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Chamilo
Open-source e-learning platform trusted by 30M+ users worldwide
Chamilo is a GNU/GPLv3+ licensed LMS enabling educators and organizations to deliver online courses, assessments, and collaborative learning experiences at scale.
Overview
What is Chamilo?
Chamilo is a mature e-learning platform (LMS) that has served more than 30 million learners and educators worldwide since 2010. Published under the GNU/GPLv3+ license, it provides institutions, corporations, and educational organizations with a comprehensive solution for delivering online courses, managing assessments, and fostering collaborative learning environments.
Who Uses Chamilo?
Chamilo is designed for universities, schools, training centers, NGOs, and enterprises seeking a flexible, self-hosted LMS. Version 2.0 represents a complete architectural rebuild leveraging modern PHP (8.2/8.3), Symfony components, and contemporary front-end tooling (Yarn, NodeJS). While version 2.0 remains in active development (alpha stage), the stable 1.11.x branch continues to power production environments globally.
Deployment & Architecture
Chamilo 2.0 requires a LAMP stack with PHP 8.2+, MariaDB/MySQL, Redis for session management, and a dedicated virtualhost. Minimum server specifications include 2 vCPUs, 4GB RAM, and 4GB disk space. The platform supports installation from packaged releases or source, with detailed Ubuntu-based setup procedures provided. Development mode offers extensive debugging capabilities, while production mode optimizes performance for live deployments.
Highlights
Proven LMS serving 30M+ users since 2010 with active global community
Modern PHP 8.2/8.3 architecture with Symfony framework foundation
Self-hosted deployment with full data sovereignty and customization control
Comprehensive course management, assessments, and collaboration tools
Pros
- Established track record with large-scale adoption across diverse sectors
- GNU/GPLv3+ license ensures transparency and freedom to modify
- Active development with migration to modern PHP and front-end stack
- Detailed installation documentation for Ubuntu-based environments
Considerations
- Version 2.0 remains in alpha; production users should use 1.11.x branch
- Requires dedicated virtualhost; subfolder installations not supported
- Limited Windows server testing and support compared to Linux
- Development mode runs significantly slower than production configuration
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Fit guide
Great for
- Universities and schools needing self-hosted LMS with proven scalability
- Organizations requiring full data control and on-premises deployment
- Institutions with technical teams capable of managing LAMP infrastructure
- Projects prioritizing open-source licensing and community-driven development
Not ideal when
- Teams seeking production-ready version 2.0 features (use 1.11.x instead)
- Organizations without Linux server administration expertise
- Deployments requiring subfolder installation within existing domains
- Windows-first server environments with limited Linux compatibility
How teams use it
University Course Delivery
Deliver semester-long courses with multimedia content, quizzes, assignments, and grade management for thousands of concurrent students.
Corporate Training Programs
Onboard employees and deliver compliance training with tracking, certification, and reporting across distributed teams.
NGO Capacity Building
Provide accessible educational resources to underserved communities with self-hosted infrastructure and multilingual support.
Professional Certification Courses
Manage enrollment, assessments, and credential issuance for paid or free professional development programs.
Tech snapshot
PHP74%
JavaScript15%
Vue4%
Twig3%
Java1%
CSS1%
Frequently asked questions
Should I use Chamilo 2.0 for production?
No. Chamilo 2.0 is currently in alpha development. For production environments, install the stable 1.11.x branch, which has been battle-tested by millions of users.
What are the minimum server requirements?
You need 2 vCPUs, 4GB RAM, and 4GB disk space. Development builds require at least 4GB RAM. A LAMP stack with PHP 8.2/8.3, MariaDB/MySQL, and Redis is required.
Can I install Chamilo in a subfolder of my domain?
No. Chamilo requires a dedicated virtualhost on a domain or subdomain. Subfolder installations alongside other applications are not supported.
Does Chamilo work on Windows servers?
Testing on Windows servers has been very limited with mixed results. Linux distributions (especially Ubuntu) are the recommended and best-supported platform.
What license does Chamilo use?
Chamilo is published under the GNU/GPLv3+ license, ensuring freedom to use, modify, and distribute the software while keeping derivative works open.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 917
- Watchers
- 917
- Forks
- 530
LicenseGPL-3.0
Repo age12 years old
Last commit2 days ago
Self-hostingSupported
Primary languagePHP
Last synced yesterday