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esoTalk

Simple, fast forum software for online discussion

Forums & Community ★ 1.5k stars Easy setup GPL-2.0

esoTalk is a simple, lightweight, and fast forum platform with a clean interface focused on readable conversations. It offers a flat discussion model that is approachable for newcomers and easy to moderate.

Official siteSource code

Key features

  • Clean readable interface
  • Flat discussion model
  • Plugin and skin support
  • Fast page loads

Strengths

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
  • Written in PHP

Is esoTalk secure?

OSV.dev has no published security advisories for esoTalk's repository. No known vulnerabilities is not proof of security: it means none have been publicly catalogued.

Source: OSV.dev, checked 2026-10-14. How this is measured.

esoTalk replaces

Self-hosted phpBB alternativesSelf-hosted Discourse alternatives

Health badge

Maintain esoTalk? Add its health score to your README. The badge links back to this page.

SelfHostIndex: 15 · at risk

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[![SelfHostIndex health score for esoTalk](https://selfhostindex.com/badge/esotalk-forum.svg)](https://selfhostindex.com/app/esotalk-forum/)
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<a href="https://selfhostindex.com/app/esotalk-forum/"><img src="https://selfhostindex.com/badge/esotalk-forum.svg" alt="SelfHostIndex health score for esoTalk"></a>
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.. image:: https://selfhostindex.com/badge/esotalk-forum.svg
   :alt: SelfHostIndex health score for esoTalk
   :target: https://selfhostindex.com/app/esotalk-forum/

The score is recomputed on every nightly rebuild from public repository data — see how it is calculated.

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