Production-ready Discourse with full root access, automated backups, and security hardening - a modern open-source forum platform for building engaged communities on AWS.
This fully managed Discourse solution delivers a production-ready community forum platform on AWS, built on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Every instance is pre-configured with security best practices, performance optimizations, and automated operations.
Why Choose Self-Hosted Discourse?
Unlike Discourse hosted plans, this AMI gives you full root and OS-level access. Configure custom plugins, themes, authentication providers, and email settings without per-user pricing. Complete data ownership and customization freedom.
Key Features
Modern Forum Platform
Discourse pre-configured with real-time discussions, trust-based moderation, rich text editor, and mobile-responsive design.
Automated Setup
On first login, an interactive setup script configures Discourse, sets up email, and applies firewall rules - all within minutes.
Extensible with Plugins
Install custom themes, plugins, and integrations. Connect with Slack, SSO providers, analytics tools, and more.
Use Cases
Product community forums and customer support
Open source project discussion boards
Internal team knowledge sharing and Q&A
Educational institution discussion platforms
Customer feedback and feature request management
Brand community building and engagement
Getting Started
Launch the AMI from AWS Marketplace on your preferred instance type
SSH into your instance and follow the interactive setup wizard
Configure your forum settings and invite your community
Support
Managed and supported by Perimattic, a cloud infrastructure company with 13+ years of experience serving global clients. We offer free setup assistance, custom integrations, infrastructure consulting, and 24/7 support.
Highlights
Modern Community Platform: Real-time discussions, trust-based moderation, rich editor, and mobile-responsive design with full root access and no per-user pricing.
Extensible and Customizable: Install custom plugins, themes, and integrations. Connect with Slack, SSO providers, and analytics tools for a tailored community experience.
24/7 Expert Support by Perimattic: 13+ years of cloud infrastructure expertise with free setup assistance, community platform configuration, and dedicated support at aws-support@perimattic.com.
AWS Marketplace now accepts line of credit payments through the PNC Vendor Finance program. This program is available to select AWS customers in the US, excluding NV, NC, ND, TN, & VT.
You pay by the hour based on the AWS EC2 instance size you run this managed forum platform on. The eight options fall into three instance families. The t2 family (t2.medium, t2.large, t2.xlarge) and t3 family (t3.medium, t3.large, t3.xlarge) are burstable general-purpose sizes. The m5 family (m5.large, m5.xlarge) offers steady general-purpose capacity. Within each family, larger sizes add more compute and memory, so your hourly rate scales with the size you choose. You are billed only for the hours each instance runs.
Top-of-mind questions for buyers
What resources and services do I get for the hourly rate on each instance size?
Each hourly rate covers the running EC2 instance plus the managed service layer. That includes automated provisioning, SSL setup, monitoring dashboards, daily backups, one-click updates, and automatic security patching. Larger instance sizes add compute and memory. The management scope stays the same across all sizes.
Am I charged when I stop or pause the instance running the forum?
Hourly software charges apply only while the instance runs. A fully stopped instance does not accrue hourly software fees. Stopped instances may still incur underlying AWS storage charges for the attached volumes, but the software meter counts running hours only.
How do I move to a bigger instance size as my community forum grows?
You choose a size when you launch and can move to another size later. The platform supports service cloning and migration between sizes and regions, so you can scale up without manual data export. Your hourly rate then reflects the new size you run.
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Legal
Vendor terms and conditions
Upon subscribing to this product, you must acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the vendor's End User License Agreement (EULA).
Content disclaimer
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An AMI is a virtual image that provides the information required to launch an instance. Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances are virtual servers on which you can run your applications and workloads, offering varying combinations of CPU, memory, storage, and networking resources. You can launch as many instances from as many different AMIs as you need.
Version release notes
Initial stable release of the preconfigured Discourse AMI for AWS Marketplace.
Automated first-boot setup script for domain mapping, admin configuration, and environment variable generation.
Integrated Docker Compose stack including Discourse, PostgreSQL, and Redis.
Persistent storage configured for PostgreSQL, Redis, and Discourse logs to ensure data durability.
Apache2 reverse proxy preconfigured with automatic domain mapping support.
Let's Encrypt SSL automation for secure HTTPS deployment via Certbot.
Health checks for PostgreSQL and Redis containers to ensure reliable startup.
Automatic admin credential generation with secure password handling in .env.
Graceful restart and retry logic included in failsafe scripts to handle setup interruptions.
Optimized for AWS EC2 deployment, enabling quick launch, minimal setup time, and production-ready security defaults.
Additional details
Usage instructions
Launch an Instance
From AWS Marketplace, click Continue to Subscribe and then Continue to Configuration.
Choose the Recommended Instance Type
Select t2.medium or larger for optimal performance and stability.
Configure Security Group
Allow inbound traffic on the following ports:
22 (SSH) - for secure terminal access
80 (HTTP) - for initial setup and SSL verification
443 (HTTPS) - for secure Discourse access
Connect to the Instance
ssh -i <your-key.pem> ubuntu@<public-ip>
First-Boot Setup
On the first launch, initialization scripts automatically perform the following actions:
Detect your server's public IP address
Prompt for your Discourse domain name (e.g., forum.example.com)
Validate your DNS A record to confirm it resolves correctly
Request an admin email for login, SSL, and notifications
Automatically generate a secure admin password
Configure Apache virtual host and enable HTTPS
Deploy the Discourse stack using Docker Compose with PostgreSQL and Redis
Configure DNS
Add an A record in your DNS provider pointing your chosen domain (e.g., forum.example.com) to your instance's public IP.
The setup will automatically verify DNS propagation across global resolvers before continuing.
Automatic SSL Setup
Once DNS is verified, Certbot automatically issues and installs a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate.
Apache is then reconfigured to serve Discourse securely over HTTPS.
Start or Restart Services
The Discourse stack starts automatically on boot. To verify or manually restart services:
cd /opt/app
docker compose ps
docker compose restart
Access Discourse
https://<your-domain>
Login Credentials
Default credentials are stored in the environment file:
cat /opt/app/.env
Admin Username: root
Admin Email: (value of ADMIN_EMAIL)
Admin Password: (value of ADMIN_PASSWORD)
Environment File
All configuration details - domain, admin email and credentials are stored in:
/opt/app/.env
Thank you for subscribing. Your instance is ready to go!
Need Support or Customization?
Whether you're facing setup issues or need custom features, Perimattic's expert team is here to help:
We offer:
Free setup assistance
Custom development & integrations
Infrastructure consulting
Automation & AI solutions
With 13+ years of experience serving global clients, we ensure your deployment runs smoothly and scales with your needs.
What We Help With:
Initial setup and configuration assistance (free)
Troubleshooting connectivity, performance, and backup issues
Custom development and integrations
Infrastructure consulting and architecture review
Migration planning from other solutions
Automation solutions and scaling guidance
Instance Sizing Guidance:
t2.medium or t3.medium: Development environments, small applications
m5.large: Production workloads with moderate traffic
m5.xlarge: High-traffic production deployments and larger datasets
For workload-specific sizing recommendations, contact our team for a free consultation.
Refunds and Issues:
If you experience any issues or need to request a refund, contact us at aws-support@perimattic.com and we will respond promptly.
AWS infrastructure support
AWS Support is a one-on-one, fast-response support channel that is staffed 24x7x365 with experienced and technical support engineers. The service helps customers of all sizes and technical abilities to successfully utilize the products and features provided by Amazon Web Services.
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