NodeBB alternatives and similar software solutions
Based on the "Social Networks and Forums" category.
Alternatively, view nodeBB alternatives based on common mentions on social networks and blogs.
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Reddit
DISCONTINUED. Social networking and news website where registered community members can submit content. -
HumHub
HumHub is an Open Source Enterprise Social Network. Easy to install, intuitive to use and extendable with countless freely available modules. -
Patchwork
DISCONTINUED. A decentralized messaging and sharing app built on top of Secure Scuttlebutt (SSB). -
Vanilla Forums
Vanilla is a powerfully simple discussion forum you can easily customize to make as unique as your community. -
phpBB
phpBB Development: phpBB is a popular open-source bulletin board written in PHP. This repository also contains the history of version 2. -
OSSN
Open Source Social Network (OSSN) is a social networking software written in PHP. It allows you to make a social networking website and helps your members build social relationships, with people who share similar professional or personal interests. It is available in 19 international languages. -
Talkyard
A community discussion platform: Brings together the main features from StackOverflow, Slack, Discourse, Reddit, and Disqus blog comments. -
Hubzilla
DISCONTINUED. Independent general-purpose websites that not only connect with their associated members and viewers, but also connect together. -
Simple Machines Forum
Simple Machines Forum β SMF in short β is free and open-source community forum software, delivering professional grade features in a package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes! -
Anahita
Anahita is a platform and framework for developing open science and knowledge sharing applications on a social networking foundation. -
Jappix
:speech_balloon: Jappix, a full-featured XMPP web-client (Jappix Desktop, Jappix Mobile & Jappix Mini). -
twtxt.net
DISCONTINUED. π twtxt is a Self-Hosted, Twitterβ’-like Decentralised microBlogging platform. No ads, no tracking, your content, your data! -
'Friend OS v1.3.0, "Helium"
FriendOS is a free web based platform that runs in your browser. It allows you to work and play, collaboratively, across devices. -
BuddyPress
BuddyPress DEVELOPMENT repo. This repository is just a mirror of the development SVN at https://buddypress.svn.wordpress.org/. Please include a link to a pre-existing ticket on https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/ with every pull request. -
GNU social
DISCONTINUED. GNU social is social communication software for both public and private communications.
InfluxDB high-performance time series database

* Code Quality Rankings and insights are calculated and provided by Lumnify.
They vary from L1 to L5 with "L5" being the highest.
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Popular Comparisons
README
[NodeBB](public/images/sm-card.png)
NodeBB Forum Software is powered by Node.js and supports either Redis, MongoDB, or a PostgreSQL database. It utilizes web sockets for instant interactions and real-time notifications. NodeBB takes the best of the modern web: real-time streaming discussions, mobile responsiveness, and rich RESTful read/write APIs, while staying true to the original bulletin board/forum format → categorical hierarchies, local user accounts, and asynchronous messaging.
NodeBB by itself contains a "common core" of basic functionality, while additional functionality and integrations are enabled through the use of third-party plugins.
[Try it now](//try.nodebb.org) | [Documentation](//docs.nodebb.org)
Screenshots
NodeBB's theming engine is highly flexible and does not restrict your design choices. Check out some themed installs in these screenshots below:
Our minimalist "Persona" theme gets you going right away, no coding experience required.
How can I follow along/contribute?
- If you are a developer, feel free to check out the source and submit pull requests. We also have a wide array of plugins which would be a great starting point for learning the codebase.
- If you are a designer, NodeBB needs themes! NodeBB's theming system allows extension of the base templates as well as styling via LESS or CSS. NodeBB's base theme utilizes Bootstrap 3 but themes can choose to use a different framework altogether.
- If you know languages other than English you can help us translate NodeBB. We use Transifex for internationalization.
- Please don't forget to like, follow, and star our repo! Join our growing community to keep up to date with the latest NodeBB development.
Requirements
NodeBB requires the following software to be installed:
- A version of Node.js at least 12 or greater (installation/upgrade instructions)
- MongoDB, version 3.6 or greater or Redis, version 2.8.9 or greater
- If you are using clustering you need Redis installed and configured.
- nginx, version 1.3.13 or greater (only if intending to use nginx to proxy requests to a NodeBB)
Installation
Please refer to platform-specific installation documentation
Securing NodeBB
It is important to ensure that your NodeBB and database servers are secured. Bear these points in mind:
- While some distributions set up Redis with a more restrictive configuration, Redis by default listens to all interfaces, which is especially dangerous when a server is open to the public. Some suggestions:
- Set
bind_address
to127.0.0.1
so as to restrict access to the local machine only - Use
requirepass
to secure Redis behind a password (preferably a long one) - Familiarise yourself with Redis Security
- Set
- Use
iptables
to secure your server from unintended open ports. In Ubuntu,ufw
provides a friendlier interface to working withiptables
.- e.g. If your NodeBB is proxied, no ports should be open except 80 (and possibly 22, for SSH access)
Upgrading NodeBB
Detailed upgrade instructions are listed in Upgrading NodeBB
License
NodeBB is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3 (GPL-3) (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html).
Interested in a sublicense agreement for use of NodeBB in a non-free/restrictive environment? Contact us at [email protected].
More Information/Links
- Demo
- Developer Community
- Documentation & Installation Instructions
- Help translate NodeBB
- NodeBB Blog
- Premium Hosting for NodeBB
- Unofficial IRC community – channel
#nodebb
on Libera.chat - Follow us on Twitter
- Like us on Facebook
*Note that all licence references and agreements mentioned in the NodeBB README section above
are relevant to that project's source code only.