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Video Conferencing100% FOSS🟢 Lightweight · ~512MB

BigBlueButton: Open Source alternative to Zoom in 2026

BigBlueButton is an education-focused video conferencing platform, with a collaborative whiteboard, breakout rooms and built-in polls, as an alternative to Zoom for educational institutions.

ℹ️ BigBlueButton isn't installed with a single-container docker-compose: bigbluebutton/bbb-install isn't a real Docker image (bbb-install.sh is a bash script), and the officially supported production install uses that script on Ubuntu. A full, community-maintained Docker deployment exists (bigbluebutton/docker on GitHub) that generates its own multi-container docker-compose, but it isn't this single-service one.

Alternative to Zoom
License LGPL-3.09.2k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Matches GitHub

  • GitHub — Active

  • Latest release — v3.0.39 · 10 days ago

  • Docker Compose — Not verified

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

BigBlueButton vs. Zoom

Pros

  • Built specifically for education: collaborative whiteboard, breakout rooms and class recording

Things to consider

  • Production installation is more complex than a simple docker-compose

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on Zoom.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
docker-compose.yml
# BigBlueButton requiere su instalador oficial (bbb-install.sh) sobre
# Ubuntu para producción; no es un docker-compose de un solo comando.
version: "3.9"
services:
  bigbluebutton:
    image: bigbluebutton/bbb-install:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - bbb_data:/var/bigbluebutton
volumes:
  bbb_data:

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=bigbluebutton" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit 1 day ago.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
LGPL-3.0
Category
Video Conferencing
Replaces
Zoom
Tech stack
JavaHTML5WebRTC

Under the hood

Database

PostgreSQL

Language

Java

Platforms

Web

Key features

  • Multi-user collaborative whiteboard
  • Breakout rooms
  • Polls and class recording

Preview

BigBlueButton interface preview

Public image provided by BigBlueButton on its own website.

💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:80
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy