MyBB

What is MyBB?

MyBB (My Bulletin Board) is a free and open-source forum software (bulletin board system) written in PHP and using MySQL/MariaDB databases. It’s popular for creating online discussion communities and has been around since 2002. MyBB is a community forum platform that allows you to host discussion boards where users can register, post topics, reply to threads, and interact with each other. It’s designed to be lightweight, customizable, and user-friendly, both for administrators and end-users. MyBB is a reliable, customizable, and easy-to-use forum software that’s great for anyone who wants to run an online community without paying for commercial solutions.

Features of MyBB

1. User Management

• User Registration & Profiles Users can register accounts, edit their profiles (avatar, signature, bio, contact info), and manage preferences.
• User Groups & Permissions Admins can create groups like Members, Moderators, VIP, Banned Users with different access rights. Example: Moderators can delete posts, while normal users cannot.
• Private Messaging (PM) Built-in system for users to send private messages to each other (like email inside the forum).

2. Forum & Thread Management

• Forum Structure Hierarchical system with categories, forums, and subforums. Example: Category → “Support” → Forum → “Hosting Issues” → Subforum → “cPanel Problems”.
• Thread Features
  • Thread prefixes (e.g., [Solved], [Pending])
  • Sticky/pinned threads (stay at the top)
  • Locked threads (no more replies)
  • Polls (allow members to vote on topics)
  • Inline moderation (select multiple posts/threads and apply actions at once).

3. Moderation Tools

• Inline Moderation → Delete, move, merge, split threads/posts quickly.
• Moderator Control Panel → Dedicated dashboard for mods to manage reports, bans, warnings, and forum content.
• Spam Control
  • CAPTCHA on registration/posts
  • StopForumSpam & Akismet integration via plugins
  • Post moderation (require approval for new members).

Versions of MyBB

Version	Release Date	Type
1.0	9 Dec 2005	Major Release (mybb.github.io, Wikipedia)
1.2.0	2 Sep 2006	Major Release (mybb.github.io, Wikipedia)
1.4.0	3 Aug 2008	Major Release (mybb.github.io, Wikipedia)
1.4.16	17 Apr 2011	Security Release (final in series) (mybb.github.io, Wikipedia)
1.6.0	3 Aug 2010	Major Release (Wikipedia)
1.6.5	25 Nov 2011	Feature Release (no longer supported) (mybb.com)
1.8.0	1 Sep 2014	Major Release (new theme, jQuery, IPv6, soft delete) (Wikipedia)
1.8.38	30 Apr 2024	Latest supported in series (according to software listings) (Wikipedia)
1.8.39	2 Jun 2025	Latest official release (includes security patch for search visibility issue) (mybb.com, releasealert.dev)

Installation of MyBB using Softaculous

Step 1:

First, log into WHM and make sure MyBB is one of the scripts being made available to the cPanel users for installation. To do this, log into WHM and go to Plugins → Softaculous Instant Installs”.

Then within the Softaculous frame’s left sidebar, go to “Software → General Scripts”.

Then make sure MyBB is enabled there. To save time later, you can also check the box in the Pre-Download column.

After checking that the boxes are checked, scroll back up to the top of the list to click the “Update Settings” button.

You should then see the success message:

Step 2:

If you haven’t already, you will need to make the cPanel account for the site. This is done in WHM under “Create a New Account”. If you aren’t already sure how to do this, you can read more about some of the first steps to getting a cPanel account set up here.

Step 3:

After logging in to the cPanel, scroll down to section “Softaculous Apps Installer”. In the subsection “Scripts”, one of the options should be “MyBB”.

Then click the “Install Now” button.

Fill in the information in the form.

You will also need to specify the username and password you would like to use for the administrative account in the new MyBB site.

Within the Advanced section, you can choose the Database Name and/or Table Prefix, if desired. If WHM has “Require a username prefix on names of new databases and database users” enabled in “Tweak Settings”, you do not need to add the prefix yourself.

After clicking “Install”, there will briefly be a progress bar as Softaculous checks the validity of the information you entered into the form. If it worked, you should soon thereafter see the success page.

If you choose to have Softaculous send you an email with the installation information, it should look something like this:

Step 4:

Once the site has been installed, you can then log into the newly-installed site.

Once logged in, you can check some of the site-level configuration, or jump right in with adding some users!