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OSSN

Build a multilingual social network with PHP-powered flexibility

Social Networking Platforms

OSSN lets you launch a fully featured, multilingual social networking site with user profiles, groups, live chat, photo albums, and admin dashboard—all powered by PHP and extensible components.

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Overview

Overview

OSSN is a PHP‑based social networking engine designed for communities, clubs, and organizations that want to host their own platform. It offers user registration, profiles, friends, groups, blogs, and a real‑time chat system, all wrapped in a mobile‑responsive interface.

Features

The platform ships with more than 20 language packs, a Progressive Web App, and integrations such as Giphy, emojis, and video embedding. Administrators control the site through a dashboard that includes user analytics, ads management, component configuration, and theme handling. Extensibility is provided via a component system and a WebServices API, allowing developers to add custom pages, menus, or third‑party services.

Deployment

OSSN can be installed through a web installer, Docker image, pre‑built VM, or Ubuntu apt repository. The target directory must be writable by the web server, and a standard LAMP stack (Apache, MySQL, PHP) is recommended. Detailed setup instructions are available on the official website.

Highlights

Multilingual UI supporting 20+ languages
Real‑time chat, messaging and notifications
Extensible component system with admin dashboard
Progressive Web App support and AD authentication

Pros

  • Rich set of front‑end social features out of the box
  • Fully customizable via themes and components
  • Multiple installation options (web installer, Docker, VM, apt)
  • Active community and regular updates (over 1k stars)

Considerations

  • Requires PHP and proper server permissions to run
  • Feature set may be overwhelming for simple sites
  • Documentation scattered across wiki and repo
  • No official SaaS hosting; self‑hosting needed

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Fit guide

Great for

  • Organizations wanting a self‑hosted social platform for members
  • Developers seeking a PHP‑based extensible social network starter
  • Communities needing multilingual support and real‑time interaction
  • Educational institutions building campus social portals

Not ideal when

  • Teams without server administration expertise
  • Projects requiring out‑of‑the‑box mobile apps without PWA
  • Businesses needing built‑in e‑commerce or advanced analytics
  • Users preferring a hosted SaaS solution

How teams use it

Professional Association Hub

Members connect, share articles, and host virtual events within a branded network.

University Campus Network

Students and staff collaborate via groups, live chat, and shared resources, all in their native language.

Non‑profit Volunteer Platform

Volunteers coordinate projects, post updates, and manage expenses through built‑in tools.

Corporate Intranet Social Layer

Employees engage in informal discussions, share media, and receive announcements while integrating with Active Directory.

Tech snapshot

PHP87%
Hack13%
CSS1%

Tags

multi-languageopensourcesocial-relationshipsfacebookchatsocialphotosossnprofessionalblogphpsocial-networkajaxprofilefreenotificationsemojigroupsgraphlivechat

Frequently asked questions

What server requirements does OSSN have?

PHP 7.4+ with a web server (Apache recommended), writable directory permissions, and a MySQL/MariaDB database.

How can I install OSSN?

Via the web installer, Docker image, pre‑built VM, or Ubuntu apt repository as described in the documentation.

Is OSSN multilingual?

Yes, the platform includes translations for more than 20 languages and allows adding new language packs.

Can I extend functionality?

OSSN provides a component architecture, theme system, and a WebServices API for custom modules and integrations.

Does OSSN support mobile devices?

The UI is mobile‑responsive and includes a Progressive Web App, enabling native‑like experiences on smartphones.

Project at a glance

Active
Visit siteView repo
Stars
1,181
Watchers
1,181
Forks
549
Repo age11 years old
Last commit5 days ago
Primary languagePHP

Last synced 12 hours ago