{
 "categories": [
  "collaboration",
  "communication",
  "knowledge-management"
 ],
 "deployment": "hybrid",
 "evidence": [
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "homepage",
   "note": "Discourse presents a customizable community platform. The homepage states the entire codebase is freely available on GitHub and that users can export everything or self-host.",
   "source": "https://www.discourse.org/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "license",
   "note": "Pricing FAQ states Discourse is 100% free and open source software if you prefer to self-host. Official hosting is a separate paid product.",
   "source": "https://www.discourse.org/pricing",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "deployment",
   "note": "Opened pricing documents official hosted plans and a self-host install path. Deployment is hybrid.",
   "source": "https://www.discourse.org/pricing",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "platforms",
   "note": "Hosted plans include the Discourse iOS app and the Discourse Android app with push notifications, plus the web community.",
   "source": "https://www.discourse.org/pricing",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.api.exists",
   "note": "Discourse Meta points integrators at https://docs.discourse.org/ and states Discourse is backed by a complete JSON API.",
   "source": "https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-rest-api-documentation/22706",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.api.kinds[0]",
   "note": "The official REST API documentation thread describes HTTP JSON requests with example cURL POST calls.",
   "source": "https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-rest-api-documentation/22706",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.api.auth[0]",
   "note": "API requests must use HTTP header authentication. Pass Api-Key and Api-Username as headers. Query-parameter and body auth were removed in April 2020.",
   "source": "https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-rest-api-documentation/22706",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.api.coverage",
   "note": "Discourse states anything you can do on the site you can also do using the JSON API, and that not every endpoint is documented. Coverage is therefore partial in the published reference.",
   "source": "https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-rest-api-documentation/22706",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.api.docs",
   "note": "Official docs URL declared as https://docs.discourse.org/. The SPA root fetched empty on this pass; the Meta thread is the opened vendor source for that URL.",
   "source": "https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-rest-api-documentation/22706",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.exists",
   "note": "Discourse recommends the discourse_api gem as the official Ruby client.",
   "source": "https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-rest-api-documentation/22706",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.languages[0]",
   "note": "The recommended official client library is Ruby (discourse_api).",
   "source": "https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-rest-api-documentation/22706",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.official",
   "note": "The recommendation is first-party Discourse Meta documentation.",
   "source": "https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-rest-api-documentation/22706",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.mcp.first_party",
   "note": "The official Discourse blog announces the Discourse MCP CLI and states Discourse chose a standalone CLI over an in-app Rails route so it works against every instance through the REST API.",
   "source": "https://blog.discourse.org/2025/10/discourse-mcp-is-here/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.mcp.verdict",
   "note": "The Discourse-owned README for @discourse/mcp 0.3.1 documents stdio default transport, optional loopback HTTP, write tools gated by --allow_writes, and auth_pairs for admin or user API keys.",
   "source": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/discourse/discourse-mcp/main/README.md",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.extensibility.webhooks",
   "note": "The Pro hosted plan lists API and Webhook access among included features.",
   "source": "https://www.discourse.org/pricing",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.data_access.export[0]",
   "note": "The homepage states users can export everything anytime. Pricing FAQ adds that hosted customers can back up Discourse data from the browser.",
   "source": "https://www.discourse.org/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "modalities.agent_docs.llms_txt",
   "note": "Opened https://docs.discourse.org/llms.txt; the host returned 404.",
   "source": "https://docs.discourse.org/llms.txt",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "verdict.scores.api",
   "note": "Broad JSON REST with header API keys, official Ruby client, and hosted webhook packaging. Incomplete published OpenAPI keeps the score at 8.",
   "source": "https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-rest-api-documentation/22706",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "verdict.scores.mcp",
   "note": "Official maintained MCP CLI wrapping REST, with useful default tools and opt-in writes. No Discourse-hosted remote URL. Score 7.",
   "source": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/discourse/discourse-mcp/main/README.md",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[0].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as the current Discourse REST API documentation thread.",
   "source": "https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-rest-api-documentation/22706",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[1].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as the official MCP announcement, including the deferred in-app route.",
   "source": "https://blog.discourse.org/2025/10/discourse-mcp-is-here/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[2].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as the current first-party MCP README.",
   "source": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/discourse/discourse-mcp/main/README.md",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-20",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[3].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as the current hosted pricing page, including API and webhook packaging.",
   "source": "https://www.discourse.org/pricing",
   "tier": "declared"
  }
 ],
 "freshness": {
  "last_verified": "2026-09-20",
  "volatility": "medium",
  "watch": [
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-rest-api-documentation/22706"
   },
   {
    "type": "mcp",
    "url": "https://blog.discourse.org/2025/10/discourse-mcp-is-here/"
   },
   {
    "type": "mcp",
    "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/discourse/discourse-mcp/main/README.md"
   },
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://www.discourse.org/pricing"
   }
  ]
 },
 "homepage": "https://www.discourse.org/",
 "id": "discourse",
 "license": "open-source",
 "modalities": {
  "agent_docs": {
   "llms_txt": false
  },
  "api": {
   "auth": [
    "api-key"
   ],
   "coverage": "partial",
   "docs": "https://docs.discourse.org/",
   "exists": true,
   "kinds": [
    "rest"
   ]
  },
  "cli": {
   "exists": "unknown"
  },
  "computer_use": {
   "issues": [],
   "viability": "unknown"
  },
  "data_access": {
   "export": [
    "backup"
   ],
   "import": []
  },
  "extensibility": {
   "scripting": [],
   "webhooks": true
  },
  "integrations": {
   "make": "unknown",
   "n8n": "unknown",
   "power_automate": "unknown",
   "zapier": "unknown"
  },
  "mcp": {
   "first_party": true,
   "third_party": [],
   "verdict": "official"
  },
  "rpa": {
   "drivability": "unknown",
   "notes": "No repeatable UI probe was run. Discourse's JSON REST API, webhooks, and the official @discourse/mcp CLI cover topics, posts, users, and search without browser control.\n",
   "ui_stack": [
    "web-dom"
   ],
   "vendor_support": []
  },
  "sdk": {
   "exists": true,
   "languages": [
    "ruby"
   ],
   "official": true
  }
 },
 "name": "Discourse",
 "platforms": [
  "web",
  "ios",
  "android"
 ],
 "related": {
  "alternatives": [
   "slack",
   "microsoft-teams"
  ],
  "our_products": []
 },
 "schema_version": 1,
 "score_version": 1,
 "status": "active",
 "vendor": "Discourse",
 "verdict": {
  "best_path": "api",
  "scores": {
   "api": 8,
   "cli": null,
   "computer_use": null,
   "integrations": null,
   "mcp": 7,
   "overall": 8,
   "rpa": null
  },
  "summary": "Discourse is automatable today through its JSON REST API. This record is Discourse forum software (topics, posts, users, categories, tags, search, and moderation), including the first-party Discourse MCP CLI. It is not Slack or Microsoft Teams. The software is open source. Official hosting sells Free, Pro at $100 per month, Business, and Enterprise. Pro marketing lists API and Webhook access. Whether Free hosted includes API access was not established from the opened comparison table. REST requests authenticate with Api-Key and Api-Username headers. Query-parameter auth was removed in April 2020. Official docs live at https://docs.discourse.org/. Not every endpoint is published there; Discourse states that anything you can do on the site you can also do using the JSON API. The recommended official client is the discourse_api Ruby gem. First-party MCP is the standalone CLI package @discourse/mcp, not an in-app Rails route. Discourse deferred a hosted in-app MCP so the CLI can talk to every instance through REST. Default transport is stdio; --transport http is loopback Streamable HTTP. Writes are off until --allow_writes. Auth pairs accept an admin api_key plus api_username or a user_api_key. docs.discourse.org/llms.txt returned 404. A general hosted API CLI besides the MCP package was not established. Computer-use viability is unassessed. API scores 8 and is the best path because it works on any instance without a Node MCP process; MCP scores 7 as an official useful wrapper with write opt-in and no vendor-hosted URL.\n"
 }
}