APBoard
Next Generation v3
The legendary PHP forum from 2000 – completely rebuilt. PHP 8.5, Twig templates, comprehensive security architecture, multilingual and Docker-ready.
Release candidate 3.0.1-rc.1
APBoard is back.
The first official APBoard release was on 13 October 2000. The last classic release followed on 19 April 2006. Exactly twenty years later, APBoard v3.0.0 is the point where the project becomes alive again.
This matters because APBoard was never just a folder with old PHP files. It had users, installations, support forums and traces that still exist today. The new version keeps the simple promise of the original: run your own forum, keep your data, read the code, change it if you need to.
- Read the documentation
- View the source code
- GNU General Public License v3
- info@apboard.de
Christin Löhner:
“I’m aware that in 2026 there’s no need for yet another new forum system. With software like wbb, vBulletin, Humhub, Discourse, Discord, Reddit, Flarum, and of course the Fediverse with Mastodon, Friendica, Pleroma and so on, there’s no need for a new forum system like APBoard. And yet, I sat down and wrote APBoard Next Generation. Why? Because APBoard in 2000 was the forum system of its time. There was no wbb or phpBB yet, vBulletin was still in its very early days, and APBoard enjoyed a huge community and thousands of downloads. I believe the APBoard of back then deserves a worthy successor.”
What APBoard v3 brings to the table
No quick-and-dirty port – a careful rebuild with everything a modern forum software needs.
PHP 8.5 + Composer
Cleanly object-oriented, Composer-based, PSR-4 autoloading. No legacy baggage from the early 2000s.
Twig Templates + Style Sets
Flexible Twig-based templates in fully isolated style sets. Swap designs without touching a single line of PHP.
Deep Security Architecture
CSRF protection throughout, prepared statements everywhere, rate limiting, session hardening, upload sanitizing via GD. 10+ audit rounds, no known vulnerabilities.
Multilingual Support
Complete database-driven translation system. Every new language automatically inherits English fallbacks – no missing keys.
TinyMCE WYSIWYG
Comfortable rich-text editor with code highlighting, image upload, emoticons and link manager. GPL-licensed, no cloud dependency.
Private Messages
Full messaging center with inbox, sent, drafts and trash. Reply/forward, bulk actions, recipient autocomplete, privacy controls.
Moderation System
Full mod panel: ban/mute users, warning system with points and auto-actions, pin/lock/move/merge/split topics, inline bulk selection, post editing and report management.
Docker-native
Ready-made Docker Compose configuration with PHP 8.5 + Apache, MariaDB and automatic setup. Traefik-compatible, CI/CD-ready.
Admin Panel
Complete administration interface for categories, boards, users, groups, translations and system settings. Live search, inline pagination.
ActivityPub / Fediverse
Every board gets its own Fediverse actor. Mastodon, Pleroma, Lemmy & Co. can follow boards – new topics appear directly in followers’ timelines.
Polls
Single and multiple choice polls in any topic. Optional expiry date, live AJAX result updates – no page reload required.
@Mentions
TinyMCE autocomplete for @user mentions. Mentioned users receive a PM and email notification automatically.
Full-text Search
Relevance-ranked search across forum posts, pinboard entries and user profiles. MySQL FULLTEXT with automatic LIKE fallback.
Pinboard – Personal Blog
Every user gets their own personal blog with rich-text posts and teaser images. Fully searchable, integrated into profiles.
Forum Statistics
Detailed statistics with Chart.js charts, top-poster rankings, category breakdowns and a 7×24 activity heatmap.
Read / Unread Tracking
Per-topic read tracking with AJAX batch loading. Mark individual topics or entire boards as read in one click.
Granular Privacy Controls
18 individual profile fields with three-level visibility (public / members only / private) – users control every detail of their public presence.
Word Filter
Admin-managed word filter with plain-text and PCRE regex rules, applied across posts, private messages, profiles and pinboard.
Two-Factor Authentication
TOTP-based 2FA (RFC 6238) with QR code setup, 8 single-use backup codes and a rate-limited challenge page. Server-side SVG – no external requests.
Emoji Reactions
Six reaction types (👍❤️😂😮😢😡) per post, AJAX-powered with live count updates. One reaction per user – toggle or switch without a page reload.
User Ranks
13 rank levels from Lurker to Myth, based on post count. Admin-configurable – rename, reorder, adjust thresholds. Can be globally enabled or disabled in one setting.
GDPR Data Export
One-click ZIP export of all personal data – posts, private messages, pinboard, warnings and full profile. Art. 15 (right of access) & Art. 20 (data portability) compliant.
A Legend Returns
APBoard – built with passion, reinvented with passion.
APBoard – Another PHP Board – emerged around the year 2000 as Christin Löhner’s first major PHP project. Back then still under the nick dma147, with a PHP3 function reference as the only resource. The forum was downloaded thousands of times and had a community of over 250,000 people.
APBoard was part of the umbrella brand
APP – Another PHP Programs
(then hosted at phpprograms.de). Alongside APBoard,
APPortal was created, which is still actively running on
rcpanzer.de
– over 25 years later.
APBoard v3 is the complete rebuild starting June 2023. Same soul, modern core. GPL-3.0, PHP 8.5, Twig, Docker – and a security standard that doesn’t need to hide behind commercial products.
Timeline
| Project | Status |
|---|---|
| APBoard | v3 active |
| APPortal | rcpanzer.de |
| APBook | archived |
| APCms | archived |
Development Status
APBoard v3 is in active development – beta is on the horizon.
Done
Community core
- Forum core (categories, boards, topics, replies)
- User system (registration, login, profiles)
- Account activation and password reset by email
- Private messages (inbox, drafts, bulk actions)
- TinyMCE WYSIWYG editor
- File upload (GD-sanitized, EXIF-stripped)
Interaction
- Emoji reactions (6 types, AJAX) / Subscribe / Email notifications
- @Mentions with PM & email notifications
- Polls (single/multiple choice, AJAX)
- Best answer / Solved marking
- Browser/Android Push Notifications
- User follows User System
- ActivityPub / Fediverse integration
Comfort & identity
- Full-text search (relevance-ranked)
- Read/unread tracking (AJAX, topic & board)
- Inline post editing (30-min window)
- Pinboard (personal blog per user)
- Profile settings, avatar/cover images and social links
- Granular privacy and notification settings
- User ranks (13 levels, admin-configurable)
- Member list and online users
- Statistics page (Chart.js + activity heatmap)
- Multilingual support (EN/DE, DB-driven)
- 3 complete style sets
- Dark mode style set
Moderation & trust
- User blocks/ignores User
- Moderator notes on user
- Moderation: ban/mute, move/merge/split, bulk actions, reports
- Warning system (points, thresholds, auto-ban/mute)
- Registration anti-spam (honeypot + disposable email blocklist)
- Word filter (plain text + PCRE regex)
- Report management for submitted posts
Operation & security
- Admin panel complete
- Broadcast announcements
- Admin-managed legal pages
- Cookie consent banner (Klaro, self-hosted)
- GDPR data export (Art. 15 & 20) – ZIP with 8 files
- 2FA / TOTP (QR code, backup codes, rate-limited)
- 10+ security audit rounds
- Nonce-based Content Security Policy (CSP)
- Docker-native deployment
In Progress
- Spam prevention system / Akismet
- Events and Calendar
Planned
- Media Gallery
- File manager
- REST API foundation
- Plugin system
- OAuth2 / Social Login
- RSS feeds (boards & topics)
- Gamification: trophies, badges and awards
- Custom profile fields
- Q&A forum mode with answer voting
- Anonymous posting
- Scheduled posts
- Collaborative wiki posts
- Featured posts / recommended content
- Import tool (old APBoard(!), phpBB, WoltLab, MyBB)
Ready to Give It a Try?
The development instance is running – completely publicly accessible. See APBoard v3 live in action.