Codidact vs Shapado
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted forums & community options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Codidact | Shapado |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 13 · At risk |
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 441 | ★ 527 |
| First released | 2020 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Stack Overflow, Stack Exchange | Stack Overflow, Quora |
What are Codidact and Shapado?
Codidact
Codidact is an open-source question-and-answer platform built as a community-run alternative to Stack Exchange. It supports multiple categories, voting, and knowledge curation.
- Stack Exchange-style Q&A
- Reputation and voting system
- Multiple community categories
- Markdown-based posts
Shapado
Shapado is an open-source Q&A software written in Ruby that allows hosting multiple question-and-answer communities. It supports tags, voting, and badges in a StackOverflow-like format.
- Multi-community Q&A hosting
- Voting and reputation
- Tag-based browsing
- Badges and gamification
Codidact vs Shapado: key differences
Both projects are written in Ruby. Shapado is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Codidact. Shapado is the more established project (first released 2009), while Codidact arrived in 2020. Codidact lists first-class Docker deployment; Shapado does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Codidact if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Ruby
Watch out for
- Smaller ecosystem
- Q&A focused
Choose Shapado if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Ruby
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Project is dormant
- Outdated Ruby stack
Frequently asked questions
Is Codidact or Shapado better?
Neither is universally better. Shapado has the larger community, while Codidact is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Codidact and Shapado free and open-source?
Yes. Codidact is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Shapado under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Codidact and Shapado with Docker?
Codidact: yes. Shapado: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Codidact or Shapado?
Shapado has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Codidact. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.