README

ElkArte

Modern, Powerful Community Forum Software

Website • Documentation • Community

🌟 About

ElkArte is a free, open-source forum software that empowers communities to connect and engage. Built on a foundation of modern web standards and best practices, ElkArte delivers a feature-rich, responsive platform that works beautifully across all devices.

Originally inspired by Simple Machines Forum (SMF), ElkArte has evolved into a sophisticated community platform designed for today's social web, with powerful moderation tools, extensive customization options, and an active development community.

Note: This is the 2.0 development branch. For the stable release, visit the master branch.

✨ Key Features

User Engagement

• @Mentions - Tag users with notifications to keep conversations flowing
• Like System - Appreciate great content with likes, complete with statistics
• Emoji Support - Access 1000+ emoji directly in the editor 🎉
• Notification Center - Stay updated on mentions, quotes, likes, and private messages
• Desktop Notifications - Real-time alerts with favicon unread count

Content Creation

• Auto-Save Drafts - Never lose your work with automatic draft saving
• Inline Attachments - Display images and files directly in posts
• Rich Media Embedding - Automatic embeds for YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, and Dailymotion
• Drag & Drop - Upload files effortlessly with live preview
• Reply by Email - Reply to posts and private messages directly from email notifications
• Ajax Previews - See your content before posting

Security & Performance

• Two-Factor Authentication - Enhanced account security
• Advanced Anti-Spam - Industry-leading spam prevention
• Secure Passwords - Industry-standard password hashing
• Optimized Assets - Automatic JavaScript and CSS minification
• Modern Codebase - Built for speed and reliability

Design & Customization

• Responsive Themes - Two modern themes that adapt to any screen size
• Extensible Architecture - 100+ plugin hooks and event system
• Drag & Drop Admin - Intuitive interface ordering
• Custom Styling - Easy theme customization and ships with multiple color schemes.

📋 Requirements

Server Requirements

• PHP: 8.1 or newer
• Database: MySQL 5.7+, MariaDB 10.2+, or PostgreSQL 9.5+
• Web Server: Apache, Nginx, or compatible

Client Support

ElkArte works seamlessly on all modern browsers, smartphones, and tablets with its fully responsive design.

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

1. Prepare Your Database

   • Create a new database using phpMyAdmin, Adminer, or your hosting control panel

2. Download ElkArte

   • Get the latest release package

3. Upload Files

   • Extract and upload all files to your web server

4. Set Permissions

   • Ensure folders are writable by PHP

5. Run Installer

   • Navigate to your forum URL in a browser
   • Follow the on-screen installation wizard
   • Start building your community!

Alternative: ElkArte is available through Softaculous in cPanel for one-click installation.

Migration from Other Forums

Switching to ElkArte is straightforward! Use the Open Importer Engine to migrate from:

• Simple Machines Forum (SMF)
• phpBB
• MyBB
• vBulletin
• XenForo
• And more!

🎨 Customization

ElkArte is built to be extended and customized:

• Plugin System - 100's of hooks and events for custom functionality
• Theme Engine - Create beautiful custom themes
• No Core Edits - Add features without modifying source code
• Active Community - Browse Themes & Addons

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! Here's how you can help:

Report Issues

• Discuss problems on the community forum
• File detailed bug reports on GitHub Issues
• Include steps to reproduce, expected vs actual behavior

Suggest Features

• Share ideas on the community forum
• Discuss implementation approaches with developers

Submit Code

• Read our Contributing Guide
• Review the Developer's Certificate of Origin
• Fork the repository and create pull requests
• Follow project coding standards

Documentation

• Improve documentation and examples Wiki
• Improve/Update translations Transifex
• Contributions licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0

📚 Resources

• Documentation: Reference
• Community Forum: ElkArte.net
• Issues: GitHub Issues

📊 Project Stats

📄 License

ElkArte is free software licensed under the BSD 3-Clause License.

Third-party libraries and images are under their respective licenses.

Made with ❤️ by the ElkArte Community

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