Discourse MCP Server

What is Discourse MCP Server about?

Provides a Node.js server that implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to perform search operations on a Discourse forum. It exposes a single tool, search_posts, which accepts a text query and returns matching post objects.

How to use Discourse MCP Server?

Docker – Run the container with required environment variables:

docker run -i --rm \
  -e DISCOURSE_API_URL=https://try.discourse.org \
  -e DISCOURSE_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY \
  -e DISCOURSE_API_USERNAME=YOUR_USERNAME \
  ashdev/discourse-mcp-server

NPX – Preferred method for quick start:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "discourse": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ashdev/discourse-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "DISCOURSE_API_URL": "https://try.discourse.org",
        "DISCOURSE_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY",
        "DISCOURSE_API_USERNAME": "YOUR_USERNAME"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add the above JSON snippet to claude_desktop_config.json (or equivalent configuration).

Key Features of Discourse MCP Server

MCP Tool: search_posts that takes a query string and returns an array of Discourse post objects.
Easy Deployment: Available as a Docker image and as an NPX‑installable package.
Environment‑Driven Configuration: API URL, key, and username are supplied via environment variables, keeping credentials out of code.
Lightweight Node.js Implementation: Minimal runtime overhead, suitable for local or containerized execution.

Use Cases of Discourse MCP Server

Integrating Discourse content search into AI assistants or chatbots.
Building custom knowledge bases that surface relevant forum discussions.
Automating monitoring of forum activity based on keyword queries.
Enhancing internal tools that need quick lookup of community posts.

FAQ from the Discourse MCP Server

Q: What credentials are required? A: A Discourse API key (DISCOURSE_API_KEY) and a username (DISCOURSE_API_USERNAME) with permission to use the API, plus the forum base URL (DISCOURSE_API_URL).

Q: Can I run the server without Docker? A: Yes, install via NPX as shown above; the package runs directly with Node.js.

Q: What format is returned by search_posts? A: An array of JSON objects representing Discourse posts, matching the fields returned by the Discourse API.

Q: How do I update the Docker image? A: Pull the latest tag with docker pull ashdev/discourse-mcp-server and restart the container.

Q: Is there any rate limiting? A: Rate limits are enforced by the underlying Discourse API, not by this server.

Node.js server implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) for Discourse search operation.

Features

Search Posts on a Discourse forum using MCP protocol.

API

Tools

search_posts
- Search posts on a Discourse forum
- Input: query (string)
- Returns an array of post objects

Usage with Claude Desktop

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

Docker

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "discourse": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e", "DISCOURSE_API_URL=https://try.discourse.org",
        "-e", "DISCOURSE_API_KEY=1234",
        "-e", "DISCOURSE_API_USERNAME=ash",
        "ashdev/discourse-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

NPX

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "discourse": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@ashdev/discourse-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DISCOURSE_API_URL": "https://try.discourse.org",
        "DISCOURSE_API_KEY": "1234",
        "DISCOURSE_API_USERNAME": "ash" 
      }
    }
  }
}

Build

Docker build:

docker build -t ashdev/discourse-mcp-server .

Discourse MCP Server