WriteFreely
WriteFreely is an open-source, self-hosted app in the Blogging Platforms category, licensed AGPL-3.0 and written mainly in Go. It is a self-hosted alternative to WordPress.com, Medium and Substack. It has 5,275 GitHub stars and its last commit was on Oct 1, 2026 (data as of Oct 26, 2026).
GitHub stats
- GitHub stars
- 5,275
- Forks
- 404
- Open issues
- 80
- Commits, last 12 months
- 216
- Last commit
- Oct 1, 2026
- Latest release
- v0.17.2Aug 10, 2026
- Created
- Apr 2, 2017
- License
- AGPL-3.0Open source
Data as of from the GitHub API. Report an error
Project health
ActiveActive: last commit Oct 1, 2026, 216 commits in 12 months.
- Welcomes contributors6 open good-first-issue or help-wanted issues and a contributing guide
- Security policyPublishes a security policy on GitHub
| Last commit | Oct 1, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Commits, last 12 months | 216 |
| Latest release | v0.17.2 (Aug 10, 2026) |
| Releases, last 12 months | 3 |
| Releases, all time | 30 |
| Open issues | 80 |
| Open pull requests | 35 |
| Good first issues | 2 |
| Contributing guide | Yes |
| Security policy | Yes |
| Created | Apr 2, 2017 |
Health as of , from the GitHub API. A label describes activity, not quality or security. How we label project health · Report a data error
About WriteFreely
Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.
Description adapted from awesome-selfhosted (CC BY-SA 3.0). Source code: github.com/writefreely/writefreely.
Topics
- writing
- publishing
- blogging
- web-application
- go
- activitypub
- federation
- beta
- writefreely
- markdown
Open-source alternative to
WriteFreely can replace these commercial products. Compare every option on each page.
Repository preview
Similar apps
More apps like WriteFreely
Other projects in Blogging Platforms, ranked by GitHub stars.
Ghost
TryGhost/Ghost
Just a blogging platform.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Blogging PlatformsTypeScriptEch0
lin-snow/Ech0
Lightweight federated publishing platform focused on personal idea sharing (documentation in Chinese).
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Blogging PlatformsGoDockerHTMLy
danpros/htmly
Databaseless PHP blogging platform. A flat-file CMS that allows you to create a fast, secure, and powerful website or blog in seconds.
Maintained · last commit Jan 25, 2026
Blogging PlatformsPHPKnown
idno/idno
Collaborative social publishing platform.
Active · last commit Sep 9, 2026
Blogging PlatformsPHPHaven
havenweb/haven
Private blogging system with markdown editing and built in RSS reader.
Active · last commit Oct 4, 2026
Blogging PlatformsRubyChyrp Lite
xenocrat/chyrp-lite
Extra-awesome, extra-lightweight blog engine.
Active · last commit Oct 24, 2026
Blogging PlatformsPHP
Is WriteFreely free and open source?
Yes. WriteFreely is open-source software released under the AGPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.
Can I run WriteFreely with Docker?
WriteFreely does not list an official Docker image. It installs natively (Go), so follow the install steps in its README or look for a community-maintained container.
What are the best alternatives to WriteFreely?
Popular self-hosted alternatives to WriteFreely include Ghost, Ech0 and HTMLy. WriteFreely itself is a self-hosted alternative to WordPress.com, Medium and Substack.
Is WriteFreely actively maintained?
The most recent commit to WriteFreely was on Oct 1, 2026 with 216 commits in the past twelve months. The latest release is v0.17.2, published Aug 10, 2026. It had 80 open issues on GitHub. appsgit's project-health label for it is "Active" as of Oct 26, 2026.