How To Build Worlds

UNA gives you the foundation to create social experiences of every kind: communities, customer networks, and dynamic spaces where people and AI agents come together.

Why UNA

Many platforms offer multi-user networking, collaboration, and communication tools. But most are built for trusted teams, small groups, or isolated, tightly managed communities. Creating a distinctive experience that can scale to millions of users is typically within reach only for billion-dollar companies.

Open-source community platforms exist, but even the strongest options often provide only a web interface or a limited set of features.

UNA takes on that challenge with a scalable, no-compromise, all-in-one foundation. It combines a database, API server, web and native client applications, and a suite of pre-built modules into one unified system.

Open source. Independent. Built without limits.

Created for Humans. Accelerated by Agents.

UNA began as a customisable community software platform inspired by social applications such as Facebook, X, Reddit, and Quora. Proven in production across thousands of networks and refined over more than 25 years, it has consistently focused on meaningful connections, community management, communication, and user safety.

Today, UNA is a comprehensive foundation for multi-user applications—supporting multiple user roles, diverse content types, custom taxonomies, and nested communities.

Now, with its customisable agent system, UNA unlocks virtually limitless possibilities for engagement, content management, workflow orchestration, and knowledge-base development—at the scale of hundreds, thousands, or millions of users.

Platforms such as Appwrite and Supabase give you the tools to build an application, but creating a complete social network can still take years. AI-powered builders like v0 and Lovable can accelerate prototyping, yet they are not designed to deliver a production-ready, secure, and compliant platform at scale.

UNA changes that. With pre-built modules, sensible defaults, and a powerful no-code configuration Studio, you can launch a fully custom network instantly, manage it effectively and modify it without touching a line of code.

What’s Included

UNA provides the complete, open-source foundation to launch, manage, and evolve a custom network—all in one unified system.

• Database - MySQL/MariaDB data storage and management
• Application Server - PHP-based business logic, workflows, and extensibility
• API - RESTful, JSON-based API for connecting clients and services
• Authentication & SSO - Identity, sign-in, and single sign-on management
• Access Control - Deeply customisable roles, permissions, privacy, and visibility rules
• File Storage - Local and S3-compatible remote storage
• Media Processing - Audio and video transcoding, delivery, and management
• Web Client - API-driven React and Next.js web application
• Native Client - Customisable React Native and Expo applications for iOS and Android
• Pre-built Modules - Ready-to-configure building blocks for communities, content, engagement, and collaboration
• No-Code Studio - Powerful configuration tools to tailor your network without rebuilding it from scratch
• AI Agents - Configurable agents for engagement, moderation, workflows, content operations, and knowledge management
• Community Operations - Tools for moderation, safety, communication, and managing complex multi-user environments

Everything is designed to work together - so you can focus on the experience you want to create.

How UNA Works

UNA is designed as a modular system where you can build unique social applications. Out of the box, you get both the website (frontend) and the server application (backend).

Frontend

The frontend is fully responsive, customizable, and mobile-friendly. It can be shipped as a Progressive Web App. UNA has two main types of modules:

Content Modules

Content modules allow your users to publish and share various types of content:

• Timeline
• Posts
• Discussions
• Videos
• Albums
• Photos
• Polls
• Files
• Streams
• Conversations
• Messenger
• Wiki
• Lessons

The system supports media storage, uploading, and transcoding.

Context Modules

Context modules work as containers for content:

• Groups
• Events
• Spaces
• Courses
• Channels
• People
• Organizations
• Market
• Courses

Users can publish content into context modules, which will set visibility boundaries.

Some context modules like People and Organizations work as profiles. Users can publish content in their profiles, and profiles are referenced as Authors in other modules.

The Timeline module includes its own content type called "Updates" and can absorb listings from all other content and context modules.

Backend: Studio

The backend includes the database, server application, and the configuration system called Studio. Only site operators can access the Studio, while content administration happens in the frontend.

Studio is a powerful configuration system with several Core apps:

• Dashboard: Shows application status, system version, space used, cache, and server audit
• Apps Market: Where you download, install, and update new apps
• Settings: Includes general system configuration and quick access to settings from other apps
• Storage: Gives you a way to upload and control media used for site configuration
• Polyglot: Handles language keys and values, localization settings, and email templates
• Designer: Allows you to choose a default site layout and template; upload custom logos, icons, and cover images; prepare your progressive web app manifest and inject custom styles
• Accounts: Gives high-level control of all user accounts and includes the accounts export tool
• Pages: A page builder where you can modify pages provided by other modules or create new custom pages
• Navigation: Controls all menus found in the system and installed modules
• Forms: A powerful tool to manipulate forms of all modules in various presentation modes
• Permissions: Lets you set up membership levels and choose which actions every level can perform
• Roles: For separating Operator permissions to limit staff access to specific categories of apps
• Badges: Allows you to add reusable badges that admins can give to users
• Developer: Unlocks advanced settings for configuration and main builders
• API: Where you enable the API, add origins, and create authentication keys

Apps: The Building Blocks

Apps are the main building blocks in UNA. You can add Apps and configure them in the Studio to create unique experiences for your users. Apps can be:

• Modules
• System tools
• Templates
• Languages
• Integrations

Key Features

Out of the box, UNA comes with an extensive set of features commonly found in social networking applications as well as configuration settings built specifically for multi-role communities:

• Social interactions: Reactions, votes, comments, reposts, and sharing
• Content feeds: Subscription feed, public feed, context feed, and Smart Feed
• Identity management: Multiple profiles per account with persona switching
• Profile types: Personal and Organization profile types
• Context modules: Groups, events, and spaces
• Content organization: Tagging and aggregation via labels, channels, and categories
• Content publishing: Posts, videos, albums, and photos
• Communication tools: Messenger and discussions
• Education modules: Classes and courses
• Microblogging: Content sharing via Timeline Updates
• Service apps: Notifications, MassMailer, and Invitations

Use Cases

UNA's flexible architecture makes it suitable for a wide range of implementations:

Community Websites

• Interest-based communities connecting people around shared hobbies and activities
• Professional networks for industry-specific networking and knowledge sharing
• Educational communities with collaborative learning features

Business Applications

• Internal collaboration networks for team communication
• Customer communities where users interact with your company and each other
• Partner portals for business partners, resellers, or affiliates

Organizational Platforms

• Member organizations with directories and communication tools
• Alumni networks connecting graduates of institutions
• Volunteer coordination for non-profit initiatives

Specialized Networks

• Educational platforms with course management and knowledge sharing
• Health & wellness communities with enhanced privacy and resource sharing
• Creative showcases for artists, designers, musicians, and writers
• Entertainment hubs connecting fans and creators
• Event-driven communities for conferences, festivals, and recurring events

Deployment and Scaling

UNA is designed as a platform for independent communities. You control the site data and host the software. Depending on your server configuration, UNA can be used for a small community or it can handle millions of active users. There are no limits on:

• Number of users
• Storage
• Customization options
• Code modifications

You can start a small community using basic features, then grow big and evolve the experience as needed.

Community & Support

UNA has a vibrant ecosystem of resources for site owners, administrators, and developers:

• Dashboard: Create you project to connect to update server, deploy to cloud hosting, download apps and access support.
• App Store: Repository for modules, templates, and extensions.
• Discussions: Community support and knowledge sharing.
• UNA GitHub Repo: Collaborate on code improvements and bug fixes.

Getting Started

To get started with UNA CMS:

1. Review the system requirements.
2. Choose a hosting option.
3. Install UNA using the standard installation or a Starter Kit.
4. Access the Studio to configure your site.
5. Add and configure apps to create your unique community experience.
6. Customize the design and user experience.
7. Launch your community.

With UNA's flexible architecture and comprehensive feature set, you can create a unique community platform tailored to your specific needs.

Next: License