Simple Machines Forum

Simple Machines Forum provides a self‑hosted, free, and open‑source platform for creating online discussion communities. It runs on PHP and can be installed from official releases without additional configuration, while source installations require Composer to manage dependencies. The project follows a BSD‑3‑Clause license, and contributions are governed by a Developer’s Certificate of Origin and CC‑BY‑SA 3 for documentation.

The software is aimed at individuals or organizations that want to launch a community forum quickly and retain full control over the hosting environment. It supports stable releases (e.g., version 3.0) and offers documentation on installation, updating, and security reporting. Developers can fork the repository, submit pull requests, and manage dependencies via Composer, with clear guidance on signing off contributions.

Security handling is addressed through a dedicated reporting page and a security policy document, encouraging responsible disclosure of vulnerabilities. The project’s open‑source nature and permissive licensing make it suitable for custom extensions and integration into existing web stacks.