Artalk

Artalk is a self-hosted commenting backend that gives you full control over your site's comment data. It runs as a compact Go binary with a Vue.js frontend, making it a practical alternative to Disqus or other third-party services. You point it at your own server, configure a few settings, and drop the embed script into your pages. It supports Markdown formatting, email notifications, and spam filtering out of the box.

Artalk integrates easily with static site generators like Hugo, Hexo, and Jekyll. It also offers a REST API, a WebSocket-based real-time update channel, and a built-in admin panel for moderation. The project uses SQLite as its default database, with optional PostgreSQL and MySQL support. Authentication options include email-based login and social OAuth providers through a plugin system.

This tool is ideal for developers who want ownership of their comment infrastructure without the overhead of running a full CMS. It's open source under the MIT license and actively maintained by the ArtalkJS community. Notable for its low resource usage, it can run on a small VPS alongside other services without issue.