What it does
Flarum is free forum software for discussions, member groups and moderation, with extensions for additional features. Its MIT licence allows self-hosting, while the administration dashboard controls appearance, email, users and permissions. You provide the server and use an administrator account on your own forum.
Flarum's installation guide offers a downloadable archive or installation through Composer, the PHP package manager. The current application needs PHP 8.3 or later, a supported database and an Apache or Nginx web server. The free software does not include a managed server. After installation, a member of the Admin group opens Administration from their name at the top right.
Configure the forum name and welcome banner in Basics, then use Permissions to set what each group can do. Email settings, Appearance and Users have separate sections; extensions are grouped under Features, Themes or Languages.
Finding an extension problem
The Advanced page is hidden initially. Open Tools on the Dashboard and select Toggle Advanced Page to show it. Its Extension Bisect tool disables groups of extensions and asks whether the problem still occurs, narrowing down the suspected cause. Only administrators can use the forum during that process, so allow for a maintenance interruption. Finishing or choosing Stop bisect restores the previously enabled extensions and leaves maintenance mode. Safe mode is another option when you need the forum to start without its normal extensions.
Strengths
- Group permissions and extension management are available in the admin dashboard
- Extension bisect helps narrow down an extension-related problem
Watch out for
- Extension bisect temporarily restricts the forum to administrators
- Advanced behaviour and additional search drivers can depend on extensions
Best for
- Community operators wanting an extensible, self-managed discussion forum
Sources
- framework/LICENSE.md at 2.x · flarum/framework · GitHub (Oct 25, 2026)
- Flarum Community Forum Software (Oct 27, 2026)
- Flarum Installation (Oct 27, 2026)
- Flarum Admin Dashboard (Oct 27, 2026)