# isso-comments/isso

a Disqus alternative

Repository: https://github.com/isso-comments/isso
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/isso
Homepage: https://isso-comments.de
Language: Python
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: disqus, commenting, self-hosted, javascript, sqlite3
Last push: 2026-08-26T21:30:48+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 80/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 44, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5068, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 161, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5304, forks 465 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:15.354330+00:00)

## What it is
Isso is a lightweight, self-hosted commenting server written in Python and JavaScript, designed as a drop-in replacement for Disqus. It embeds via a single small JS file, stores comments in SQLite, supports Markdown, moderation, and Disqus/WordPress import.

## Use cases
- add comments to a static website without third-party tracking
- self-host a Disqus alternative
- migrate existing Disqus or WordPress comments
- allow anonymous comments with moderation queue
- embed a lightweight comment widget on a blog

## When to choose
- you want privacy-friendly, self-hosted comments with no third-party scripts
- your site is static or lightweight and you want a tiny JS embed
- you prefer SQLite over running a full database server
- you need to import comments from Disqus or WordPress

## When to avoid
- you need large-scale, high-traffic comment infrastructure
- you want rich social login integrations or SSO out of the box
- you need a hosted, zero-maintenance solution
- you require advanced spam filtering beyond basic moderation

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: http-server, web-framework, database, markdown, templating
- domain: web-development, self-hosted, privacy, cms
- platform: python, self-hosted, cross-platform
- tags: comments, disqus-alternative, sqlite, static-sites, anonymous-comments, moderation, javascript-embed, docker, web-server, linux

## Member repositories
- isso-comments/isso (main) score 80

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:15.354330+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:59:00.574372+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/isso-comments/isso (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:15.354330+00:00, sha 8e6a922d5460)
  - homepage: https://isso-comments.de (fetched 2026-08-29T08:53:53.236241+00:00, sha c8891826a299)
  - site_page: https://isso-comments.de/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T08:53:53.244994+00:00, sha caf558977ec7)
  - site_page: https://isso-comments.de/docs/contributing (fetched 2026-08-29T08:53:53.246683+00:00, sha 6d8a7c2327b9)
  - registry_pypi: https://pypi.org/pypi/isso/json (fetched 2026-08-29T08:53:53.248537+00:00, sha f7b6c40420d7)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.