Theme a forum

avatars

none, op, posters

Faces on rows: the opener's before the title, or the thread's posters (the opener, the latest replier, the most frequent — up to five; on the dense table a "Posters" column)

avatarSize

16–48 (px)

The faces' size. Unset: 24 (posters), 28 (opener)

columns

up to five of posters, replies, views, likes, activity

The dense table's stat columns, in order. Unset: replies, views, activity. Counts stay under the front door's showCounts

heat

{views, replies, likes}, each three thresholds [low, mid, high]

A number at or past a threshold is tinted, stronger at each step. A theme key, not a setting, because the theme already reaches the reader

excerpt

none, pinned, all

The excerpt under the title

excerptLines

1–4

How many lines it may take. Unset: 2

thumbnails

none, start, end

The topic's picture beside the row: its cover, else the first image in the opening post

thumbSize

40–160 (px)

Unset: 64

stateGlyphs

boolean

A lock on a closed thread, a box on an archived one, a bookmark on one you saved. Unset: on

tags

text, chips

chips draws each tag in its own colours (and tagStyle's look); unset is a plain text run on the dense table

density

compact, cozy, comfortable

Row padding. cozy is today's

paging

pages, more, infinite

more adds a "Show more" button under the list; infinite presses it as it scrolls into view. Both stay links to the next page

stats

{position: start|end, fields: [votes, answers, views], acceptedStyle: box|filled, style: text|pill, phone: strip|hide}

The Q&A stats box. Naming fields (or show) draws it and it replaces the vote column; a sub-key alone (phone, width, position, style) only styles stats a look or show turned on. style: "pill" draws the votes as a bordered "↑ 7" of fixed width; phone: "strip" puts the stats on one line above the title below 640px ("-1 votes 0 answers 4 views") and "hide" drops them there. Unset: words, and today's phone row

newTopicsBar

boolean

A "3 new topics — show" bar when topics are posted while the page is open (checked every minute while the tab is visible)

pin

word, glyph

A pinned row says "Pinned", or shows a pin

unpinForMe

boolean

An "Unpin for me" link under pinned rows, for signed-in readers

header

{case: upper|title|none, align: start|center, show: boolean}

The dense table's header row. show: false draws no header row at all. Unset: upper case, at the start, shown

titleSize, metaSize

a length

The row title's and meta line's type size

titleColor, titleColorDark

hex

The row title's ink, light and dark

statusGlyph

check, checkbox, none

checkbox: an empty box before an open question, a filled check once solved. none: no glyph (say the state in meta or the stats box instead). Unset: a check on solved ones only

titleLines

1–4, or {sm, md, lg}

How many lines a title wraps to before it is clamped — per breakpoint with an object (sm under 640px, md to 1024px, lg above; a missing step takes the narrower one's). Both anatomies. Unset: 1, today's single line with an ellipsis

kindChip

boolean

false: no "Question" / "Solved" chip before a question's title. Unset: drawn

meta

up to five of author, asked, category, state, reputation, in order

A muted line under the title: "kaito asked 9 hours ago in Q&A · Unanswered". author, asked and category read as one phrase; state (Unanswered / Solved / Closed / Archived) and reputation are their own segments. A row whose meta line names the author drops it from the line under the excerpt. Unset: none

byline

none, end

end: the opener's face, name, reputation and "asked 4 mins ago" at the row's end (Stack Overflow). Unset: none

categoryMark

badge, tile

tile: a 32px tile in the category's colour with its emoji or icon before the title. Unset: the badge only

tagsPosition

meta, after-excerpt

Where the tags sit: on the meta line, or under the excerpt. Unset: under the excerpt on the card list, on the badge line in the dense table

avatarShape

circle, square

The faces' shape. Unset: circle

posterOverlap

boolean

false: the poster faces sit side by side instead of overlapping. Unset: overlapping

style

absolute, relative, compact

"Oct 3" (unset), "3 hours ago", or "3h"

absoluteTitle

boolean

The full date and time in the tooltip. Unset: on

anatomy

table, cards, rows

follows the layout preset (Dense list = table, otherwise cards). The clean and board looks on the default arrangement now default to table; cards and qa default to cards

table: the Replies / Views / Activity table. cards: the card list. rows: one ruled line per topic from 640px, with the title at the start and author · age and the reply count at the end; on a phone it stacks like a card. Works under every look. A feed block's explicit layout: "rows" still draws the table

stats.show

box, strip, both, none

the box when stats.fields is named (or a look such as qa names it), plus the phone strip when stats.phone: "strip"

strip: the one-line stats strip above every title at every width, with no box. both: box and strip. none: no stats anywhere, including stats a look such as qa sets

stats.width

64–160 (px)

4.5rem minimum

The stats column's width; numbers are right-aligned in it. The table column is that width plus a 16px gap before the title (the gap now always applies)

tagsPosition

adds inline

the table puts tags after the category badge; cards put them after the excerpt

inline: on the title's badge line, in both anatomies. In the table, meta puts them on a muted line of their own and after-excerpt under the excerpt

phone

{avatar: boolean, replies: "number" | "none"}

both shown

Below 640px: avatar: false drops the opener's face from each row, and replies: "none" drops the reply count. Both anatomies

pinPlacement

inline, above

inline

Below 1024px: inline puts the pin before the title's first word (now 640–1024px too, not only on phones). above puts it on its own line over the title

meta counts

—

—

With any stats showing, the meta line drops its replies/views words. Round 5 moved this choice to its own key, byline.counts (below). The front door resolves showCounts to true by default, so that toggle could never mean "keep them"

byline

"none", "end", or {at, counts}

at: none; counts: auto

at is the round-3 choice (end: avatar · name · "asked …" at the row's end). counts controls the replies/views words under the title. auto drops them wherever the row draws stats (a box or a strip) that already show them. show keeps them anyway, and hide never draws them. In the table, counts also controls the views on the phone line and the reply number at the end of a phone row. Works in both anatomies

phone.avatarSize

16–48 (px)

the list's avatarSize (24, or 28 on a card)

The size of the faces on a phone row (below 640px): the opener's face at the start of the row, and any poster stack

phone.titleLines

1–3, or none

titleLines decides (the FORUM layer: 3 on a phone)

How many lines a title wraps to on a phone row (below 640px) before it is clamped. none: never clamped. Wins over titleLines.sm

phone.dividers

boolean

drawn

The rule between rows below 640px. false: none, the rows separated by their own padding. true: drawn even where a look took it away

header.labels

{topic?, posters?, replies?, views?, likes?, activity?}, ≤ 24 characters each

the built-in words

The table's column headings. "" leaves that heading blank and keeps the column

filters.items

The tabs, in order, from latest, hot, top, new, unread, solved, unanswered, bountied, categories, bookmarks. Unset: Latest, Hot, New, Unread, Top, Solved, Unanswered. new, unread and bookmarks show only to a signed-in reader.

landing view

The first tab is what a bare visit to the front page shows: hot/top sort it, solved/unanswered filter it, new/unread apply to a signed-in reader (a signed-out reader gets Latest). Latest is then the ?sort=latest tab. categories and bookmarks first only order the row — they never redirect.

filters.links

The links at the row's end, in order, from rss, members, leaderboard, badges, about, bookmarks, markRead. Unset: mark read, bookmarks, RSS, members, leaderboard, badges, about. [] draws none. leaderboard still follows the front door's showLeaderboardLink.

filters.custom

Up to six of your own links after them: {label, href, icon} (icon a glyph name or an image).

filters.style

pills (today), underline (a rule under the active tab), segmented (one track, the active tab raised).

filters.pickers

Dropdowns before the tabs: category (the categories, nested), tags (the 20 most-used), status (Solved / Unanswered — those two tabs then leave the row). They open with no script.

filters.newTopic

A New topic button at the row's end; its composer opens under the row. Signed out it is the sign-in action, with the same words. Pair it with the front door's showIdentity: false to drop the identity band.

filters.count

"N topics" at the row's start, when the topic list reports its total.

filters.activeColor, activeColorDark

The active tab's colour (#hex). Unset: the brand.

panel

The filter row and the topic list as one panel: background/backgroundDark, border/borderDark, radius (0–32), padding (0–48), and page/pageDark — the page behind it. A colour object does not fit the front door's switches, which is why the panel lives here.

categories

Where the GENERATED front page puts its category rail: before the topics, after them, aside (a right column 20rem wide from 1024px — the categories as a compact link list — and after the list below that width) or none. A front page you composed is untouched. Unset: before (today's).

welcome

show: the generated front page opens on the welcome band — the forum's name, centred, over a large search (the separate search band then steps aside). auto: the same once the forum has four or more top-level categories. Unset: hide.

align

start: beside the forum sidebar, the page starts at the sidebar's edge (plus the shell's gap) instead of centring in what is left. Unset: center.

rail

A second rail beside the topic list, from 1280px (not drawn below it): {show, width, items}. width 220–360 px (unset 280); show: false turns a configured rail off. Up to five items, each {kind, title, period, body, tone, limit}: leaderboard (the forum's top people — period week/month/all, limit 1–10), tags (its most used tags), solved (its recently solved topics; on a category page, that category's), or box (your own body in markdown, up to 2000 characters, through the page renderer). tone: "note" paints a box pale yellow (dark-aware). Drawn on the front page's list and on c/<slug> (unless the category page names its own rail).

rail[].group

boolean (on a box)

front.filters.newTopic

true/false, or {show, placement: "end" | "start"}

true under the forum default

placement: "start" puts New topic first in the row instead of at its end

front.filters.pickerStyle

button, crumb

button

crumb: the pickers read as bare "categories › tags › all ›" text, with a rule before the tabs

front.filters.linksFit

line, wrap

line

From 640px the end links (RSS, Members, Badges, About…) stay on the tabs' line: the first linksInline are drawn inline and the rest go behind a "More" menu. wrap lets them wrap onto a second line, which is how the row drew before round 4

front.filters.linksInline

0–7

2

How many end links stay inline under linksFit: "line"

front.panel.scope

any of the forum page kinds (as sidebar.pages)

["front"]

The pages that wear the panel. On front it wraps the filter row and the list, as before. On every other page the whole page column becomes one card on the panel's page tint

front.panel.padding

0–48, or {sm, lg}

16

sm applies below 640px and lg from 640px. Example: { "sm": 4, "lg": 24 }

front.rail.items[].group

boolean

off

Joins a box to the one above it: one panel with a rule between them

front.categoriesLayout

rows, tiles, grid, table

the look's choice

The generated home's category band, under any look. Unset, it is tiles when three or more top-level categories each have a logo or an image icon, and ruled rows otherwise. Tiles never go into the aside rail; they sit before the topics

layout.topGap

{phone, desktop} in px (0–96 / 0–128)

16 / 24

The space between whatever sits above a forum page (header, banner, sub-nav, the phone Menu row) and its first line, on every forum page. The column's own top and the first element's top margin are folded into it. phone is below 640px. A home's front.paddingTop still wins there

pageHead.placement

column, above-sidebar

column

above-sidebar: from 1024px the front page's title, a category's H1, /categories' title row and the topic header span the page above the forum sidebar, with a rule under them, at their natural height (a breadcrumb, a long title and the topic's meta line all show). Only on pages where the sidebar is drawn; elsewhere the head stays in the column, ruled. It needs a visible title (layout.indexHeader: "show", or categoryPage.title: true)

categories

adds auto

before (the FORUM default layer sets auto)

auto is decided on the server. It is none where the forum sidebar already draws a CATEGORIES section on the front page, so the categories are listed once and the topic column keeps its width. Otherwise it is aside. Set aside to bring the aside back beside a sidebar

asideMinWidth

1100–1920 (px)

drawn wherever the aside draws (1024px up)

Below this viewport width the generated home's categories aside is hidden by a media query and the list takes the whole row. Nothing moves after the first paint

filters.phone

scroll, select, wrap

scroll

Below 640px. scroll: the tabs are one line that scrolls sideways, with a fade at its end. More comes after the last tab and never covers it, and New topic stays at the end of the row as a compact button. Any pickers take the line above. select: the tabs become one native select named for the current view, and choosing an option goes to that tab's address. The pickers keep their row. wrap: the tabs wrap onto as many lines as they need

filters.size

12–20 (px), or a typography.levels name

as today (14px tabs)

The filter row's text: tabs, pickers and the phone select

filters.pickerInk, filters.pickerInkDark

hex colours

as today (the button's ink, or muted for crumb)

The pickers' ink, light and dark. Works with both picker styles

filters.labels

{latest?, hot?, top?, new?, unread?, solved?, unanswered?, bountied?, categories?, bookmarks?}, 1–24 characters each

the built-in names

A tab's own words. Its link and its place in the row stay the same

panel.width

column, frame

column

frame: on the topic page (with topic in panel.scope), the panel card spans the whole list frame, with the post column, its rail and the beside timeline inside it. column is the post column alone, as before

panel.maxWidth

720–1600 (px)

1152 (the board width, 72rem)

How wide the frame card may grow on the topic page. Example: 1250

filters.phonePickers

boolean

drawn

false: no category, tag or status pickers below 640px. The tabs keep the row; the pickers still draw from 640px

enabled

true / false

off

position

start, end

start

sections

up to four of community, categories, tags, custom, in order

community, categories, tags

categories

category slugs to list, in order

every top-level category, with its subcategories

tags

tags to list, in order

the ten most used

custom, customTitle

up to 20 {label, href, icon?} links and their heading

none

showCounts

show each category's topic count

off

collapsible

subcategories fold under their parent

always shown

icons

draw each category's mark

on

width

180–320 (px)

240

background, backgroundDark

#hex

none

activeColor, activeColorDark

brand, ink, muted, category or #hex / #hex

the brand

footer

["themeToggle"] adds the light/dark switch, in the header toggle's own look (chrome.themeToggle.style)

none

tagsLayout

inline (chips), list (one tag per row with a tag glyph, like the category rows)

inline

headings

false drops the COMMUNITY / CATEGORIES / TAGS / LINKS labels (each list keeps its accessible name)

shown

fullHeight

true: from 1024px a sticky column from under the header to the window's foot, ruled from the page

off

phone

drawer (an off-canvas sheet), top (an inline menu), hide

drawer

layout

list, grid, boxes, boxes-with-subcategories, table (one ruled table: a bar in each category's colour, the name over its description, the Topics count rolled up over subcategories, the subcategories as badge chips in the front door's badgeStyle)

list (the card stack)

beside

none, latest, top — a column of topics beside the categories, as compact rows: the opener's face, the whole title, the reply count over a short age

none

filters

true draws the forum's filter row above the categories, with the Categories tab current

off

columns

1–4, for grid and boxes

3

fields

which of description, counts, latest, subcategories, unread, logo a card draws

description, counts, latest, unread, logo

title

text with {category}, {forum}, {parent}; or true (the H1 is drawn even where layout.indexHeader hides index titles — the forum default) / false (kept for screen readers and search only)

{forum} — {category}, following indexHeader

banner

auto, color (filled with the category colour), image (the background), none; or {style, search} — search: true puts the forum's search inside the banner (under the H1 when no banner is drawn)

auto: a banner only with a logo or background

list

frontPage: a spaceFeed you kept to category views (showOn: "category" or "both") with filter.category: "$current" IS the list, and the native one is not drawn (one list, not two). Without such a feed the native list stays

native

rail

up to three of solved (this category's solved topics), tags (trending tags), related (sibling and child categories) — a right column from 1280px; it replaces front.rail here

none

stats

true shows "N topics · N replies · N this week"

off

subscribe

true shows a follow button to signed-in readers

off

subcategories

rows, boxes, chips, table, none (a category's own subcategoryListStyle wins)

the old strip

breadcrumb

false hides "forum › parent" above a subcategory

shown

liftDark

true raises a category colour that disappears on the dark page to 3:1 against it, everywhere a category is drawn

off

sort

count, name (readers can switch)

count

groups

true sections the tags by tag group

one list

descriptions

true shows each tag's description

off

pages

any of front, category, categories, topic, profile, search, tags, tag, members, leaderboard, badges, about, account (bookmarks, notifications, preferences, my activity), rooms

every page

The pages that draw the sidebar. On the rest the page takes the full width

headings

also an array of community, categories, tags, custom

shown

The sections that keep their heading. ["categories", "tags"] drops only COMMUNITY

sectionFold

boolean

off

The CATEGORIES / TAGS headings fold behind a chevron. Each section starts open, and the reader's choice is remembered in their browser

allLinks

boolean

off

Adds an "All categories" row (to /categories) and an "All tags" row (to /tags, in place of "more")

activeStyle

fill, ink, bar

fill

The current row: a tinted row (fill), the active colour on the words only (ink), or a 3px bar at the row's start (bar)

besideRow

{avatarSize: 16–48, meta: up to 4 of category, tags, replies, age, titleLines: 1–3}

today's face, an unclamped title, replies over age

The rows of the beside column. category and tags draw on a line under the title

title

boolean

drawn

false hides the H1 and the "All topics" link. The H1 stays as screen-reader text

nameInk

muted, ink, category

ink

A category name's colour. category uses the category's own colour

nameSize

12–32 (px), or a type level (h1…h6, body, small, code)

today's size

A category name's size. A level name follows typography.levels

textSize

11–20 (px)

14

Descriptions and "Latest" lines on cards and rows. These were 12px before round 4

banner.align

start, center

start

The banner's words, logo and search, centred

banner.width

content, full

content

full: the banner runs edge to edge across the window. With a forum sidebar (from 1024px) it fills its own column instead

banner.searchWidth

200–960 (px)

the banner's width

The width of the banner's search box

filters.placement

below-title, title-end

below-title

title-end: the filter row sits at the end of the H1's line, and wraps under it when there is no room

subcategories

flat, nested

flat

nested

nested: only the top level is listed. A parent with children gets a caret and opens to them. The current category's parent (or the category itself) is open in the first paint, with the current row marked. flat: every child drawn under its parent, as before. An explicit categories list is always flat

phoneHeaderLinks

boolean

on

—

The phone drawer (and the top disclosure) ends with the header's own links: the site's when the forum is in a site, else chrome.headerLinks. A dropdown opens as an accordion. Hidden from 1024px, where the header sits beside the sidebar. false: the drawer lists only its own sections

descSize

11–20 (px), or a type level (h1…h6, body, small, code)

textSize, else 14px

A category's description, in every layout (list, grid, boxes, table)

fields

also perWeek

—

Named only: the table's Topics column reads "14 / week" for a category with a weekly rate, and the total for one without. Never on unless named

besideRow.icons

boolean

on

false: the beside column's reply count is a bare number, with no speech-bubble glyph

besideRow.avatarShape

circle, square

circle

The beside column's faces. square gives them 4px corners

headCase

upper, none

the beside heading upper case, the table head as before

none: "Latest" and the table head in their own case. upper: both upper case

phoneCounts.show

total, perWeek, both

the rate when fields names perWeek, else "N topics"

The table layout's phone count line (below 640px). total: "120 topics"; perWeek: "3 / week" (the total for a category with no rate yet); both: "120 | 3 / week". Setting it draws the line even with counts off; the desktop Topics column is unchanged

phoneCounts.at

name, end

end

Where that line sits: name straight under the category name (over the description), end after the description and subcategories

banner.width

also shell

the content column

A full-bleed band ABOVE the sidebar and the list, from the header's bottom edge, square and unbordered. Only when a banner is drawn (banner.style). A title-end filter row (filters.placement) stays in the column under it

breadcrumb

also none, above-banner, below-banner

the "Forum › Parent" crumb, on a subcategory only

above-banner / below-banner: the full "Home › Categories › Parent › Category" trail on every category, above or below the banner (or the H1). none (or false): no crumb

subscribeStyle

link, button

link

With subscribe on, button gives a signed-out reader an outlined "Subscribe" button that goes to sign-in and back. A signed-in reader keeps the notification-level button

theme

theme.forum.* on the space, or a site theme for its forums

forum.list.anatomy

category

theme.forum.categoryOverrides.<slug> (list, categoryPage)

the Announcements category as cards

block

a front-page block's own attributes (spaceFeed.listPatch, spaceFeed.card.*, spaceCategories.layout)

one feed on the home as a table

avatar.position

gutter · inline · none

The author's picture: a column left of the post, first in the header row, or none. Unset: no avatar.

avatar.positionSm

same

The same under 640px (unset: position).

avatar.size

sm (24) · md (45) · lg (56) · 20–64

Its size in px.

avatar.shape

circle · rounded · square

name

name · username · name-username · username-name

Which name the header shows; the second, muted.

name: "username-plain"

—

The handle without its @ ("wrenh").

date

absolute · relative

The header date ("3 hr. ago"). It is always the post's #post-N permalink, with the full time on hover.

number

boolean

Prefix the date with #N.

staffAccent

hex · brand · success · ink · muted · none

Owners, admins and moderators get a shield and this colour on their name; system lines take it too.

opChip

boolean

An "Author" chip on the topic starter's replies.

newMemberChip

boolean

A "New member" chip on trust-level-0 authors.

reactions

palette · like · both

The emoji chips (today), one heart bound to 👍 in the action row, or both (the heart owns 👍, the palette the rest).

menu

list of like reply quote bookmark link branch flag edit history

The action row, in order.

menuHidden

same

Items folded into the "…" menu.

actions.align / actions.style

start·end / text·icons

Where the row sits and whether it shows labels (icons keep them for screen readers).

bodySize

sm · base · lg · 13–20

Post text size (unset: 14px). A typography.levels.body.size you set still wins.

headingScale

page · body

body sizes headings inside a post relative to the post (1.25em / 1.1em / 1em), not the page.

quoteStyle

plain · bar · card

How a quote of another post looks; card puts "Name said:" on top.

style

rule · card · flat

A ruled list (today), bordered cards, or no rules.

byline

top · card-end

The author line at the top, or a Stack Overflow user card at the end of the post.

voteStyle

none · inline · gutter

▲ score ▼: in the action row or a column left of the post. Answers always; the opening post only on a question.

status

boolean

The author's status emoji and message after their name (when members may set one).

flair

chip · avatar-overlay

Group flair as a chip (today) or a disc on the avatar.

reputation

boolean

Points and gold/silver/bronze badge counts. true: in the header (and the card-end byline); false: nowhere. Unset: in the card-end byline only, never in the header.

gapMarkers

1–365 · false

"N days later" between posts that far apart (chronological order only).

reactionsRow

separate · inline

Where the emoji chips and the add-reaction button go: their own row under the actions (unset), or inside the action row, chips first.

badges

always · hover · none

The badge glyphs after a name: always (unset), only while the header is hovered or focused (never on a touch screen), or never.

acceptedStyle

box · none · gutter-check

The accepted reply: a green frame and chip (unset), drawn as a plain post, or a green check under the vote gutter (in the header when the post has no gutter).

header

inline · stacked

The author line as one row (unset), or the name over "role • date" (the role is the author's title, else Staff/Moderator).

bodySurface / bodySurfaceDark

hex

A rounded bubble behind the post text, in light / dark mode.

quote.avatar

boolean

The quoted author's face before the name in a quote's head (their picture, else their initials disc).

avatar.sizeSm

20–64

The face's size under 640px. Unset: 32. Example: "avatar": { "position": "inline", "size": "sm", "sizeSm": 28 }.

likeChip

auto · show · hide

The 👍 chip (and like heart) beside a vote. auto (unset): hidden where a ▲ score is drawn — the score is that reaction; show: drawn anyway; hide: never a 👍 chip. Example: "likeChip": "show" with "voteStyle": "gutter" draws both.

reactionPicker

auto · show · hide

The add-reaction (smiley) button. show (unset): always; hide: no picker, every palette reaction is a fixed toggle chip; auto: ONE reaction control per post — the like heart alone when the space has one reaction enabled (it toggles that reaction), the picker (chips + smiley) alone otherwise; with reactions: "like" (no chips at all) the heart stays. The FORUM defaults use auto. Example: "reactionPicker": "hide".

header.category / header.tags

chip·text·none / chips·none

The category link (with its colour) and the tag chips under the title. text: the category's name in its own colour, no chip.

header.kindChip

boolean

false hides the Question/Discussion chip from readers (moderators keep it).

header.statusGlyph

boolean · pill · checkbox

A check before a solved question's title, a lock before a closed one. checkbox: the lock, then the question's checkbox — ticked in the solved colour once answered, empty until then.

header.stateChip

boolean

false drops the "Closed"/"Archived" chip from the meta line (leave the lock to statusGlyph). Unset: drawn.

header.solvedPill

{ text: "solved"·"answeredBy", placement: "before-title"·"meta"·"meta-start", style: "tint"·"outline"·"solid" }

ONE solved pill, replacing statusGlyph: "pill" and the solved meta item: "✓ Solved" or "✓ Answered by {name}", before the title, at the meta line's end (meta), or first on it (meta-start, before the facts or the sentence), tinted (unset), outlined, or solid (R5) — filled with the solved colour, the page's background as ink. Example: { "text": "answeredBy", "placement": "meta", "style": "outline" }; { "placement": "before-title", "style": "solid" }. Theme scope; no layer default.

header.solvedColor

hex · success · brand

The solved pill's own colour. Unset: answerColor.

header.cta

{ label: text ≤40, href }

A button at the end of the title row ("Ask Question"). href: an http(s) URL, a /path on the site, or a path under the forum ("c/questions" → that category's page, where its New topic button is). Example: { "label": "Ask Question", "href": "c/questions" }.

header.cta.phone

inline · below · above · hide

The button under 640px: below (unset, as before) wraps under the title; inline keeps it at the end of the title row, the title wrapping beside it; above puts it on its own line over the title, at the end edge (Stack Overflow's phone page); hide drops it on a phone. Theme scope; no layer default. Example: "cta": { "label": "Ask Question", "href": "c/questions", "phone": "inline" }.

header.metaStyle

list · sentence

The meta line as a list of facts (unset) or one sentence: "tvoronov asked this question in Q&A" ("started this discussion in" for a discussion; the category part drops when there is none), in the reader's language. The author is named as post.name names them. The sentence carries the category link, so the category chip is not drawn beside it (a moderator keeps theirs — it is their control). Theme scope; no layer default. Example: "metaStyle": "sentence".

header.metaTemplate

text, ≤80

The sentence in your own words, with the tokens {author}, {category} and {age} (the topic's date). Read only with metaStyle: "sentence". Theme scope. Example: "metaTemplate": "{author} opened this {age} in {category}".

header.number

boolean

The topic's number after the title, muted: "#24636". It is the topic's number — an imported topic carries its source number in its fields (fields.number); a topic with none draws nothing. Theme scope; no layer default. Example: "number": true.

header.meta item solved

—

A green "Solved" pill after the meta line on a solved question. statusGlyph: "pill" puts the same pill before the title instead of the check.

header.meta

list of author replies views likes asked modified activity

The meta line, in order. Unset: author · replies · views.

breadcrumb

back · trail · none

"All topics" (today), Forum › Parent › Category, or nothing.

breadcrumbRoot

text, ≤40

The trail's first crumb (unset: "Forum") — "Community › Help". The JSON-LD trail uses it too.

map.show

never · auto · always

The topic map under the first post; auto waits for map.minReplies (0–100).

map.style

full · strip · stacked

Discourse's boxed stats, one line ("322 views · 9 likes · 8 users") with an avatar stack, or stacked — the box with each stat a big number over a small lowercase label ("322" / "views"), centred. Theme or category scope (byCategory[…].map); no layer default. Example: "map": { "show": "always", "style": "stacked" }.

map.fullFrom

1–200

The full box only from this many replies; below it, the strip. Unset: map.style always.

replySort

oldest · newest · votes

Reply order. Unset: chronological; a question keeps accepted-then-votes.

sortControl

boolean

Oldest / Newest / Votes links above the replies (?replies=).

answerPlacement

pinned-first · inline · excerpt · excerpt-in-post

A solved question's answer: first (today), in place, in place plus a "Solved by" card under the question, or that card INSIDE the opening post, before its actions.

answerStyle

outline · filled · header

The "Solved by" card: an outline with a tinted head (unset), a filled tint with no outline, or header — a solid bar reading "✓ SOLVED" over a plain bordered body. Every style takes answerColor.

answerBody

excerpt · full

What the "Solved by" card says: the answer's first 300 characters (unset), or full — the whole accepted answer, rendered like the post, in a fold that is open on load and that the reader can close (no script). Works with every answerStyle.

answerColor / answerColorDark

hex · success · brand / hex

The colour of EVERY solved marker: the card, the Solved pill, the accepted reply's frame and chip, the gutter check, the list's solved check. Unset: success — the palette's success colour, else #15803d (#4ade80 in dark mode), never the brand. answerColorDark: a hex for dark mode (unset: answerColor). Example: "answerColor": "brand".

acceptedBanner

boolean

The "Accepted answer · jump to it" card under the head (answerPlacement pinned-first). false drops it; true draws it, and the accepted reply is then drawn plain. Unset: drawn only when the reply carries no marker of its own (post.acceptedStyle: "none") — see "One marker per accepted answer" below.

share.mode

row · menu · icon · none

The share control; networks, frame, label are the blog's post.share keys.

share.frame

circle · square · none · box

The row's icon frame, as on a post; box: the share glyph in a bordered 32px square. Example: "share": { "mode": "icon", "frame": "box" }.

share.align

start · end

Where the share control sits in the actions row (unset: in its place in actions).

actions

list of share translate bookmark notify

The actions row under the title, in order; [] draws no row. Unset: share, translate, bookmark, notify. Whether Translate shows is translate.

actionsPlacement

row · meta

The actions as their own row under the head (unset), or as icons at the end of the meta line — no ~50px band. The FORUM defaults use meta. Example: "actionsPlacement": "meta".

translate

provider · always · never

Translate's visibility. provider (unset): only when the org has connected a translation provider (Settings → DeepL); always: drawn anyway — staff are told to connect a provider if it fails; never: not drawn, provider or not.

watch.style

link · button

The Watch / Subscribe control as a plain link or a solid button. Unset: an outlined button.

rail

none · meta · related · timeline, or a list of 1–6 of meta related solved timeline and boxes

A sticky side rail: facts (category, tags, participants, dates), related topics, or the timeline. A list stacks its sections in order (each section once); solved lists solved topics in the topic's category, each with a check (a related topic known to be solved gets one too). A box is the list rail's: { "kind": "box", "title": "Featured", "body": "markdown", "tone": "note" } (note: pale yellow).

timeline.placement

viewport · beside-column · none

Today's right edge, just right of the column (≥1280px), or off.

timeline.phone

none · pill

A "3 / 40" pill on phones that jumps to a post.

timeline.minReplies / timeline.color

1–200 / ink

When it appears (unset: 5) and its fill.

timeline.dateStyle

mono-full · short · day-month

The end dates: "Oct 3, 2025" in mono (unset), "Oct 2025" in the page's sans, as Discourse prints them, or day-month — "Sep 20" in the page's sans, in the reader's locale order ("20 sept."). Theme scope; no layer default. Example: "timeline": { "dateStyle": "day-month" }.

threading

flat · nested · comments

Per space. Unset: the org setting (community.enable_threaded_replies). comments is Q&A: replies with no parent are answers, the rest a compact comment list under the post they answer, and the box reads "Your answer".

summarize.show / summarize.minReplies

boolean / 1–500

A "Summarize this topic" button for signed-in readers, when the org has connected an AI provider. Summaries are cached per reply count.

measure

560–1000

The reading column in px.

align

center · start

Unset: against the forum sidebar where there is one at the start edge (≥1024px), centred otherwise. start: against the sidebar — or, with no sidebar, the page frame's start edge (the title lines up with the logo, inside layout.widths.max). center: centred, sidebar or not. The beside-column timeline follows the column.

titleSize

length, or { sm, md, lg }

The topic title's size. Unset: clamp(1.5rem, 1.1rem + 2vw, 2.25rem). A typography.levels.topicTitle size still wins. Example: "titleSize": { "sm": "20px", "lg": "40px" }.

titlePlacement

above · in-first-post · in-first-post-after-author

The title (with its meta line and chips) above the thread (unset), inside the opening post over its author line, or in-first-post-after-author — inside the opening post AFTER its author row: the author, then the Solved pill (a before-title pill gets its own line), then the title. The breadcrumb stays above. Theme scope; no layer default. Example: "titlePlacement": "in-first-post-after-author".

composer.signedOut

box · none

The "Sign in to join in" box at the thread's foot for a signed-out reader (unset: box). none: nothing — a replyBar is then their way in.

byCategory

{ "<category slug>": { … } }, ≤50

Per-category overrides of answerStyle, answerColor, answerColorDark, actions, map, rail, replyBar, header, share, timeline, threading and post (the posts' own keys), merged key by key over the space's ("replyBar": false takes the space's bar away). A subcategory with no entry takes its parent's. Keys are category slugs (c/<slug>). See "Mix and match".

replyBar.signedOut

bar · none

A "Leave a reply…" bar. bar: signed-out readers get it too, and it opens the space's sign-in in place (they come back to the topic); none: only members who can reply. Signed in, it opens the composer. Unset replyBar: no bar.

replyBar.placement

list of after-op after-answer end

Where the bar appears (unset: end). At end it replaces the composer's "Sign in to join in" box for signed-out readers.

related / suggested

boolean

false drops the related / suggested lists at the foot.

answersHeading

boolean

An "N Answers" heading over the replies (the sort control beside it).

chrome.composer.mode

inline (default) keeps the reply box at the end of the thread. dock makes it a bar stuck to the bottom of the topic column: "Reply" expands it (up to 60% of the screen), Escape folds it. Drafts autosave either way

chrome.searchPage.filters

Where the /search page's filter panel sits: side (default), top, none (the box alone; operators typed into it still work), or disclosure — the top row folded in a closed "Advanced filters" disclosure above the results (open when a filter is already applied; its closed size is fixed, so opening it never moves anything above it). Theme scope; no layer default. Example: "searchPage": { "filters": "disclosure" }

chrome.searchPage.avatar

A result's starter face: above (default) over the title, or start — a 40px face beside a column of title, meta and excerpt. Theme scope; no layer default. Example: "searchPage": { "avatar": "start" }

chrome.searchPage.head

The results' heading: line (default) — the muted "12 results" line; count — a heading, "12 results for “query”", with a Sort picker (relevance, latest post, most votes, most views, newest topic — the order filter) and a Type picker (topics and posts, or titles only — the in:title filter) at its end. The pickers are links, so they work with no script. Theme scope; no layer default. Example: "searchPage": { "head": "count" }

profile.avatarSize

integer px, 45–160

56

The avatar beside the member's name. Discourse draws 120

profile.summary.sections

array (≤9) of stats, topReplies, topTopics, topLinks, mostRepliedTo, mostLikedBy, mostLiked, topCategories, topBadges

unset

The Summary tab's sections, in this order. Consecutive list sections (topReplies … mostLiked) sit side by side in two columns; stats, topCategories (a table: category, topics, replies) and topBadges take the full width. Unset draws today's tab (tiles, most active topics, most liked posts, category and tag chips, badges); [] draws nothing

profile.rail

array (≤2) of solved, tags

unset

A right-hand column at ≥1280px: the topics this member solved in this forum, and the forum's trending tags (last 30 days, else all-time). Not drawn below 1280px. Unset = no rail

profile.statsStyle

tiles | inline

tiles

The Summary's six numbers as the tile grid, or as one line — "12 Topics created · 40 Posts created · …". The same numbers either way

profile.itemMeta

array (1–3) of date, likes, replies

unset

The facts under each top-topic and top-reply row, in this order, joined by " · " — ["date","likes"] draws "Mar 4, 2026 · ♥ 12". replies applies to topics only; a fact a row has no value for is skipped. Unset: "3 replies · 5 votes" on topics, "5 likes" on replies

profile.tabs

array (1–3) of summary, activity, badges

["summary","activity"]

The tabs, in this order; the first one opens. badges lists every badge the member holds (icon, what it is for, when it was earned) and is drawn only for a member who holds one

list.rowLink

first, unread

first

Where a row's title takes a signed-in reader: the first post, or the first post they have not read (Discourse's default) unless the category says to open at the first post. A signed-out reader, and a topic read to the end, always open at the first post. Also per category and per feed block

list.excerptSource

excerpt, gist, gist-first

excerpt

What the excerpt line says: the opening post's first words, the topic's one-line AI gist (nothing until one is written), or the gist where there is one and the excerpt otherwise. Gists exist once the forum's aiGist behaviour key is on and an AI provider is connected

list.paging

pages, more, infinite

pages

pages (and unset) now draws real page links under the list: the page numbers up to the current one and Next, plus the last page when the filter row shows the topic count. Before, nothing was drawn, so a forum showed its first 30 topics and no way past them. Page 1 is the bare address. Links work with no script

post.staffAccentDark

hex

staffAccent in both schemes

The staff accent on the dark page

topic.print

thread, op

thread

What a printed topic carries: every post, or the opening post (and an accepted answer) only. The reply bar, filter row, action rows, timeline and composer never print

sidebar.communityLinks

any of topics, categories, tags, members, leaderboard, badges, about, bookmarks, search, in order, each once

topics, categories, tags, members, leaderboard, badges, about

The sidebar's COMMUNITY section. frontDoor.showLeaderboardLink: false still drops the leaderboard, and now only the leaderboard (it used to take Badges with it)

sidebar.communityLabels

{topics?, categories?, …}, ≤ 40 characters each

the built-in names

Those links in your own words

front.filters.linkLabels

{rss?, members?, leaderboard?, badges?, about?, bookmarks?, markRead?}, ≤ 24 characters each

the built-in names

The filter row's end links in your own words (the tabs already had labels)

front.filters.items

adds assigned, posted, participated

—

A signed-in reader's own lists: topics assigned to them, topics they started, topics they replied in

categoryPage.subcategories

as before

—

A category's own subcategoryListStyle now wins over the theme's choice (the category is the narrower scope)

translations

{ "<locale>": { "labels": { "<your words>": "<translation>" } } }

none

Your own forum words in each reader language. See below

forum-index-above-list, forum-index-below-list

The forum's front page and category pages, above and below the topic list (below the pager)

—

forum-topic-row-after-title (repeats)

After each row's title, in every anatomy

topic.id, topic.slug, topic.title

category-header (wraps)

The heading of a category page: banner, logo and name

category.name, category.slug, category.id, category.color, category.description

forum-categories-above

The /categories page, above the layout

—

forum-sidebar-top, forum-sidebar-bottom

The forum side column (front page and topic pages). The column appears only when something fills it

—

forum-topic-above-title, forum-topic-below-title

A topic page, around the title and its byline

topic.title, topic.slug

forum-topic-below-first-post

Between the opening post (and its polls) and the replies

topic.title, topic.slug

forum-post-after-body (repeats)

After every post's body, the first included

post.number, post.author, topic.title

forum-post-author-after (repeats)

After the author name in every post header

post.number, post.author, topic.title

forum-topic-bottom

After the last post

topic.title, topic.slug

user-card (wraps)

The member card on a member page

user.name, user.username, user.website, user.location

clean

Neutral white paper and ink in light, near-black in dark, a UI sans; avatars, relative dates, coloured tag chips, a dot category badge, wider columns (72rem list, 760px topic), the topic map at 3+ replies.

(keep yours)

board

clean, plus the classic board: a posters stack and Replies · Views · Activity columns, the category sidebar, underlined filter tabs.

Dense list

cards

clean, plus the OP's avatar, a thumbnail and the excerpt on every card, posts drawn as cards and a one-line topic map.

Categories

qa

clean, plus votes first: a votes / answers / views stat column, the vote count on cards, a vote gutter on posts, replies sorted by votes with a sort control, the accepted answer pinned first, comments under answers.

(keep yours)

paper

The forum as it was before 2026-10: warm paper, Archivo, no avatars, absolute dates, the pill badge.

(keep yours)

board

list.anatomy: "table", list.avatars: "posters", list.columns: ["replies","views","activity"], sidebar.enabled: true, front.filters.style: "underline"

cards

list.anatomy: "cards", list.avatars: "op", list.thumbnails: "start", list.excerpt: "all", post.style: "card", topic.map.style: "strip", front.welcome: "auto"

qa

the Q&A keys below, plus list.anatomy: "cards", list.avatars: "op", list.statusGlyph: "checkbox", post.style: "card", post.byline: "card-end", topic.threading: "comments", topic.header.meta: ["asked","modified","views"], and the front door's showVotes: true

paper

turns the clean layer back off: the forum as it was before 2026-10

showCategoryBadge

auto: on when the forum has two or more categories

auto

off

badgeStyle

dot

dot

pill

showVotes

off (the card's right column shows the reply count)

on

on

showIdentity

off ("New topic" moves into the filter row)

off

on

showSearch

off when the header has its own search box, otherwise on

as left

on

neutral paper + UI sans (look)

white / near-black papers, --reader-ui-font

warm paper, Archivo

frontDoor.showCategoryBadge

auto — on with two or more categories

off

frontDoor.badgeStyle

dot

pill

frontDoor.showVotes

off

on

frontDoor.showIdentity / showSearch

off / off under a header search

on / on

forum.front.filters.newTopic

on ("New topic" in the filter row)

off

forum.tagStyle, forum.list.tags

chip, chips (tag colours)

muted text

forum.list.anatomy

table (Replies · Views · Activity) on the default Categories arrangement and under board; cards under cards and qa

the preset's (cards)

forum.list.avatars

posters with the table, op with cards or rows

none

forum.list.excerpt

pinned

none

forum.list.stateGlyphs, .pin, .header.case

on, glyph, title

as before

forum.dates.style

compact ("3h", "5d")

absolute

forum.sidebar.enabled

on for the Categories and Dense list arrangements

off

forum.categoriesPage

{ layout: "list", beside: "latest" }

today's stack

forum.categoryPage.liftDark

on (category colours lifted for dark)

off

home category rail (front.categoriesLayout)

ruled rows; tiles under cards, and under clean when three or more top-level categories each have a logo or image icon (tiles sit before the topics, with the welcome band at four or more)

grid

forum.post.avatar

{ position: "gutter", size: "md", shape: "circle", positionSm: "inline" }

none

forum.post.date, .bodySize, .headingScale

relative, base (16px), body

as before (14px)

forum.post.opChip, .staffAccent

on, brand

none

forum.post.actions, .menu, .menuHidden

icons at the end; like, link, reply; the rest under "…"

today's text row

forum.post.gapMarkers

7 ("N days later")

none

forum.topic.measure, layout.widths.list

760 px, 72rem — not when contentWidth is standard or full

42rem, 48rem

forum.topic.map

{ show: "auto", minReplies: 3, style: "full", fullFrom: 10 } — the full box from 10 replies, a strip below

none

forum.topic.answerPlacement

excerpt (posts in order, the answer quoted under the question)

pinned-first

forum.topic.share

{ mode: "icon", align: "end" }

the full row

forum.topic.actions

["share"] — no "Translate · Bookmark" row under the topic

the full row

forum.topic.replyBar

{ signedOut: "bar", placement: ["end"] } — "Leave a reply…" for a signed-out reader

none

forum.list.titleLines

{ sm: 3, md: 2, lg: 2 } — a title wraps instead of one line and an ellipsis

1

forum.list.kindChip

off — no "question" chip on rows

on

forum.list.stats.phone

strip — the votes / answers / views strip above the title on a phone

hide

forum.front.categories

auto — topics first; no second list where the forum sidebar already lists the categories, else the categories beside the topics from 1024px (aside)

before

forum.sidebar.subcategories

nested — the top level, each parent opening to its children

flat

forum.front.welcome (cards look)

auto — the welcome band first with four or more categories

hide

forum.post.reactionsRow

inline — the add-reaction button inside the action row

separate

forum.post.badges

hover — badge glyphs after a name on hover or focus only

always

forum.post.quote.avatar

on — the quoted author's face in a quote card

off

forum.look (unset)

qa when ≥ 50% of ≥ 5 published topics are questions, else clean

—

logoDarkMode

invert for a lone logoUrl or logoMark (not with a dark/light pair, nor when pinned dark)

none

forum.topic.timeline

{ placement: "beside-column", phone: "pill" }

fixed at the window's edge

forum.topic.breadcrumb, .header

trail; no kind chip, a status glyph. The trail ends in the category, so the meta line's category chip is not drawn while header.category is unset (set chip or text to have both)

"All topics"; the kind chip

layout.indexHeader

hide — the forum's name stays as a visually hidden <h1>

shown

chrome.themeToggle.style

cycle (a forum outside a site)

mono

chrome.signInStyle

{ look: "outline" } (a forum outside a site)

a text link

chrome.header.brandSize

{ sm: 16, md: 18 } — the name at a title's size (a forum outside a site)

the header row's 14px

header sign-in

always drawn on a forum that accepts reader accounts, in the server HTML (it opens the platform sign-in until the forum's own providers are known)

the same — not a look key