Installation
The fastest way to evaluate Multiforum is the image-based Docker Compose quick-start. It starts Neo4j, the backend, and the frontend, creates the initial server configuration and default roles, and provisions a local administrator. Auth0, Google Cloud Storage, email, maps, and manual Cypher are not required.
Local quick-start
Requirements
- Docker Engine or Docker Desktop
- Docker Compose v2 (
docker compose) - Git
Start Multiforum
git clone https://github.com/gennit-project/multiforum-nuxt.git
cd multiforum-nuxt
cp .env.quickstart.example .env
docker compose up -d
Wait for the three services to become healthy:
docker compose ps
Open http://localhost:3000. The example environment
creates the administrator admin with password multiforum-local-admin.
Change MULTIFORUM_BOOTSTRAP_EMAIL, MULTIFORUM_BOOTSTRAP_USERNAME, and
MULTIFORUM_BOOTSTRAP_PASSWORD in .env before the first start if you want
different local credentials.
The bootstrap values are used only when the database is empty. They are not a password-reset mechanism.
Optional integrations
The quick-start is usable without external services. Multiforum detects which capabilities are configured and degrades cleanly:
| Integration | Behavior when unconfigured |
|---|---|
| Email delivery is skipped; in-app notifications continue | |
| Google Cloud Storage | Image and file upload controls are unavailable |
| Google Maps | Map views show setup guidance |
| OpenCage | Address and geocoding features show setup guidance |
| Downloads and events | Administrators can leave either feature disabled |
Administrators can review the current capability state and missing environment variables in Admin → Instance Setup.
Stop or reset the quick-start
Stop containers without deleting data:
docker compose down
To deliberately start over, remove the Compose volumes as well:
docker compose down --volumes
The second command permanently deletes the local forum database and sessions.
Production installation
Do not expose the local-development authentication mode to the internet. The supported single-host production foundation uses official container images, Auth0, pinned secrets and image versions, Caddy-managed HTTPS, persistent volumes, backups, and production verification.
Contributor source build
Node.js is needed when developing the application itself, not when running the normal image-based quick-start. Contributors can add the source-build override:
docker compose \
--env-file .env.quickstart.example \
-f docker-compose.yml \
-f docker-compose.source.yml \
up --build
See the Contributing Guide for the frontend and backend development workflows.