Apache Answer is a free, open-source Q&A platform for communities and knowledge bases, governed by the Apache Software Foundation. Self-host it for free.
Apache Answer is an open-source Q&A platform for creating community discussion sites, developer help centers, and internal knowledge bases. It was open-sourced in 2022 by the team behind SegmentFault, China's largest developer Q&A community, then donated to the Apache Software Foundation, entering the Apache Incubator in October 2023 and graduating to a Top-Level Project in December 2024.
The software is released under the Apache License 2.0 and is developed openly by a global community of contributors under ASF governance, rather than by a single commercial vendor.
Apache Answer follows the familiar Stack Overflow-style model: members post questions, submit answers, and vote content up or down, with a reputation and badge system that rewards active participation. Content is organized with a tagging system and surfaced through built-in search.
A plugin system allows administrators to extend the platform, for example by adding authentication connectors or notification channels, and the interface has been translated into multiple languages by contributors, including English and Simplified Chinese.
Answer was initiated internally in June 2022 by the SegmentFault team and publicly open-sourced that October. After entering Apache Incubator in October 2023, the project shipped multiple Apache releases, translations, and community contributions before graduating as an Apache Top-Level Project in December 2024, giving it long-term foundation-backed governance.
Yes. Apache Answer is free and open source under the Apache License 2.0, with no licensing fees.
It is maintained by a community of contributors under the governance of the Apache Software Foundation, having originated from SegmentFault's Answer project.
Yes, it is designed to be self-hosted, typically deployed via Docker on your own server or cloud infrastructure.
Yes, the community has translated the interface into multiple languages, including Simplified Chinese.