Panel Comments documentation

Panel Comments is a self-hosted comments platform for Astro and other static websites. It runs as ordinary PHP files with MySQL or MariaDB. There is no Node runtime, hosted account, required cron job, or required web-server rewrite.

Start here

• Integration explains how to register a website and add the drop-in loader.
• Styling covers presets, color controls, custom CSS, and host-owned themes.
• Deployment covers cPanel, aaPanel, subfolders, permissions, Cloudflare's optional private-OAuth setup, and updates.
• Backup and restore describes the encrypted backup format and recovery flow.
• Import and export covers Panel Comments, Disqus, WordPress/Hyvor, Remark42, Isso, Commento, Cusdis, CSV, and JSON portability.
• Browser API documents the physical API gateway used by the widget.
• Security explains origin enforcement, identity, moderation, and anti-spam controls.
• Architecture describes the runtime and storage model.

Human and AI-readable surfaces

The public documentation under docs/ and Admin → Help render these same Markdown files. An integration agent can start with llms.txt, integration.php, or SKILL.md at the Panel Comments installation root. Those resources contain only generic product information and never expose configured websites, administrator accounts, or secrets.

Administration map

Choose the active website from the left sidebar. Overview, Moderation, Discussions, and Participants operate on that website. General, Engagement, Identity, Appearance, Protection, Integrations, and Import / Export are website settings available to managers and owners. Engagement controls article/comment reactions, allowed reaction choices, reaction access, rich-editor availability, and composer position.

The thin top menu contains installation-wide or personal areas: the cross-site Dashboard, Websites, Platform Settings, Tools, Security, Help, and About. Navigation is filtered by the signed-in administrator's permissions.