SimpleMachines/SMF
Simple Machines Forum — SMF in short — is free and open-source community forum software, delivering professional grade features in a package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes!
Star History
Momentum
+19
STARS · LAST 30 DAYS
1
PER DAY
#242
MOST-STARRED PHP
| Window | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars gained | +7 | +19 | +90 |
| Per day | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Forks gained | +1 | +5 | +13 |
SMF gained 19 stars in the last 30 days, about 1 a day, and now has 749. It is about 15 years old and has averaged roughly 50 stars a year. It ranks #242 among PHP repositories and #3,395 across all languages on GitHubRepo.
Trending Record
53
DAYS ON TRENDING
#100
BEST RANK
Jan 24, 2012
FIRST APPEARANCE
Active
STATUS TODAY
SMF has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #100. Below is the 30-day activity profile:
💡 Overview
SMF is an open-source project written in PHP: Simple Machines Forum — SMF in short — is free and open-source community forum software, delivering professional grade features in a package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes!.
Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in bsd-3-clause, forum, mysql. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.
⚡ Key Features
Optimized execution pipeline written in PHP for predictable speed.
Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.
Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.
Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.
Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.
📥 Installation
$ git clone https://github.com/SimpleMachines/SMF.git
cd SMF⚙ System Requirements
Platforms
- • macOS
- • Linux
- • Windows
Runtime & Dependencies
PHP >= 8.2 with Composer
Architecture
x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)
🧠 How It Works
SMF coordinates its core functionality through a modular PHP pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.
🎯 Production Use Cases
Production System Integration
Embed SMF into PHP backend services to handle core application logic.
CI/CD Automated Pipelines
Run automated validation, builds, and integration suites during deployments.
Developer Tooling & Workflows
Accelerate developer onboarding with pre-configured project utilities.
Open Source Extension
Fork and customize internal modules under the repository's open NOASSERTION license.
🚀 Getting Started
Install SMF using your package manager: `git clone https://github.com/SimpleMachines/SMF.git`
Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for SMF.
Import SMF into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.
Execute your test suite or run `SMF --help` to verify successful setup.
👍 Strengths
⚠️ Considerations
⇄ Alternatives & Direct Competitors
👥 Who Should Use This
Developers and engineering teams building with PHP, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.
🏆 Nearby in the Rankings
SimpleMachines/SMF is currently ranked #3,395 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:
| Rank | Repository | Language | Stars | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3,390 | ludo/jquery-treetable | HTML | ★ 751 | Compare ↗ |
| #3,390 | spring-cloud/spring-cloud-commons | Java | ★ 751 | Compare ↗ |
| #3,392 | xLightsSequencer/xLights | C++ | ★ 750 | Compare ↗ |
| #3,392 | apache/streampipes | Java | ★ 750 | Compare ↗ |
| #3,392 | KipData/KiteSQL | Rust | ★ 750 | Compare ↗ |
| #3,395 | SimpleMachines/SMF This Project | PHP | ★ 749 | |
| #3,395 | nutgram/nutgram | PHP | ★ 749 | Compare ↗ |
| #3,396 | godot-go/godot-go | Go | ★ 748 | Compare ↗ |
| #3,397 | hyoo-ru/mam_mol | TypeScript | ★ 747 | Compare ↗ |
| #3,397 | binance/binance-connector-js | TypeScript | ★ 747 | Compare ↗ |
| #3,397 | s2-streamstore/s2 | Rust | ★ 747 | Compare ↗ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does SMF do? +
Simple Machines Forum — SMF in short — is free and open-source community forum software, delivering professional grade features in a package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes!
What language is SMF written in? +
The primary language is PHP. Topics include: bsd-3-clause, forum, mysql, mysqli, php.
Is SMF actively maintained? +
Yes, the last recorded push was on Sep 28, 2026 with 188 open issues being tracked.
How many stars does SMF have? +
SMF has 749 stars and 269 forks on GitHub.
How does SMF rank among GitHub repositories? +
With 749 stars, SimpleMachines/SMF is ranked #3,395 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #242 among PHP projects.
What license is SMF distributed under? +
The repository reports a NOASSERTION license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.
