Remark42

Remark42 is a lightweight, privacy-focused comment engine designed to be embedded into blogs, articles, and other websites where readers leave comments. It is built to minimize data collection, avoid third-party tracking, and remain simple to deploy and operate.

Key Features

• Embeddable comments widget with multi-level nested threads (tree or plain view)
• Authentication via multiple providers plus email login, with optional anonymous access
• Markdown formatting with a toolbar for writing comments
• Moderation tools including comment removal and user blocking
• Voting, pinning, comment verification, and sorting options
• Image uploads with drag-and-drop support
• RSS feeds for all comments and per-post comment streams
• Notifications for admins (email, Telegram, Slack, webhooks) and reply notifications for users
• Import tools for migrating from Disqus and WordPress
• Single-instance multi-site mode
• Data export to JSON with automatic backups; no external database required

Use Cases

• Add a privacy-respecting comment section to a personal blog or documentation site
• Replace hosted comment platforms while keeping control over data and retention
• Run a single commenting backend for multiple websites from one installation

Remark42 combines straightforward deployment with a feature-complete commenting experience, while emphasizing privacy and minimal data retention. It is well suited for site owners who want modern commenting without external trackers or complex infrastructure.