---
name: kapa-setup-discourse
description: Set up a Kapa Discourse source so a public forum is ingested. Use when the user wants Kapa to answer from their Discourse community forum.
---

# Set up Discourse

The simplest community source: a public forum needs no credential at all.

## 1. Create the source

`create_discourse_source` with `project` and `name`. Keep the returned id.

## 2. Check the forum and list what it holds

`validate_discourse_url` with `url` confirms the forum is reachable
anonymously. A failure means it is login-walled, and there is no credential
here to fix that.

`list_discourse_categories` and `list_discourse_tags` then show the real
options to offer the user. An empty tag list means the forum has tagging
turned off, so filter by category instead.

## 3. Configure it

`set_discourse_config` with `source_discourse` and `url`, the base URL of the
forum, such as `https://forum.acme.com`.

Ask which parts of the forum to read. `match_categories` and `match_tags`
take what the user picks, and leaving both out reads every topic. Use
`list_discourse_categories` and `list_discourse_tags` to show them the real
options.

Pass categories by **name or slug**, never by numeric id. An id matches
nothing, and ingestion then drops the category filter and reads the whole
forum.

## Getting good answers out of it

Forum threads contain wrong answers as well as right ones, so ask the user
how to handle that:

- `include_solved_only`: keep only topics with an accepted answer, or take
  every topic. Check first whether their forum marks solutions at all, since
  this filter leaves nothing on a forum that does not.

## When it ingests nothing

The forum is not public, or `include_solved_only` is on for a forum that does
not mark accepted answers.

## Finish the job

Saving the configuration starts ingestion. There is no separate publish step,
so once the config saves the source is live.

Then call `list_sources` with `project_id` to confirm what the project holds.

## Shared Kapa workflow rules

Tools act as the connected user with that user's project permissions. Resolve the intended project and use only authorized data. Do not invent credentials, source IDs, filters, or tool results. Check the available tool schema before passing arguments.

Explain and obtain approval for ingestion and its quota cost before saving a configuration that starts ingestion or calling `start_crawl`; existing explicit approval for that exact action is sufficient. Ask the user to choose source scope and filters. Validate credentials and discover accessible content before saving. Keep credentials out of visible results, logs, and exported artifacts. Use a secure credential input if the host provides one.

For a web source, preview the exact configuration and inspect the extracted article content before ingestion. Report queued, running, failed, and completed states accurately. If uncertain about Kapa behavior, use `search_kapa_docs` when available.