phpBB

A long-running PHP bulletin board for hosting discussion forums with categories, threads and member accounts on ordinary web hosting.

2.1k stars, 1k forks PHP On GitHub since March 2010

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

phpBB at a glance

Open sourceYes, GPL-2.0No paid parts in the repository
Health58 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDockerOne-click in YunoHost and Unraid
InterfaceEnglish onlyNo translation files found
Release rhythmNo releasesNone published on GitHub

What is phpBB?

phpBB is classic forum software written in PHP. Members register, post in boards organized by topic and reply in threaded discussions, while administrators run the site from the same installation. The GitHub repository is the development home: it holds the current code, a 3.3.x maintenance branch and the history going back to version 2. Packaged downloads and support live on phpBB.com, and core development is discussed on the separate area51 site. Contributors can work locally, inside Vagrant or in GitHub Codespaces, and the development documentation covers writing extensions.

Good fit if

  • You want a traditional message board that runs on standard PHP hosting.
  • Your community expects the familiar layout of boards, topics and posts.
  • You value software with a long history and plan to customize it with extensions.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want a modern discussion platform with live updates and a JavaScript front end: Discourse or Flarum.
  • Your forum should federate with other servers: Lemmy.
  • You need questions and accepted answers rather than open threads: Answer.

Before you adopt it

phpBB uses the GPL-2.0 license, a copyleft license approved by the OSI, and nothing in the repository is paid. One developer wrote nearly nine in ten of the 308 commits in the last 90 days, so day-to-day progress depends heavily on that person, though the phpbb organization owns the project and work dates back to 2010. GitHub shows no published releases; install from the packages offered on phpBB.com rather than from the repository.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 7 November 2026. Report a correction

How to run phpBB yourself

One-click install

Not listed in Umbrel, TrueNAS, CasaOS, Runtipi, Proxmox VE Helper-Scripts and Coolify. Checked against each panel’s app catalog on 12 November 2026.

Ways to install

Docker files
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
No app builds in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: phpbb.com or the README on GitHub.

phpBB health: is it still maintained?

58 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmNo releasesNone published on GitHub
Issue repliesNot measuredToo few recent issues from outside the team
Bus factorHigh riskThe most active of 4 authors wrote 90% of recent commits
  • Activity
    321 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 9 November 2026.
    30 / 30
  • Contributors
    4 people wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 90% of them.
    6 / 20
  • Releases
    No releases published on GitHub.
    6 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Too few recent issues from outside the team to measure, so this part gets a neutral score.
    10 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 5.5 of 10.
    6 / 10

Read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. How the score works

phpBB security

Security advisories are the vulnerabilities the maintainers disclosed on GitHub, with the versions that fix them; many advisories can mean careful disclosure as much as weak code. OpenSSF Scorecard checks how a project is developed and released: reviews, protected branches, pinned dependencies, signed releases. It does not audit the code itself.

Security advisoriesNone publishedNo advisories in the repository’s Security tab
OpenSSF Scorecard5.5 of 10How the project is built and released
Security policyYesExplains how to report a vulnerability

What each Scorecard check found

  • Binary files10 / 10No compiled binaries checked into the repository
  • Dangerous workflows10 / 10No risky patterns in GitHub Actions
  • License file10 / 10A license file is present
  • Maintained10 / 10Steady commits and issue activity in the last 90 days
  • Security policy10 / 10Explains how to report a vulnerability
  • Code review3 / 10Some changes are merged without review
  • Pinned dependencies2 / 10Some dependencies use fixed versions
  • Best-practices badge0 / 10No OpenSSF Best Practices badge
  • Fuzzing0 / 10No fuzz testing found
  • Static analysis0 / 10No static analysis found
  • Token permissions0 / 10CI tokens have broad write rights

Advisories read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. From the OpenSSF Scorecard of 9 November 2026; checks that do not apply to phpBB are left out.

phpBB license: is it open source?

phpBB uses GPL-2.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. March 2010First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayGPL-2.0.

phpBB for developers

Written in

  • PHP 89%
  • HTML 6%
  • JavaScript 3%
  • CSS 1%
  • Shell <1%
  • Other <1%

Getting involved

Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues0On GitHub
Authors, 90 days4Of the latest 100 commits
DonationsGitHub SponsorsListed on GitHub

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

Alternatives to phpBB

  • AnswerA Q&A platform software for teams at any scales. Whether it's a community forum, help center, or knowledge… 68 health · Apache-2.0 · 15.7k stars
  • FlarumSimple forum software for building great communities. 41 health · MIT · 16.4k stars
  • HumHubHumHub is an Open Source Enterprise Social Network. Easy to install, intuitive to use and extendable with… 81 health · AGPL-3.0 · 6.8k stars
  • NodeBBNode.js based forum software built for the modern web 80 health · GPL-3.0 · 15.2k stars
  • DiscourseA platform for community discussion. Free, open, simple. 73 health · GPL-2.0 · 48.1k stars

All 18 projects in Social networks & forums

Questions about phpBB

Is phpBB open source?

Yes. phpBB is published under GPL-2.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is phpBB still maintained?

Its health score is 58 of 100 (actively developed). It had 321 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 9 November 2026.

How do I run phpBB?

You can run it with Docker and in one click from YunoHost and Unraid. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is phpBB written in?

phpBB is written mainly in PHP (89% of the code), with HTML (6%), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What are the alternatives to phpBB?

Close alternatives in the Social networks & forums category include Answer, Flarum, HumHub.