Discourse
Modern forum software for community discussion
Discourse is the 100% open-source discussion platform that powers thriving communities. With 43K+ GitHub stars, it modernizes the forum concept with real-time features, mobile-first design, and deep integrations. Battle-tested for over a decade by thousands of communities.
Why Discourse?
Traditional forums feel dated. Reddit and Discord don't give you ownership. Slack-style chat loses knowledge in endless scrolling. For building a lasting community with organized discussions, searchable knowledge, and engaged members, you need modern forum software that you own.
How It Works
Discourse provides a familiar topic-reply structure with modern UX improvements. Trust levels reward engaged members automatically. Real-time chat adds immediacy. Full-text search makes knowledge discoverable. Self-host for complete control or use official hosting.
What Is Discourse?
Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. It provides topic-based discussions, real-time chat, trust levels, categories, tags, and extensive customization. Ruby on Rails backend with Ember.js frontend.
Key Benefits
Why teams choose Discourse
100% Open Source
GPL-2.0 licensed. No proprietary lock-in.
Trust Levels
Automatically reward engaged community members.
Real-Time Chat
Chat channels complement long-form discussion.
Mobile-First
Beautiful experience on every device.
Searchable Knowledge
Full-text search makes content discoverable.
Decade Proven
Battle-tested by thousands of communities.
Features
Everything you need to build with Discourse
Topics & Categories
Organize discussions into categories and topics.
Chat
Real-time chat channels for quick conversations.
Trust System
Automatic moderation through earned trust levels.
Plugins
Extend with official and community plugins.
Themes
Customize appearance with CSS themes.
SSO
Single sign-on integration with your systems.
Use Cases
What you can build with Discourse
Technology Stack
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