> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://koreai.mintlify.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# BotKit SDK Deployment Guide

<Badge icon="arrow-left" color="gray">[Back to BotKit SDK Overview](/ai-for-service/sdk/botkit-sdk)</Badge>

This guide covers production deployment considerations for the BotKit SDK: architecture, hosting, performance, high availability, API authorization, and rate limiting.

***

## Architecture

* BotKit is a Node.js application that intercepts Platform events and adds custom processing.
* It runs as a standalone service, receiving message events, feedback survey events, and webhook events from the Platform.
* It sends responses back to the Platform to control conversation flow.

***

## Hosting

| Option                  | Notes                             |
| ----------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| Dedicated VM            | Recommended starting point        |
| AWS Lambda (serverless) | Viable for event-driven workloads |

**Typical starting spec:** 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM. Adjust based on load testing.

Follow the BotKit installation steps in [Installing the BotKit SDK](/ai-for-service/sdk/installing-the-botkit-sdk#installing-the-botkit-sdk).

***

## System Requirements

| Requirement | Minimum       |
| ----------- | ------------- |
| Node.js     | v16 or higher |
| vCPU        | 2             |
| RAM         | 4 GB          |

***

## Performance

* Load test the BotKit API using **Apache Bench** or **JMeter** to benchmark throughput before going live.
* All code inside BotKit event handlers must use **asynchronous processing**. Synchronous long-running operations block the event loop and degrade overall throughput.

***

## High Availability

* Deploy **multiple BotKit instances** behind a load balancer in an active-active configuration.
* Monitor the BotKit process and configure automatic restart on failure (use a process manager like `pm2` or a systemd service).

***

## Asynchronous API

* The Platform sends events to your configured BotKit endpoint.
* BotKit supports async communication: respond with an ACK immediately, then call the return URL with the final response.
* See [sdk.AsyncResponse](/ai-for-service/sdk/sdk-functions#sdk-asyncresponse) and [sdk.respondToHook](/ai-for-service/sdk/sdk-functions#sdk-respondtohook).

***

## API Authorization

* **Whitelist Platform IP addresses** so only the Platform can call your BotKit API.
* Require the Platform to authenticate requests using the **Client ID** and **Client Secret** generated when registering the BotKit app.

***

## Rate Limiting

* Implement rate limiting on the BotKit API endpoint to protect against excessive requests.
* Enforce limits **per API key** to prevent individual clients from overloading the system.

***