What it does
Kunena adds discussion categories, member profiles and moderation to a Joomla website. Its core component is free, and the site operator manages it through a Joomla administrator account.
A Kunena category for a selected membership starts with a Joomla user group. Under Users > Groups, add the group and save it, then use the user manager's batch action to assign the intended members. In Kunena > Categories, open Permissions and select that group in both Primary and Secondary User Group. Apply the restriction to every section and category that should use it.
Moderator scope is a separate decision. Open Components > Kunena Forum > Users, select the person and choose Assign Moderators. Global Moderator covers every category; a category moderator receives only the areas selected before Submit. An association with several subject areas can give each volunteer a limited role.
After installing the component, Tools > Menu Manager provides Restore Kunena Menu. Publish the resulting item in the site's main menu so visitors can reach the forum. Kunena's free core is separate from optional paid services and hosting.
Strengths
- Moderator appointments can be scoped to selected categories
- Forum access uses the website's Joomla user groups
Watch out for
- Group restrictions must be configured for the intended sections and categories
Best for
- Joomla site owners running member discussions with delegated moderation
Sources
- GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE (Oct 26, 2026)
- Release Release K7.0.11 · Kunena/Kunena-Forum · GitHub (Oct 26, 2026)
- Kunena forum component for Joomla (Oct 27, 2026)
- Categories only for certain User Groups (Oct 27, 2026)
- Assign Moderator(s) (Oct 27, 2026)
- Installation K7.x (Oct 27, 2026)