Apache Answer

Apache Answer is question and answer software you run for your own audience. One instance can serve as the public community forum, the customer help center or the internal knowledge management platform, which removes the usual choice between three separate products at three separate prices.

The backend is written in Go and the interface in React, and the whole thing is distributed as a single container. One docker run with a published port and a mounted data volume is enough to have it serving, and the installation guide covers the rest.

Building it yourself is a short path with a few requirements.

• Prerequisites: Go 1.23 or newer, Node.js 20 or newer and pnpm 9 for anyone compiling from source.
• Build steps: one make target generates code, a second builds the frontend and a third builds the backend.
• Tooling checks: mockgen and wire handle code generation, and a make target confirms both are installed.
• Plugin system: developers write plugins to extend features, with published documentation and a catalog of existing ones.
• Container image: state stays in the mounted volume, which keeps upgrades and backups uncomplicated.

The project sits at the Apache Software Foundation under the Apache 2.0 license, and contributions go through the foundation's contributing guide. The maintainers actively ask for feedback on the documentation and on what people build with the plugin system.