search_posts
Search Discourse posts
LABSCO SUMMARY
One tool wide, and that tool is the one worth having: the forum becomes searchable from where the question is being asked.
search_posts takes a query and nothing else, so there is no filtering by category, author or date at the call — the shaping has to live in the query string itself. Topics, users and anything that writes to the forum sit outside this surface; credentials are still required because the search runs as a Discourse API user.
What it is
A search front end for a Discourse instance, exposing search_posts as its whole surface.
What you get
- Forum search as a callable step: search_posts takes a query and returns matching posts from the configured Discourse instance, which puts an existing community's answers inside the session instead of in another tab.
Requirements
A Discourse instance reachable at DISCOURSE_API_URL, with an API key in DISCOURSE_API_KEY and the API username it acts as in DISCOURSE_API_USERNAME.
Setup effort
One command plus a key — npx -y @ashdev/discourse-mcp-server, then supply credentials
USE CASES
01
Answering from what the forum has already worked out
Put the question to the Discourse instance as a query and read back the posts that match, before answering from anywhere else.
1 tool
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
1 tool when we connected. search_posts only reads; there is no tool to post or reply.
Requires
- npx on PATH
- DISCOURSE_API_KEY in your environment
- DISCOURSE_API_USERNAME in your environment
Where it runs
Both documented setups run the server on your machine.
CONTEXT COST
Light Standing cost
Rated by the size of the one tool definition that rides along on every turn
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
npx -y @ashdev/discourse-mcp-serverMCP Clients
Claude Desktop
CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON
{
"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"
}
}
}
}Claude Desktop — Docker
CLAUDE DESKTOP — DOCKER · JSON
{
"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"
]
}
}
}
