Is Apache Answer free?

Yes. Apache Answer is a project of the Apache Software Foundation and open source under the Apache License 2.0, so running it on your own server costs nothing beyond the server.

How much RAM does Apache Answer need?

Apache Answer publishes no minimum, so the table's 1 GB is Ubuntu Server's own minimum. The app itself is light: on our test servers it used about 145 to 185 MB at idle and under 200 MB while questions were asked and answered. The panel gives its container a memory limit of at least 384 MB, which you can raise under Memory limit.

Can anyone sign up to my community?

Yes, by default. New members register with their email and must confirm it before they can take part, so set up SMTP first. To control who joins, open the admin area, then Advanced, Login: turn off Allow new registrations or list your Allowed email domains. Under Advanced, Security, Login required hides the site from anyone who is not signed in.

Do I need email for Apache Answer?

Yes, as soon as other people join. Answer sends sign-up confirmations, password resets and notifications by email. Add your SMTP server in the admin area under Advanced, SMTP. Until then, new members cannot confirm their address; the admin account the panel created is already active.

Where is my community's data kept?

On your server, in one Docker volume mounted at /data. The SQLite database, Answer's config file, uploaded files and language packs all live there, so they survive container updates. Answer also supports MySQL and PostgreSQL if a community outgrows SQLite.

Can I change the domain later?

Yes. Answer saves the site address when it installs, so after a domain change also update Site URL in the admin area under Advanced, General. Otherwise links in emails and the sitemap keep pointing at the old address.

Apache Answer on your own server, in one click.

Run a Q&A community for your team or product with Apache Answer, on a server you own. ServerAvatar runs it in one Docker container with SQLite, creates your admin account and turns HTTPS on for you.

Questions, answers, votes
HTTPS on its own
Your server, your community

Deploy Apache Answer See how it installs

Section 01What is Apache Answer

What is Apache Answer?

Apache Answer is open-source Q&A software from the Apache Software Foundation, built with Go and React. People ask questions, others answer them, and the community votes the best answers to the top. Teams use it as a help center, a product forum or an internal knowledge base.

Questions are sorted with tags, members earn reputation for useful posts, and reputation unlocks privileges such as editing other people's posts. Running it on your own server keeps every question, answer and member account with you.

Free and open source (Apache 2.0)
Questions, answers, votes and tags in one app
Built with Go and React

Section 02Features

What you can do with Apache Answer

Ask and answer
Write questions and answers in Markdown with a live preview, and let the asker accept the answer that solved it.
Votes and reputation
Members upvote good answers and downvote weak ones, and earn reputation that unlocks privileges in the community.
Tags and search
Sort questions with tags, follow the tags you care about, and search by tag, user or score.
Open editing with history
Members can improve questions, answers and tags. Every revision is kept, and edits from members with less reputation wait in a review queue.
Roles and sign-up control
Give people the Admin, Moderator or User role, add users in bulk, limit sign-ups to your email domains or make the whole site private.
Plugins and themes
Add community plugins for third-party login, search or caching, and match your brand with themes and branding settings.

Section 03Requirements

What you need

A fresh Ubuntu server you can log in to as root. The installer checks all of this before it changes anything.

Apache Answer on Docker
Requirement	Apache Answer on Docker
Operating system	Ubuntu 24.04 or 26.04 LTS (x86-64)
CPU	1 core or more
RAM	1 GB or more
Disk	10 GB or more (25 GB recommended)
Containers	Apache Answer 2.0, SQLite built in
Email	SMTP, for sign-up confirmation and password reset
Ports	80 and 443 open

Apache Answer publishes no CPU or RAM minimum, so these are the floor for any server: 1 GB is Ubuntu Server's minimum memory. Disk: about 6.5 GB is in use once the panel and Apache Answer are installed on our test server; 25 GB is Ubuntu's recommendation.

Section 04Install

How to install Apache Answer

Every step happens in the ServerAvatar panel. No terminal needed.

Pick Apache Answer in 1-Click Recipes
On your server, open Applications, click Create application and search for Apache Answer under 1-Click Recipes.
Name it, choose a domain and enter the admin email
Give the app a name and use your own domain, or a temporary one that works right away. Fill in the Admin email field: that address becomes your Apache Answer login. The panel creates a system user for it.
Create it
Click Create application. The panel starts Apache Answer, turns HTTPS on and shows your admin email with the password it generated. Copy them somewhere safe.
Sign in with your admin email
Open the app's domain and log in with the admin email and the generated password. Answer installed itself on its first start and made this account the administrator, with the username admin, so no setup page is left open. Change the password under Settings, Account, then rename the site, which starts as Answer, in the admin area under Advanced, General.

Section 05FAQ

Questions,answered.

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Apache Answer on your own server, in one click.

What is Apache Answer?

What you can do with Apache Answer

Ask and answer

Votes and reputation

Tags and search

Open editing with history

Roles and sign-up control

Plugins and themes