Flarum is a beautiful, fast, and extensible open-source forum software designed for building engaging online communities of all sizes, from hobbyists to enterprises.

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🚀 Overview

Flarum is a modern, lightweight forum software that delivers a superior discussion experience with its elegant interface and single-page application architecture. It solves the common issues with traditional forum platforms like Discourse or phpBB—such as bloat, slow performance, and limited customization—by offering a secure, scalable, and infinitely extensible alternative.

It's built for community owners, developers, and organizations who need a flexible platform for discussions, support forums, or knowledge bases. Whether you're running a small hobby group or a large enterprise community, Flarum adapts seamlessly.

The project was created to bring forum software into the modern web era, leveraging contemporary technologies for speed and beauty while prioritizing extensibility through a vibrant ecosystem of community extensions.

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✨ Key Features

• Scalable Community Tools: Custom permissions, moderation, flagging, and user management that grow with your community (ensures secure and organized discussions)
• Flexible Styling & Themes: Easy customization via admin settings, themes, or custom CSS that auto-propagates (perfect for branding)
• Advanced Editor: From lightweight Markdown to full WYSIWYG options (accommodates all users)
• Engagement Features: Real-time in-browser notifications, email digests, and websocket integrations (boosts user retention)
• Extension Ecosystem: Hundreds of extensions plus a powerful API for custom development (virtually limitless functionality)
• Upcoming: Flarum 2.0 stable release after beta cycle

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🛠 Tech Stack

• Frontend: Mithril.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, Less CSS, Blade templates
• Backend: PHP, Laravel
• Database: MySQL, PostgreSQL
• Auth: Custom (Laravel-based, supports SSO via extensions)
• Hosting: Self-hosted (Composer install, Docker, shared hosting)

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👥 Who Is This For?

This project is useful for:

• Community builders wanting a modern, fast forum alternative to legacy software
• Developers who want to extend and customize via APIs and extensions
• Teams and enterprises seeking scalable, secure discussion platforms

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📸 Screenshots / Demo

• Live demo: https://nightly.flarum.site
• GitHub: https://github.com/flarum/framework

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🔥 Project Status

• 🟢 Actively building

Last updated: 2026-03-24

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❓ FAQ

Is this project free?

Yes / Open Source (Free forever under MIT license; community-driven with no paid tiers.)

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Is the source code available?

Yes — https://github.com/flarum/framework (Full installation skeleton at https://github.com/flarum/flarum)

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Can I contribute?

Report issues or submit PRs on GitHub. Build extensions (https://docs.flarum.org/extend/). Follow the contributing guide (https://docs.flarum.org/contributing/) or join the community forum.

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📬 Contact & Links

• Website: https://flarum.org
• GitHub: https://github.com/flarum/framework
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/Flarum
• Email: Support via https://discuss.flarum.org/t/support

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