Understanding and managing bootstrap mode

[Discourse]

This guide explains how to Discourse’s bootsrap mode works, when it applies, and how to manage it.

Required user level: Administrators

Bootstrap mode is a special state during the initial stages of your Discourse site, designed to facilitate rapid community growth. This guide will help you recognize bootstrap mode, understand its effects, and know when it concludes.

Detecting bootstrap mode

The most visible and straightforward way to identify if your site is in bootstrap mode is to look for the “Getting started” button next to the logo in the header on desktop.

For additional verification, you can check the staff action logs for changes to the bootstrap_mode_enabled setting. Add this to your forum’s URL:

/admin/logs/staff_action_logs?filters=%7B"subject"%3A"bootstrap_mode_enabled"%7D

This will show you a filtered view of changes related to the bootstrap mode status, allowing you to see when it was last enabled or disabled.

Effects of bootstrap mode

During bootstrap mode, specific aspects of your Discourse site are automatically adjusted to encourage user engagement and community growth:

1. User trust and permissions:
   • New users are given Trust Level 1, allowing them to bypass typical new user restrictions.
2. Communication frequency:
   • Users receive daily summary emails instead of weekly digests.
   • Moderators are notified about users awaiting approval after 5 minutes instead of 8 hours.
3. User directory updates:
   • The user directory is updated more frequently, ensuring new members are visible sooner.

Modified site settings

The following table shows the specific settings that are altered during bootstrap mode:

Setting	Default Value	Bootstrap Mode Value
default_trust_level	0	1
default_email_digest_frequency	10080	1440
pending_users_reminder_delay_minutes	480	5

There’s also a hidden site setting bootstrap_mode_enabled, which is set to true while your site is in bootstrap mode.

Ending bootstrap mode

Bootstrap mode concludes automatically when your site reaches a specific user threshold, defined by the bootstrap_mode_min_users setting:

• 50 registered users for public instances
• 10 registered users for instances where login is required

You can adjust this setting to better suit your community’s needs.

It may take up to 24 hours for bootstrap mode to disable after reaching the user threshold.

Automatic changes upon exiting bootstrap mode

When the system disables bootstrap mode:

• Settings that were automatically changed for bootstrap mode will revert to their default values.
• Any settings you manually adjusted during bootstrap mode will remain at your set values.
• The system will log these changes in the staff action logs for your reference.

Here’s an example of what you might see in the staff action logs:

Managing bootstrap mode

While bootstrap mode is designed to be automatic, understanding its effects can help you make informed decisions about community management during your site’s early stages. Consider these tips:

1. Monitor user growth and engagement closely during this period.
2. Be prepared for increased moderation needs as new users gain more permissions.
3. Consider maintaining some of the more frequent communication settings even after bootstrap mode ends if they prove beneficial for your community.

By leveraging bootstrap mode effectively, you can create a welcoming environment that encourages new users to become active participants in your Discourse community.

Thanks to @Moin, the original author of this documentation topic.

Last edited by @hugh 2024-09-13T07:12:04Z

Last checked by @hugh 2024-09-13T02:26:36Z

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