What is it?
Bonfire is open-source software for running your own community. Readers get profiles, conversations, groups and topics. Your team decides who can join each space and who moderates it.
For publishers, we connect that community to the work you already do. Articles become places to talk. Memberships can open access to groups and content. Your design, everywhere, not ours.
You can install, configure and customise Bonfire yourself. There is no software licence fee and no requirement to buy our services. Start with the self-hosting guide.
Built with publishers, for publishers
Jacobin's readers asked for a protected place to discuss, bring story ideas to the newsroom and see behind the scenes. They already felt part of a community and wanted a space that reflected it.
We connected their website and Bonfire, imported their archive, mapped subscriptions to access permissions and created a custom interface. Journalists and editors take part directly; Bonfire handles technical maintenance and support.
Take a closer look
Who is it for?
Publishers whose readers want to do more than read, and whose newsroom wants to take part. A few good starting points:
- A home for your members. Give supporters places to meet each other and your editorial team.
- Conversations beyond individual articles. Keep discussion going around a subject, reading group or shared interest.
- A connection between events. Give people who meet at your gatherings somewhere to stay in touch.
Your team leads participation and moderation. You can handle the technical setup yourselves, bring your own partner or ask us to help.
What if you'd like us to build it?
We can take your community from initial setup to launch. We agree the requirements, scope and price together before work begins. A project using our existing Ghost integration includes:
- Community structure, groups, topics and access rules.
- Publishing platform integration, membership configuration and article import.
- A custom theme, interface and the community widgets you choose.
- Configuration, revisions, testing and guidance through launch.
We quote hosting, ongoing support and anything outside the agreed scope separately.
Do we need the full integration?
You don't need the full integration to begin. Once Bonfire is running, The Telling adds a federated comment thread to any page on your existing site with a single script tag, served from your own instance. Readers reply using an account they already have, on Bonfire, Mastodon or anywhere else on the fediverse, and the conversation lives on your server rather than a third party's.
Your publication stays exactly as it is. Membership sync, article import and a community structure of your own can follow whenever you want them.
Do we have to use Ghost?
No. Ghost is the integration we have already built and used with Jacobin. It gives us a proven starting point for connecting publishing, memberships and community.
If you use another CMS or membership system, tell us about it. We'll assess the integration and agree the scope and cost. The Telling comment widget can also be embedded on different websites, independently of a full membership integration.
A few practical questions
Who controls the data?
You do. The community runs on your instance, under your own terms and privacy policy. With our cooperative hosting partner, ongoing backups and access to the database and files let you transfer the instance to another provider, or switch to self-hosting whenever you want.
Members keep their rights over their own data: they can see what is stored for them, export it, and delete their account. They can also move to another server entirely, taking their profile, content, and followers with them. Nobody is locked in.
Who hosts it?
Our cooperative hosting partner can run the instance, or you can choose your own infrastructure and provider. We settle who is responsible for what before launch.
What happens after launch?
We can provide maintenance and technical support and coordinate new releases with your hosting provider. We set the support capacity and cost with you. Your newsroom continues to lead the community.
Can we start small?
Yes. We can configure access for an initial group of readers and plan a wider rollout with your team as the community develops.
Can we leave or work with another developer?
Yes. Bonfire is open source. You can keep running it, adapt it and work with the technical partner you choose. Your relationship with readers should outlast any software provider.
Tell us about your publication. We'll discuss how readers participate today, what you want to make possible and whether Bonfire fits.
