp has an official front-end project called BotSharp-UI that can be launched alongside the backend. The docs say its main purpose is to let developers visualize backend configuration and use a live chat interface.