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Overview

PaoPao is a full-stack, open-source micro-community system. It combines a Go backend, a Vue 3 web client, and an optional Tauri desktop application, with a modular feature system for storage, search, logging, observability, and deployment strategy.

The repository is suitable for teams or individuals who want to run a community product, evaluate an extensible social platform, or build on top of an existing codebase instead of starting from scratch.

Why PaoPao

• Full-stack delivery: backend, web frontend, and desktop packaging live in one repository.
• Modular runtime features: enable different capability sets through Features suites such as Default, Develop, Demo, and Slim.
• Flexible infrastructure: supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Redis, Meilisearch, and multiple object storage providers.
• Multiple deployment paths: run from source, Docker, Docker Compose, or all-in-one container images.
• Self-hosting friendly: configuration is file-based and operational docs are already included in the repo.

Preview

Web

Desktop

More screenshots and live behavior are available at PaoPao.

Architecture at a Glance

Layer	Primary stack
Backend	Go, Gin, Cobra, GORM, Mir
Web frontend	Vue 3, Vite, Naive UI
Desktop client	Tauri
Search	Meilisearch
Cache	Redis
Object storage	Local OSS, MinIO, AliOSS, COS, Huawei OBS, S3-compatible
Observability	OpenTelemetry, Sentry, Pyroscope, Pprof

Repository Layout

Path	Purpose
cmd/, internal/, pkg/	Backend application and shared packages
web/	Vue 3 web application and Tauri desktop frontend
docs/	Deployment, OpenAPI, design proposals, and related documentation
scripts/	SQL bootstrap and helper assets
config.yaml.sample	Complete runtime configuration template

Quick Start

Option A: Evaluate locally with Docker Compose

This is the fastest way to bring up a local environment for evaluation.

git clone https://github.com/rocboss/paopao-ce.git
cd paopao-ce
docker compose up -d

Then open:

• http://localhost:8008 - PaoPao
• http://localhost:7700 - Meilisearch
• http://localhost:8001 - RedisInsight

Option B: Develop from source

Requirements

• Go 1.24+
• Node.js 20.19+ or 22.12+
• MySQL 5.7+
• Redis
• Meilisearch
• Rust + Tauri prerequisites if you plan to build the desktop app

Backend

1. Import scripts/paopao-mysql.sql into MySQL.
2. Copy the sample config and adjust only the bootstrap-critical values for your environment.
3. Start the backend.

cp config.yaml.sample config.yaml
make run

To build a release binary instead:

make build

To serve the embedded web UI from the Go binary, build the web assets first and run with the embed tag:

make build-web
make run TAGS='embed'

Web frontend

cd web
cp .env .env.local
yarn
yarn dev

To produce static assets:

yarn build

Desktop app

cd web
yarn tauri build

For the full installation guide, Docker build variants, desktop prerequisites, and migration notes, see INSTALL.md.

Configuration and Feature Suites

config.yaml.sample is now a minimal bootstrap template. At runtime, PaoPao loads the embedded default config first, then overlays ./custom/config.yaml or ./config.yaml if present, preferring the first file it finds.

That means the external config can stay intentionally small. In the current design:

• Keep in YAML: ports, feature selection, database, Redis, JWT, and AdminSettings.EncryptionKey
• Prefer the admin UI (/#/admin/settings): site profile, app behavior limits, search provider settings, object-storage settings, SMS/payment settings, and other operational knobs supported by the registry
• Watch apply mode: some settings are live, while others are marked restart-required in the admin page

The Features section controls which capability bundles are enabled:

Features:
  Default: ["Base", "MySQL", "Option", "LocalOSS", "LoggerFile"]
  Develop: ["Base", "MySQL", "Option", "Sms", "AliOSS", "LoggerOtlp"]
  Demo: ["Base", "MySQL", "Option", "Sms", "MinIO", "LoggerOtlp"]
  Slim: ["Base", "Sqlite3", "LocalOSS", "LoggerFile"]
  Base: ["Zinc", "Redis", "Alipay"]
  Option: ["SimpleCacheIndex"]
  Sms: "SmsJuhe"

Typical examples:

# Use the default suite
release/paopao serve

# Use only the declared develop suite
release/paopao serve --no-default-features --features develop

# Add sms on top of the default suite
release/paopao serve --features sms

# Enable features explicitly
release/paopao serve --no-default-features --features sqlite3,localoss,loggerfile,redis

For the current implementation status of each feature, see features-status.md.

Documentation Map

• INSTALL.md - installation, Docker usage, and desktop build instructions
• INSTALL_ZH.md - Chinese installation guide
• docs/README.md - documentation index
• docs/README_ZH.md - Chinese documentation index
• docs/deploy/ - deployment documentation
• docs/openapi/ - exported API documentation assets
• docs/proposal/ - design notes and feature proposals
• deployed-sites.md - known deployed instances
• ROADMAP.md - roadmap and planning notes

Branch Strategy

The project uses a staged branch model:

Branch	Role
main	Stable production branch; bug-fix oriented
beta	Public testing branch
alpha	Internal testing branch
dev	Main development branch for new work
feature/*	Focused feature branches
r/*	Distribution-oriented release branches

If you plan to contribute new functionality, target dev unless the maintainers specify otherwise.

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. If you want to contribute:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a branch from dev for feature work.
3. Keep changes focused and documented.
4. Open a PR with context about the problem, approach, and verification.

If you deploy your own instance, consider adding it to deployed-sites.md.

License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

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