Discourse MCP

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) stdio server that exposes Discourse forum capabilities as tools for AI agents.

• Entry point: src/index.ts → compiled to dist/index.js (binary name: discourse-mcp)
• SDK: @modelcontextprotocol/sdk
• Node: >= 18

Quick start (release)

• Run (read‑only, recommended to start)

npx -y @discourse/mcp@latest

Then, in your MCP client, either:

• Call the discourse_select_site tool with { "site": "https://try.discourse.org" } to choose a site, or

• Start the server tethered to a site using --site https://try.discourse.org (in which case discourse_select_site is hidden).

• Enable writes (opt‑in, safe‑guarded)

npx -y @discourse/mcp@latest --allow_writes --read_only=false --auth_pairs '[{"site":"https://try.discourse.org","api_key":"'$DISCOURSE_API_KEY'","api_username":"system"}]'

• Use in an MCP client (example: Claude Desktop) — via npx

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "discourse": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@discourse/mcp@latest"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Alternative: if you prefer a global binary after install, the package exposes discourse-mcp.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "discourse": { "command": "discourse-mcp", "args": [] }
  }
}

Configuration

The server registers tools under the MCP server name @discourse/mcp. Choose a target Discourse site either by:

• Using the discourse_select_site tool at runtime (validates via /about.json), or

• Supplying --site <url> to tether the server to a single site at startup (validates via /about.json and hides discourse_select_site).

• Auth

  • None by default.
  • Admin API Keys (require admin permissions): --auth_pairs '[{"site":"https://example.com","api_key":"...","api_username":"system"}]'
  • User API Keys (any user can generate): --auth_pairs '[{"site":"https://example.com","user_api_key":"...","user_api_client_id":"..."}]'
  • You can include multiple entries in auth_pairs; the matching entry is used for the selected site. If both user_api_key and api_key are provided for the same site, user_api_key takes precedence.

• Write safety

  • Writes are disabled by default.
  • The tools discourse_create_post, discourse_create_topic, discourse_create_category, and discourse_create_user are only registered when all are true:
    • --allow_writes AND not --read_only AND some auth is configured (either default flags or a matching auth_pairs entry).
  • A ~1 req/sec rate limit is enforced for write actions.

• Flags & defaults

  • --read_only (default: true)
  • --allow_writes (default: false)
  • --timeout_ms <number> (default: 15000)
  • --concurrency <number> (default: 4)
  • --log_level <silent|error|info|debug> (default: info)
    • debug: Shows all HTTP requests, responses, and detailed error information
    • info: Shows retry attempts and general operational messages
    • error: Shows only errors
    • silent: No logging output
  • --tools_mode <auto|discourse_api_only|tool_exec_api> (default: auto)
  • --site <url>: Tether MCP to a single site and hide discourse_select_site.
  • --default-search <prefix>: Unconditionally prefix every search query (e.g., tag:ai order:latest-post).
  • --max-read-length <number>: Maximum characters returned for post content (default 50000). Applies to discourse_read_post and per-post content in discourse_read_topic. The tools prefer raw content by requesting include_raw=true.
  • --transport <stdio|http> (default: stdio): Transport type. Use stdio for standard input/output (default), or http for Streamable HTTP transport (stateless mode with JSON responses).
  • --port <number> (default: 3000): Port to listen on when using HTTP transport.
  • --cache_dir <path> (reserved)
  • --profile <path.json> (see below)

• Profile file (keep secrets off the command line)

{
  "auth_pairs": [
    { "site": "https://try.discourse.org", "api_key": "<redacted>", "api_username": "system" },
    { "site": "https://example.com", "user_api_key": "<user_api_key>", "user_api_client_id": "<client_id>" }
  ],
  "read_only": false,
  "allow_writes": true,
  "log_level": "info",
  "tools_mode": "auto",
  "site": "https://try.discourse.org",
  "default_search": "tag:ai order:latest-post",
  "max_read_length": 50000,
  "transport": "stdio",
  "port": 3000
}

Run with:

node dist/index.js --profile /absolute/path/to/profile.json

Flags still override values from the profile.

• Remote Tool Execution API (optional)

  • With tools_mode=auto (default) or tool_exec_api, the server discovers remote tools via GET /ai/tools after you select a site (or immediately at startup if --site is provided) and registers them dynamically. Set --tools_mode=discourse_api_only to disable remote tool discovery.

• Networking & resilience

  • Retries on 429/5xx with backoff (3 attempts).
  • Lightweight in‑memory GET cache for selected endpoints.

• Privacy

  • Secrets are redacted in logs. Errors are returned as human‑readable messages to MCP clients.

Tools

Built‑in tools (always present unless noted):

• discourse_search

  • Input: { query: string; with_private?: boolean; max_results?: number (1–50, default 10) }
  • Output: text summary plus a compact footer like:

    { "results": [{ "id": 123, "url": "https://…", "title": "…" }] }

• discourse_read_topic

  • Input: { topic_id: number; post_limit?: number (1–20, default 5) }

• discourse_read_post

  • Input: { post_id: number }

• discourse_list_categories

  • Input: {}

• discourse_list_tags

  • Input: {}

• discourse_get_user

  • Input: { username: string }

• discourse_filter_topics

  • Input: { filter: string; page?: number (default 1); per_page?: number (1–50) }
  • Query language (succinct): key:value tokens separated by spaces; category/categories (comma = OR, =category = without subcats, - prefix = exclude); tag/tags (comma = OR, + = AND) and tag_group; status:(open|closed|archived|listed|unlisted|public); personal in: (bookmarked|watching|tracking|muted|pinned); dates: created/activity/latest-post-(before|after) with YYYY-MM-DD or relative days N; numeric: likes[-op]-(min|max), posts-(min|max), posters-(min|max), views-(min|max); order: activity|created|latest-post|likes|likes-op|posters|title|views|category with optional -asc; free text terms are matched.

• discourse_create_post (only when writes enabled; see Write safety)

  • Input: { topic_id: number; raw: string (≤ 30k chars) }

• discourse_create_topic (only when writes enabled; see Write safety)

  • Input: { title: string; raw: string (≤ 30k chars); category_id?: number; tags?: string[] }

• discourse_create_user (only when writes enabled; see Write safety)

• Input: { username: string (1-20 chars); email: string; name: string; password: string; active?: boolean; approved?: boolean }

• discourse_create_category (only when writes enabled; see Write safety)

• Input: { name: string; color?: hex; text_color?: hex; parent_category_id?: number; description?: string }

Notes:

• Outputs are human‑readable first. Where applicable, a compact JSON is embedded in fenced code blocks to ease structured extraction by agents.

Development

• Requirements: Node >= 18, pnpm.

• Install / Build / Typecheck / Test

pnpm install
pnpm typecheck
pnpm build
pnpm test

• Run locally (with source maps)

pnpm build && pnpm dev

• Project layout

  • Server & CLI: src/index.ts
  • HTTP client: src/http/client.ts
  • Tool registry: src/tools/registry.ts
  • Built‑in tools: src/tools/builtin/*
  • Remote tools: src/tools/remote/tool_exec_api.ts
  • Logging/redaction: src/util/logger.ts, src/util/redact.ts

• Testing notes

  • Tests run with Node’s test runner against compiled artifacts (dist/test/**/*.js). Ensure pnpm build before pnpm test if invoking scripts individually.

• Publishing (optional)

  • The package is published as @discourse/mcp and exposes a bin named discourse-mcp. Prefer npx @discourse/mcp@latest for frictionless usage.

• Conventions

  • Focus on text‑oriented outputs; keep embedded JSON concise.
  • Be careful with write operations; keep them opt‑in and rate‑limited.

See AGENTS.md for additional guidance on using this server from agent frameworks.

Examples

Quick Start with User API Key (No Admin Required)

# Step 1: Generate a User API Key
npx @discourse/mcp@latest generate-user-api-key \
  --site https://discourse.example.com \
  --save-to profile.json

# Step 2: Visit the authorization URL shown, approve the request, and paste the payload

# Step 3: Run the MCP server with your new key
npx @discourse/mcp@latest --profile profile.json --allow_writes --read_only=false

Other Examples

• Read‑only session against try.discourse.org:

npx -y @discourse/mcp@latest --log_level debug
# In client: call discourse_select_site with {"site":"https://try.discourse.org"}

• Tether to a single site:

npx -y @discourse/mcp@latest --site https://try.discourse.org

• Create a post with Admin API Key (writes enabled):

npx -y @discourse/mcp@latest --allow_writes --read_only=false --auth_pairs '[{"site":"https://try.discourse.org","api_key":"'$DISCOURSE_API_KEY'","api_username":"system"}]'

• Create a post with User API Key (writes enabled, no admin required):

npx -y @discourse/mcp@latest --allow_writes --read_only=false --auth_pairs '[{"site":"https://try.discourse.org","user_api_key":"'$DISCOURSE_USER_API_KEY'"}]'

• Create a category (writes enabled):

npx -y @discourse/mcp@latest --allow_writes --read_only=false --auth_pairs '[{"site":"https://try.discourse.org","api_key":"'$DISCOURSE_API_KEY'","api_username":"system"}]'
# In your MCP client, call discourse_create_category with for example:
# { "name": "AI Research", "color": "0088CC", "text_color": "FFFFFF", "description": "Discussions about AI research" }

• Create a topic (writes enabled):

npx -y @discourse/mcp@latest --allow_writes --read_only=false --auth_pairs '[{"site":"https://try.discourse.org","api_key":"'$DISCOURSE_API_KEY'","api_username":"system"}]'
# In your MCP client, call discourse_create_topic, for example:
# { "title": "Agentic workflows", "raw": "Let's discuss agent workflows.", "category_id": 1, "tags": ["ai","agents"] }

• Run with HTTP transport (on port 3000):

npx -y @discourse/mcp@latest --transport http --port 3000 --site https://try.discourse.org
# Server will start on http://localhost:3000
# Health check: http://localhost:3000/health
# MCP endpoint: http://localhost:3000/mcp

Authentication

Admin API Keys vs User API Keys

This MCP server supports two types of Discourse API authentication:

1. Admin API Keys (api_key + api_username)

   • Require admin/moderator permissions to generate
   • Created via Admin Panel → API → New API Key
   • Can perform all operations including user/category creation
   • Use headers: Api-Key and Api-Username

2. User API Keys (user_api_key + optional user_api_client_id)

   • Can be generated by any user (no admin required)
   • User-specific permissions and rate limits
   • Ideal for personal use and non-admin operations
   • Use headers: User-Api-Key and User-Api-Client-Id
   • Auto-expire after 180 days of inactivity (configurable per site)
   • Learn more: https://meta.discourse.org/t/user-api-keys-specification/48536

Obtaining a User API Key

Easy Method: Built-in Generator (Recommended)

This package includes a convenient command to generate User API Keys:

# Interactive mode - follow the prompts
npx @discourse/mcp@latest generate-user-api-key --site https://discourse.example.com

# Save directly to a profile file
npx @discourse/mcp@latest generate-user-api-key --site https://discourse.example.com --save-to profile.json

# Specify custom scopes
npx @discourse/mcp@latest generate-user-api-key --site https://discourse.example.com --scopes "read,write,notifications"

# Get help
npx @discourse/mcp@latest generate-user-api-key --help

The command will:

1. Generate an RSA key pair
2. Display an authorization URL for you to visit
3. Prompt you to paste the encrypted payload after authorization
4. Decrypt and display your User API Key
5. Optionally save it to a profile file

Manual Method

User API Keys require an OAuth-like flow documented at https://meta.discourse.org/t/user-api-keys-specification/48536. Key steps:

1. Generate a public/private key pair
2. Request authorization via /user-api-key/new with your public key, application name, client ID, and requested scopes
3. User approves the request (after login if needed)
4. Discourse returns an encrypted payload with the User API Key
5. Decrypt using your private key and use the key in your configuration

You can also manually create User API Keys via the Discourse UI (if enabled by the site):

• Visit your user preferences → Security → API
• Or use third-party tools that implement the User API Key flow

FAQ

• Why is create_post missing? You're in read‑only mode. Enable writes as described above.
• Can I disable remote tool discovery? Yes, run with --tools_mode=discourse_api_only.
• Can I avoid exposing discourse_select_site? Yes, start with --site <url> to tether to a single site.
• Time outs or rate limits? Increase --timeout_ms, and note built‑in retry/backoff on 429/5xx.
• Should I use Admin API Keys or User API Keys? Use User API Keys for personal use (no admin required). Use Admin API Keys only when you need admin-level operations or are setting up a system-wide integration.
• Getting "fetch failed" errors? Run with --log_level debug to see detailed error information including:
  • The exact URL being requested
  • HTTP status codes and response bodies
  • Network-level errors (DNS, SSL/TLS, connectivity issues)
  • Retry attempts and timing
  • Timeout diagnostics