The extensible community framework - Flarum
Free, open-source forum software built by the community. Beautiful, fast, and extensible — made for communities of all sizes.
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Flarum is a beautiful, fast, and extensible open-source forum software designed for building engaging online communities of all sizes, from hobbyists to enterprises.
🚀 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.
✨ 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
🛠 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)
👥 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
📸 Screenshots / Demo
- Live demo: https://nightly.flarum.site
- GitHub: https://github.com/flarum/framework
🔥 Project Status
- 🟢 Actively building
Last updated: 2026-03-24
❓ FAQ
Is this project free?
Yes / Open Source (Free forever under MIT license; community-driven with no paid tiers.)
Is the source code available?
Yes — https://github.com/flarum/framework (Full installation skeleton at https://github.com/flarum/flarum)
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.
📬 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
Built with ❤️ and kept warm on WarmIndex.
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