ONLYOFFICE/CommunityServer - Detailed Review#

1. Overview & GitHub Stats#

URL: https://github.com/ONLYOFFICE/CommunityServer
Stars: 2863

ONLYOFFICE CommunityServer is a popular open-source project that provides a comprehensive office suite with business productivity tools. With over 2,800 stars on GitHub, it’s a well-maintained alternative to commercial office suites.

2. Project Description#

ONLYOFFICE CommunityServer is a free, open-source office suite that includes:

Document editing (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more)
Project management (tasks, Gantt charts, milestones)
CRM (customer relationship management)
Mail aggregator (unified inbox for multiple email accounts)

Built for businesses and individuals who need a self-hosted, privacy-focused office solution, it supports real-time collaboration and integrates with popular platforms like Nextcloud, Seafile, and ownCloud.

3. What Software Does It Replace?#

ONLYOFFICE CommunityServer is a strong alternative to:

Microsoft 365 (Office 365) – For document editing and collaboration.
Google Workspace – For cloud-based office tools.
Zoho Workplace – For business productivity suites.
Bitrix24 – For CRM and project management.

4. Core Functionality#

Key features include:

Online document editors (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODT support)
Real-time collaboration (multi-user editing with comments)
Self-hosting capability (full control over data)
CRM & project management (leads, contacts, tasks, Kanban)
Mail client (unified inbox for Gmail, Outlook, etc.)
Integration APIs (works with Nextcloud, WordPress, and more)

5. Pros and Cons#

Pros:#

✔ Open-source & free – No licensing costs.
✔ Self-hosted – Full data ownership.
✔ Feature-rich – More than just document editing.
✔ Real-time collaboration – Works like Google Docs.
✔ Cross-platform – Web, desktop, and mobile apps.

Cons:#

❌ Steeper learning curve – More complex than Google Docs.
❌ Resource-intensive – Requires a decent server for self-hosting.
❌ Limited third-party integrations (compared to Microsoft 365).

6. Detailed Installation Guide (Self-host)#

Prerequisites:#

Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04 recommended)
Docker & Docker Compose installed
Minimum 4GB RAM (8GB recommended for production)

Step-by-Step Setup:#

Install Docker & Docker Compose

1
sudo apt update && sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose
2
sudo systemctl enable --now docker

Clone ONLYOFFICE Docker setup

1
git clone https://github.com/ONLYOFFICE/Docker-CommunityServer.git
2
cd Docker-CommunityServer

Edit the .env file
Terminal window
```
1
nano .env
```
- Set ONLYOFFICE_HOST=your-domain.com (or server IP if testing locally).
- Configure database credentials (PostgreSQL/MySQL).
Start ONLYOFFICE
Terminal window
```
1
sudo docker-compose up -d
```
Access the Web UI
- Open http://your-server-ip in a browser.
- Complete the initial setup (admin account, database config).

(Optional) Enable HTTPS with Nginx reverse proxy

1
sudo apt install nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx
2
sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

That’s it! ONLYOFFICE CommunityServer should now be running on your server. For advanced configurations, check the official docs.