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AdultEmbed 1.0: A Free Self-Hosted Tube Script (No WordPress Needed)

Disclosure: AdultEmbed is made by the same team that runs this guide.

Most adult tube scripts fall into two camps: paid standalone scripts (KVS, MechBunny and the like) or WordPress themes and plugins sold one by one (WP-Script). AdultEmbed 1.0, released today, is a third option: a complete tube CMS on plain PHP and MySQL that costs nothing and has no licence keys. Its WordPress edition, AdultEmbed Studio, shares the same engine.

What you get

Requirements

PHP 8.2+, MySQL 8 or MariaDB 10.6+, and a cron line. Any VPS works; see our hosting guides for what to pick. Install with the browser wizard or one command (php bin/ae install ... --json).

Self-hosted or WordPress?

Our take

A free script is only worth it if it is maintained. Both editions get updates from the same code base, and the features above came from comparing running installs of the paid scripts side by side. Try it on a spare domain before moving a live site, and keep your own backups, as with any script.

Spotted something outdated, or run a service we should look at? Email [email protected]. Listings are never paid.