# ptt/pttbbs

PTT BBS source code

Repository: https://github.com/ptt/pttbbs
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/pttbbs
Language: C
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2026-08-30T17:19:22+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 100, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4331, "days_push": 3, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1177, forks 147 (observed 2026-09-01T02:14:06.094295+00:00)

## What it is
The core source code of PTT BBS (批踢踢實業坊), a large traditional telnet-based Bulletin Board System written in C. It includes the terminal-mode BBS main program (mbbsd), supporting daemons for board/article services, WebSocket-to-Telnet proxying, email verification, and IP banning.

## Use cases
- self-host a telnet-based BBS forum
- run a classic bulletin board system server
- study how a large-scale BBS is implemented in C
- proxy telnet BBS sessions over WebSocket for web access
- operate a community board with push/comment posts and board management
- understand PTT's architecture to build compatible clients or tools

## When to choose
- you want to run or study a traditional telnet BBS at scale
- you need the exact software powering ptt.cc or a compatible system
- you are building web frontends or clients against PTT's board/article protocols

## When to avoid
- you want a modern web forum with a browser UI out of the box
- you need a turnkey solution with easy installation and modern dependencies
- you are not comfortable maintaining legacy C code on FreeBSD/Linux

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: http-server, websocket, email, cli, terminal-ui
- domain: self-hosted, social-media, developer-tools, messaging-platforms
- platform: bsd, c, self-hosted
- tags: bbs, telnet, forum, legacy-system, taiwan, websocket-proxy, freebsd, linux, web-server

## Member repositories
- ptt/pttbbs (main) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-09-01T02:14:06.094295+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 2026-08-30T06:26:17.882023+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ptt/pttbbs (fetched 2026-09-01T02:14:06.094295+00:00, sha a42693b5190f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.