Open-source, self-hosted forum software.

Meith gives your community a board on your domain, with a PostgreSQL database you control. Discussions, search, moderation, themes and plugins are included. Most reading and posting works with JavaScript switched off.

Get started ↗ · Documentation ↗ · meith.dev ↗ · Community ↗

The Default theme on a desktop, using sample data. Images follow your light or dark scheme.

Try it locally

You need Node.js 22 or newer.

npx create-meith my-board
cd my-board
npm install
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000. The preview uses sample data, with no database or Docker required. It does not save posts or create accounts. To start writing, connect a local PostgreSQL database.

What’s included

• Discussions and search. Forums, threads, polls, attachments and full-text search, with results limited to content each member can access.
• Moderation. Content approval, reports, warnings and bans, with permissions for the people looking after each forum.
• Themes and plugins. Change the board’s appearance or add features through documented extension points. Themes support light and dark schemes.
• Member tools. Profiles, private messages, notifications and subscriptions to threads and forums.
• Operations. An operator CLI for backups, restores, imports and upgrades. Bring an existing community across from MyBB or phpBB.

See a thread on a phone

The same board in the Default theme, with posts in the order they were written.

Run a board

Meith is MIT licensed, with no licence fee or per-member pricing. You arrange the domain and hosting. A live board needs PostgreSQL, persistent upload storage, email delivery and scheduled tasks.

Choose a deployment using Coolify, Docker Compose or Vercel, then follow the community setup checklist. The operations guide covers ongoing maintenance.

Moving from MyBB or phpBB? Read the migration guide for supported data, limitations and a rehearsal before cutover.

Make it yours

Start with theme development or write your first plugin. To connect another application, use the API quickstart.

Contribute

To work on Meith itself, you need Node.js 22 or newer and pnpm 10.

git clone https://github.com/meith-dev/meith.git
cd meith
pnpm install
pnpm dev

The board opens at http://localhost:3000 with sample data. The development guide covers database setup, the workspace and tests. Follow AGENTS.md and run pnpm verify and pnpm comments:check before submitting a pull request.

Report a problem or join the community board to discuss a change.

Licence

MIT. Copyright © 2026 Jordan Harrison and the Meith contributors.