What is Open Source Social Network used for?

Open Source Social Network (OSSN) is PHP software for running your own social networking website with profiles, groups, photos, chat and multiple languages. It is a good fit for running a private community website, building a niche professional network and hosting a social site independent of big platforms.

Is Open Source Social Network open source?

Yes. Open Source Social Network is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at opensource-socialnetwork/opensource-socialnetwork and is written mainly in PHP.

Is Open Source Social Network free?

Yes. Open Source Social Network is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.

Can I self-host Open Source Social Network?

Yes. Open Source Social Network can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Open Source Social Network an alternative to?

Open Source Social Network is an open-source alternative to Circle, Mighty Networks, Skool and Higher Logic. Other open-source alternatives to Circle include Discourse, Forem and NodeBB.

Is Open Source Social Network actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Open Source Social Network was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is 10.1, published on 1 October 2026. The project has 1.2k stars on GitHub.

Open Source Social Network: open-source forums & communities

About Open Source Social Network

Open Source Social Network, or OSSN, is a PHP application for creating a social networking website. It supports the typical building blocks of a community platform, including user registration, profiles, newsfeeds, photos, groups, blogs, notifications and chat, and it is intended for communities built around shared professional or personal interests.

The software is multilingual, with translations listed for languages such as English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Chinese, so a site can reach audiences in different regions. It is modular and can be extended with components, and the project website provides documentation and details. Screenshots show the landing page, newsfeed and profile pages.

OSSN is written in PHP and runs on your own web hosting. The README states that it is licensed under the Open Source Social Network License 4.0 and the Cryptographic Autonomy License 1.0, while repository metadata lists the licence as other. It suits individuals, organizations and communities that want to run an independent social site instead of relying on a large platform.

Key features

User registration and profiles
Newsfeed and notifications
Photos, blogs, and groups
Live chat
Multi-language interface
Extensible through components

Good fit for

→Running a private community website
→Building a niche professional network
→Hosting a social site independent of big platforms

Built with: PHP
Tags: social-network; php; community; self-hosted; groups; chat; profiles; multi-language; cms

Open Source Social Network: questions and answers

What is Open Source Social Network used for?: Open Source Social Network (OSSN) is PHP software for running your own social networking website with profiles, groups, photos, chat and multiple languages. It is a good fit for running a private community website, building a niche professional network and hosting a social site independent of big platforms.
Is Open Source Social Network open source?: Yes. Open Source Social Network is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at opensource-socialnetwork/opensource-socialnetwork and is written mainly in PHP.
Is Open Source Social Network free?: Yes. Open Source Social Network is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.
Can I self-host Open Source Social Network?: Yes. Open Source Social Network can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Open Source Social Network an alternative to?: Open Source Social Network is an open-source alternative to Circle, Mighty Networks, Skool and Higher Logic. Other open-source alternatives to Circle include Discourse, Forem and NodeBB.
Is Open Source Social Network actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Open Source Social Network was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is 10.1, published on 1 October 2026. The project has 1.2k stars on GitHub.