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

# How to enable IP identification in Chatwoot?

> Guide to enabling IP address geocoding and location identification in Chatwoot

Chatwoot lets you identify the user's location by geocoding the IP address. For IP Address geocoding, we support MaxmindDB services. This lookup provides methods for geocoding IP addresses without calling a remote API every time. You can follow the steps below to set up your self-hosted instance with the geocoding.

## Step 1: Create MaxmindDB Account

Create an account at [MaxmindDB](https://www.maxmind.com) and create an API key.

## Step 2: Add Environment Variables

Add the following environment variables.

```bash theme={null}
IP_LOOKUP_API_KEY=your-api-key
```

With this step, Chatwoot would automatically download the [MaxmindDB downloadable databases](https://dev.maxmind.com/geoip/geoip2/downloadable/) and cache it locally.

## Step 3: Enable IP Lookup

Enable IP Lookup on your account. You can do this in two ways.

### Method 1: Via Superadmin Console UI

Log into the super admin and select accounts. Select your account, click edit, and toggle the `ip_lookup` feature.

### Method 2: Via Rails Console

```bash theme={null}
RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails console
```

```rb theme={null}
account_id = 1 // Please fill your account id instead of 1
account = Account.find(account_id)
account.enable_features('ip_lookup')
account.save!
```