Lila
Ad-less chess server powering lichess.org, with official iOS and Android client apps.
Actively maintained with regular releases.
Commit activity in the top 1% of tracked projects; popularity more than 87%. How this is calculated.
Commits, last 11 months
| Stars | 19k |
|---|---|
| Latest release | v1.1.0 · 31 Aug 2017 |
| Repo updated | 27 Sept 2026 |
| Licence | AGPL-3.0 |
| Built with | Scala |
Is Lila actively maintained?
Lila is under active development: 8922 commits landed over the last 11 months, averaging roughly 853 commits a month in the most recent quarter.
The last tagged release, v1.1.0, is over 9 years old. If you deploy, expect to build from the default branch rather than a stable tag.
Of the 20 projects we track in Games, Lila ranks #5 by health score — in the top quarter of its category.
What Lila actually does
Lila is the open-source chess server backend that powers lichess.org, providing the core logic and matchmaking capabilities. It comes accompanied by official mobile client applications for both iOS and Android platforms. The project is implemented in Scala and licensed under the AGPL-3.0.
Best fit: Self-hosters who want to run a dedicated, ad-free chess platform for a community or private group using the exact software architecture behind a major chess site.
Worth knowing: The latest tagged release is notably old, which means you may need to rely on the current development branch or handle compatibility issues yourself. Operating a large-scale multiplayer game server also involves significant operational oversight.
Deployment notes
As a Scala application, it typically runs on the Java Virtual Machine and will usually require a compatible JDK installed on your host. You will also typically want a reverse proxy in front of it to handle TLS termination and manage persistent database connections.
Links
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