# Best open source software for gaming communities > For a gaming community, a self-hosted stack starts with Pterodactyl for game servers, Mumble for voice and chat and Discourse for forums. Each pick was chosen by hand for its job and is shown with GitHub data from October 2026. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best open source software for a gaming community? | | Picks | 16 | | Top pick | Pterodactyl (9,283 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-gaming-communities | Run the whole community yourself: game server panels, voice and text chat, forums, game streaming and a retro game library. ## Game server panels - [Pterodactyl](https://appsgit.com/apps/pterodactyl) (9,283 stars, MIT, PHP, Docker): Pterodactyl has 9,283 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 92 commits in the last year. - [Pelican Panel](https://appsgit.com/apps/pelican-panel) (2,361 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP, Docker): Pelican Panel has 2,361 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 392 commits in the last year. - [PufferPanel](https://appsgit.com/apps/pufferpanel) (1,753 stars, Apache-2.0, Go): PufferPanel has 1,753 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license and had 91 commits in the last year. - [LinuxGSM](https://appsgit.com/apps/linuxgsm) (4,914 stars, MIT, Shell): LinuxGSM has 4,914 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 69 commits in the last year. ## Voice and chat - [Mumble](https://appsgit.com/apps/mumble) (8,322 stars, BSD-3-Clause, C++): Mumble has 8,322 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 494 commits in the last year; it replaces Discord. - [Stoat](https://appsgit.com/apps/stoat) (2,665 stars, AGPL-3.0, JavaScript, Docker): Stoat has 2,665 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 32 commits in the last year; it replaces Slack and Discord. - [Fluxer](https://appsgit.com/apps/fluxer) (10,488 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Fluxer has 10,488 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,394 commits in the last year; it replaces Discord. - [Element](https://appsgit.com/apps/element) (13,542 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript): Element has 13,542 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 2,689 commits in the last year; it replaces Slack and Discord. - [Rocket.Chat](https://appsgit.com/apps/rocket-chat) (46,213 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Rocket.Chat has 46,213 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,155 commits in the last year; it replaces Slack and Discord. ## Forums - [Discourse](https://appsgit.com/apps/discourse) (47,933 stars, GPL-2.0, Ruby, Docker): Discourse has 47,933 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 6,794 commits in the last year; it replaces Reddit. - [Flarum](https://appsgit.com/apps/flarum) (16,411 stars, MIT, PHP): Flarum has 16,411 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 14 commits in the last year; it replaces Reddit. - [NodeBB](https://appsgit.com/apps/nodebb) (15,231 stars, GPL-3.0, JavaScript, Docker): NodeBB has 15,231 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 3,349 commits in the last year; it replaces Reddit. - [Lemmy](https://appsgit.com/apps/lemmy) (14,615 stars, AGPL-3.0, Rust, Docker): Lemmy has 14,615 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 301 commits in the last year; it replaces Discord and Twitter / X. ## Game streaming - [Sunshine](https://appsgit.com/apps/sunshine) (41,902 stars, GPL-3.0, C++, Docker): Sunshine has 41,902 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 757 commits in the last year; it replaces Steam Link / GeForce Now. ## Game libraries - [RomM](https://appsgit.com/apps/romm) (13,260 stars, AGPL-3.0, Python, Docker): RomM has 13,260 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,917 commits in the last year; it replaces Steam Link / GeForce Now. - [Gameyfin](https://appsgit.com/apps/gameyfin) (1,097 stars, AGPL-3.0, Kotlin, Docker): Gameyfin has 1,097 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 22 commits in the last year; it replaces Steam Link / GeForce Now. ## How this list was made - Apps were picked by hand from the appsgit catalog for each job, then checked against the snapshot: unknown or archived projects and projects with no commit in two years are dropped automatically. - Inside each section the curated order is kept, most broadly useful first; an app appears only once on the page. - Stars, license, Docker and activity facts come from the GitHub API as of October 2026. ## FAQ ### Is there a self-hosted Discord alternative? Yes. Stoat, Fluxer, Element (Matrix) and Rocket.Chat cover text chat, and Mumble covers low-latency voice. See the Discord alternatives page for the full list. ### Is Pterodactyl free? Yes. Pterodactyl is open-source software released under the MIT 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 this stack with Docker? 11 of the 16 apps here publish Docker images, including Pterodactyl, Pelican Panel and Stoat, so most of the stack can run side by side with Docker Compose on one server. Size the server for the heaviest app and add off-site backups. ## Related questions - [What is the best open source software for a smart home?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-smart-home) - [What are the best open source AI tools for a smart home?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-smart-home) - [What are the best open source apps for planning and tracking travel?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-apps-for-travel) - [What is the best open source event management software?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-events) - [What is the best open source budget management app?](https://appsgit.com/best/budget-management) - [What is the best open source software for crypto and web3 projects?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-crypto) - [What are the best open source AI tools for crypto and web3 teams?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-crypto) - [What is the best open source software for banks and fintech companies?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-fintech) ## See also - [All game servers apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/game-servers) - [All team chat apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/team-chat) - [All social & forums apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/social-forums) - [Open-source alternatives to Discord](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/discord) - [Open-source alternatives to Slack](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/slack) - [Open-source alternatives to Reddit](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/reddit) - [Open-source alternatives to Twitter / X](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/twitter) - [Open-source alternatives to Steam Link / GeForce Now](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/geforce-now) - [Mattermost vs Rocket.Chat](https://appsgit.com/compare/mattermost-vs-rocket-chat) - [Rocket.Chat vs Zulip](https://appsgit.com/compare/rocket-chat-vs-zulip) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-gaming-communities Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly. Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.