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CRM & Support100% FOSS🔴 Full · ~4GB

Discourse: Open Source alternative to Circle in 2026

Discourse is an open source forum software built for large-scale communities, with community trust-level moderation, email notifications and automatic digests.

Alternative to Circle
License GPL-2.048k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Matches GitHub

  • GitHub — Active

  • Latest release — v2026.10.0-latest

  • Docker Compose — Official installer, no compose

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

Discourse vs. Circle

Pros

  • Built for large communities, with built-in progressive trust-level moderation
  • Excellent automatic anti-spam moderation

Things to consider

  • Less straightforward install than a standard docker-compose (uses its own installer)
  • Needs at least 2 GB of RAM to run smoothly

Quick Docker installation guide

This tool doesn't install via a plain docker-compose.yml — it uses the project's own official installer. Review it before running it. 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 Circle.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
install.sh (official script)
# Discourse se instala oficialmente con su propio script "launcher" y un
# archivo app.yml (no un docker-compose.yml estándar):
git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse_docker.git /var/discourse
cd /var/discourse
./discourse-setup

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit today.

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

Technical profile

License
GPL-2.0
Category
CRM & Support
Replaces
Circle
Tech stack
Ruby on RailsPostgreSQLRedisEmber.js

Under the hood

Database

PostgreSQL

Language

Ruby on Rails

Platforms

Web · Mobile (iOS/Android)

Key features

  • Forums with threads, categories and unlimited tags
  • Moderation via community trust levels
  • Email notifications and automatic digests

Preview

Discourse interface preview

Public image provided by Discourse on its own website.

🌐 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:YOUR_APP_PORT
}

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