Why I Switched to Remark42: The Privacy-First Commenting Engine

As a tech blogger, I often struggle with a specific dilemma: I want community engagement on my posts, but I hate the cost of that engagement.

For years, the default answer was Disqus. It’s easy to install, but it comes with a heavy price tag: bloated load times, third-party tracking scripts, and ads injected into your content. It felt wrong to advocate for privacy and performance while forcing my readers to load megabytes of tracking JavaScript just to leave a comment.

Enter Remark42.

If you are looking for a self-hosted, lightweight, and privacy-obsessed alternative to the big platforms, this is it. Here is why I think Remark42 is the best commenting engine for technical blogs in 2025.

What is Remark42?

Remark42 is an open-source, self-hosted commenting engine written in Go. It is designed to be:

• Lightweight: The frontend script is tiny compared to Disqus.
• Private: It doesn't spy on your users. No tracking pixels, no selling data.
• Self-Contained: It compiles down to a single binary or runs in a small Docker container.

Unlike static commenting systems (which require a site rebuild for every new comment) or heavyweight platforms (like Discourse), Remark42 sits in the sweet spot: dynamic, real-time, but entirely under your control.

Killer Features for Developers

1. Markdown Support

This is a dealbreaker for a tech blog. Remark42 supports Markdown out of the box. Users can format code blocks, use bold/italics, and even include images. If your audience consists of developers, they expect to write in Markdown.

2. Social Login (OAuth)

You don't want to manage passwords, and users don't want to create new accounts. Remark42 handles authentication via Google, GitHub, Facebook, Microsoft, and more. It also supports anonymous commenting if you choose to enable it.

3. Data Ownership

All comments are stored in a simple BoltDB file (or MongoDB if you scale up) on your server. You can export your data to JSON at any time. You own the content your community creates.

4. Docker-First Deployment

For those of us who live in docker-compose.yml files, Remark42 is a dream. The official image is well-maintained and easy to configure.

How to Deploy Remark42

Here is a quick "Happy Path" guide to getting it running using Docker Compose.

Step 1: The Backend

Create a docker-compose.yml file on your server (VPS, Raspberry Pi, etc.):

YAML

version: '2'

services:
  remark42:
    image: umputun/remark42:latest
    container_name: "remark42"
    restart: always
    environment:
      - REMARK_URL=https://comments.yourwebsite.com
      - SECRET=your_random_secret_string
      - SITE=yourwebsite_id
      - AUTH_GITHUB_CID=your_github_client_id
      - AUTH_GITHUB_CSEC=your_github_client_secret
    volumes:
      - ./var:/srv/var
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"

Note: You will need to set up a reverse proxy (like Nginx or Traefik) to handle SSL and point comments.yourwebsite.com to port 8080.

Step 2: The Frontend

Once your backend is live, adding the comments to your blog (Hugo, Jekyll, Ghost, Next.js, etc.) is just a matter of adding a small JavaScript snippet to your footer or comments partial:

HTML

<script>
  var remark_config = {
    host: "https://comments.yourwebsite.com",
    site_id: "yourwebsite_id",
    components: ["embed"], 
    theme: "dark" // or 'light'
  };
  
  (function(c) {
    for(var i = 0; i < c.length; i++){
      var d = document, s = d.createElement("script");
      s.src = remark_config.host + "/web/" + c[i] + ".js"; 
      s.defer = true;
      (d.head || d.body).appendChild(s);
    }
  })(remark_config.components || ["embed"]);
</script>

<div id="remark42"></div>

Migration from Disqus?

Yes, it’s possible. Remark42 includes an import tool that can ingest your XML export from Disqus. You don't have to lose your history to gain your privacy.

Verdict

Remark42 isn't just "good for open source"; it's a superior product. It loads faster, looks cleaner (especially in dark mode), and respects the user.

If you have a spare Docker container and 50MB of RAM, give it a try. Your users—and your page speed scores, will thank you.