APBoard
Next Generation v3
The legendary PHP forum from 2000 – completely rebuilt. PHP 8.5, Twig templates, comprehensive security architecture, multilingual and Docker-ready.
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/unban/mute users, pin/lock topics, edit/delete posts. Inline buttons directly in the forum.
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.
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 pre-alpha development.
Done
- Forum core (categories, boards, topics, replies)
- User system (registration, login, profiles)
- Admin panel complete
- Private messages
- Moderation system
- TinyMCE integration
- Multilingual support
- File upload (GD-sanitized)
- Like / Subscribe / Notify
- 10 security audit rounds
- Docker-native deployment
- ActivityPub integration (Fediverse)
In Progress
- Finalizing second style set (set_2)
- E-mail notifications (SMTP)
- Nonce-based CSP
- Search refactoring (full-text search)
- API foundation
Planned
- Public beta release
- Plugin system
- OAuth2 / Social Login
- Reactions (beyond just likes)
- Thread subscriptions via email digest
- Upload domain separation
- Import tool (from other forums)
Ready to Give It a Try?
The development instance is running – completely publicly accessible. See APBoard v3 live in action.