# Admin Reporting & Analysis: Incremental Changes
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768
**Category:** Announcements
**Tags:** dashboard-reports, reporting
**Created:** [February 24, 2026, 5:56am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768 "2026-02-24T05:56:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 5:56am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/1 "2026-02-24T05:56:50Z")
We’re beginning a broader rework of the admin dashboard.
This first step focuses on making the Reporting & Analysis section clearer and easier to navigate.
In this topic, we’ll review the first incremental changes and share how you can start using this today.
## 🔬 What’s changed
### Report grouping
A first step we are taking is to **group the reports**. We aim to group them by type of question they could answer. At the moment, these groupings are:
- Engagement
- Traffic
- Members
- Content & Health
- Moderation
- Security
Anything that doesn’t fit or new reports will go into a rest category (“other”).
The goal is to reduce cognitive load and make it easier to find the report you need without scanning a long, flat list.
### Report cleanup
Over time, the reporting page accumulated more charts than most admins meaningfully use.
As part of this update, we’ve **removed a set of reports** from the main view.
> **Overview of legacy reports**
>
> - bookmarks
> - likes
> - moderator\_warning\_private\_messages
> - notify\_moderators\_private\_messages
> - notify\_user\_private\_messages
> - post\_edits
> - profile\_views
> - system\_private\_messages
> - top\_users\_by\_likes\_received\_from\_inferior\_trust\_level
> - top\_users\_by\_likes\_received\_from\_a\_variety\_of\_people
> - user\_to\_user\_private\_messages
For the moment, they are still available via direct link but hidden from the report page, and they will eventually be deprecated. _(We’re happy to reconsider if there are strong use cases we’ve overlooked.)_
For more granular or one-off analysis, they can alway be replicated via [data explorer.](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-data-explorer/32566)
### Navigation & Layout changes
We also **streamlined the header section** so it matches our more recent admin layout and frees up real estate by not repeating on every report page.
As you can see: more content above the fold.
The reports page is now decoupled from the dashboard.
Instead of rendering inside the dashboard view, it now lives at its own dedicated route (`/admin/reports`).
This removes duplicate routes and simplifies navigation as we move toward a more modular admin experience.
This is a first step in the larger dashboard rework and while this area behaves inconsistently now, it will improve in later iterations.
## ⚙ Turning on Reporting improvements in your community
**For now, this is considered an experimental change!** We’re welcoming your feedback, which will help us make improvements and roll this out further.
To turn this on, head to the **[Upcoming changes](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-upcoming-changes-a-system-to-manage-new-features-and-changes-to-existing-functionality-in-your-community/392894)** page in your admin area (`/admin/config/upcoming-changes`) and find the **Reporting improvements** item. Update the **Enabled for** … field to opt your site in to this new design:
## 📣 What do you think?
Over to you: we’d love to hear what you think of this rework. Do the groupings make sense? How do you use our reporting?
This topic will be updated with further improvements to this area.
---
### Author:  [@hellekin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hellekin)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/4 "2026-02-24T13:50:49Z")
Thank you for taking care of admins!
> [@chapoi](#):
>
> we’ve **removed a set of reports** from the main view.
Can these be published as #data-explorer queries in #data-reporting, or will someone document how to use [Discourse Prometheus](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-prometheus/72666) for interested people?
> [@chapoi](#):
>
> Do the groupings make sense?
> [@chapoi](#):
>
> How do you use our reporting?
Honestly I think I’m going to use reporting more _after_ the rework. Until now, I didn’t see much interest in exploring this area, especially because of its lack of structure, so… good work!
---
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 2:05pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/5 "2026-02-24T14:05:50Z")
> [@hellekin](#):
>
> Can these be published as #data-explorer queries in #data-reporting::category
They are. You can currently still find them with the #dashboard-sql tag, and they are linked in [Admin dashboard report reference guide](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-dashboard-report-reference-guide/240233)
For future reference as they are likely to be removed from these soon:
| report | topic |
| --- | --- |
| bookmarks | [Dashboard Report - Bookmarks](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dashboard-report-bookmarks/289129) |
| likes | [Dashboard Report - Likes](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dashboard-report-likes/291092) |
| moderator\_warning\_private\_messages | [Dashboard Report - Moderator Warnings](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dashboard-report-moderator-warnings/291876) |
| notify\_moderators\_private\_messages | [Dashboard Report - Notify Moderators](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dashboard-report-notify-moderators/291887) |
| notify\_user\_private\_messages | [Dashboard Report - Notify User](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dashboard-report-notify-user/292004) |
| post\_edits | [Dashboard Report - Post Edits](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dashboard-report-post-edits/292019) |
| profile\_views | [Dashboard Report - User Profile Views](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dashboard-report-user-profile-views/294477) |
| system\_private\_messages | [Dashboard Report - System](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dashboard-report-system/293546) |
| top\_users\_by\_likes\_received\_from\_inferior\_trust\_level | [Dashboard Report - Top Users by Likes Received from a User with a Lower Trust Level](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dashboard-report-top-users-by-likes-received-from-a-user-with-a-lower-trust-level/293717) |
| top\_users\_by\_likes\_received\_from\_a\_variety\_of\_people | [Dashboard Report - Top Users by Likes Received From a Variety of People](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dashboard-report-top-users-by-likes-received-from-a-variety-of-people/293723) |
| user\_to\_user\_private\_messages | [Dashboard Report - User-to-User](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dashboard-report-user-to-user/288459) |
---
### Author:  [@gormus](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gormus)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/6 "2026-02-24T19:09:45Z")
Feature request:
Would you consider moving the reports a non-admin path, and managing access via a new `..._allowed_groups` setting? :))
```yml
access_reports_allowed_groups:
default: "1|2" # auto groups admins, moderators
mandatory_values: "1|2" # auto group admins, moderators
type: group_list
allow_any: false
```
---
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 8:11pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/7 "2026-02-24T20:11:23Z")
Is the warning within the table on my dashboard an expected result?
---
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 8:23pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/8 "2026-02-24T20:23:22Z")
What determines the order in which the plugin reports are shown? The order seems to change based on my interface language, but it’s not alphabetical.
| English | German |
| --- | --- |
| solved | solved |
| documentation categories | AI |
| AI | user notes |
| Reactions | Calendar |
| User notes | documentation categories |
| Calendar | Reactions |
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 8:50am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/9 "2026-02-25T08:50:19Z")
At the moment thats not on the table at all. We feel reports are a very specific admin area.
Do you have a specific usecase in mind?
> [@Moin](#):
>
> What determines the order in which the plugin reports are shown?
Haha, so okay, I think we did something very special here 😅
It seems they are ordered alphabetically, based on the name of the first _report_ in the group…
So for example in English I have:
While I do think there is a certain quirky charm to it, we’ll get it… _sorted_
---
### Author:  [@gormus](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gormus)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 9:19am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/10 "2026-02-25T09:19:00Z")
> [@chapoi](#):
>
> At the moment thats not on the table at all. We feel reports are a very specific admin area.
>
> Do you have a specific usecase in mind?
I have received certain interests in some of the reports from the leadership who are not necessarily technical and should not have the admin or moderator role just to access the reports.
I could of course re-create the reports using the [Data Explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/32566?silent=true), and share those reports with them too. But on the downside;
- I need to maintain those [data explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/32566?silent=true) reports as they are updated in the core
- Graphs and charts are only available in the Reports, not in the [Data Explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/32566?silent=true) reports (unless I missed something)
- The Reports UI is less admin-y (more user-friendly) than the [data explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/32566?silent=true) reports UI
I’d even take it one step further and ask for enabling Reports reports for selected groups, just like the [data explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/32566?silent=true) reports do 😃
Yet again, this whole ask would have been a “nice to have” feature, not a “must have” : ))
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 9:20am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/11 "2026-02-25T09:20:46Z")
Thanks for expanding on it – it’s an interesting usecase.
I don’t know how much overhead something like this would bring; maybe it’s minimal. I’ll bring it up internally when discussing this project!
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2026, 8:48am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/12 "2026-02-26T08:48:57Z")
> [@chapoi](#):
>
> While I do think there is a certain quirky charm to it, we’ll get it… _sorted_
This is now done – should be alphabetical, and change with the user interface language.
---
### Author:  [@Zanbabe](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Zanbabe)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2026, 12:12pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/13 "2026-02-26T12:12:08Z")
I use the top\_users\_by\_likes\_received\_from\_a\_variety\_of\_people to determine one of our end-of-year awards. Would like to still have access to that report for that reason.
I have used a few of the other ones that are going to be deprecated as well. Echo the desire to still have access in some way. … Would actually be nicer to just have a menu of reports and have the ability to choose which ones we want on our dashboard, including custom ones.
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2026, 12:24pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/14 "2026-02-26T12:24:08Z")
> [@Zanbabe](#):
>
> top\_users\_by\_likes\_received\_from\_a\_variety\_of\_people
Can you explain why the total liked wouldnt suffice? Is that to avoid the awards can be gamed by intensive liking between a small group?
---
### Author:  [@ToddZ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ToddZ)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2026, 6:58pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/15 "2026-02-26T18:58:42Z")
> [@chapoi](#):
>
> we’ve **removed a set of reports** from the main view
> …
> and they will eventually be deprecated
I’m not protesting - just curious: why remove these instead of tucking them under a collapsed heading or something. Will they require maintenance that’s not worth it?
---
### Author:  [@Zanbabe](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Zanbabe)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2026, 3:21am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/16 "2026-02-27T03:21:00Z")
Yeah. We have a small group that games the system extensively, although they are also helpful in other ways, so we’re not going to kick them off or anything. They tend to dominate the awards… we do give awards for the straight numbers as well, but want to diversify and give awards (and draw attention to) people who are behaving better.
The more user reports I have that show people doing things that we want to motivate, the better.
Off topic for this conversation, but I also wish we could adjust points more specifically. I don’t want to turn them off completely in the fun areas of my site and disincentivize the people that are participating there, but I would love to give MORE points in certain categories, rather than just turning points on or off.
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2026, 6:21am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/18 "2026-02-27T06:21:29Z")
> [@ToddZ](#):
>
> I’m not protesting - just curious:
Fair question.
> [@ToddZ](#):
>
> Will they require maintenance that’s not worth it?
In software, as a golden rule, everything requires maintenance! The specific reports maybe not so much though, so we _could_ keep them around.
To answer your main question:
> [@ToddZ](#):
>
> hy remove these instead of tucking them under a collapsed heading or something
Because seeing if any complaints show up is the easiest way to find out if something is valuable or not 🙂
And in design, and to me personally, the concept of having a “extra” category that’s just shoved underneath come collapsible heading is a sign that the surrounding features aren’t designed _well_. Part of good design is also daring to prune away things.
---
### Author:  [@ToddZ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ToddZ)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/19 "2026-02-27T22:38:42Z")
> [@chapoi](#):
>
> Part of good design is also daring to prune away things.
That is very quotable 🍻
Thanks for the reply – always nice to learn the thought process behind changes. I hadn’t made much use of those reports myself, but it’s good to know the queries will still be around if someone really needs them.
---
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/20 "2026-03-24T22:59:27Z")
I noticed that reports with no data on the dashboard need a lot more space when the upcoming change is enabled.
---
### Author:  [@gassim](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gassim)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2026, 7:09am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/21 "2026-03-25T07:09:42Z")
Hi
> [@chapoi](#):
>
> To turn this on, head to the **[Upcoming changes](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-upcoming-changes-a-system-to-manage-new-features-and-changes-to-existing-functionality-in-your-community/392894)** page in your admin area (`/admin/config/upcoming-changes`) and find the **Reporting improvements** item. Update the **Enabled for** … field to opt your site in to this new design:
>
> 
In my drop down I can’t see the Staff only option, but instead I see Everyone… what does it mean because it’s different than the ‘Staff only’ option in your screenshot?
Please see screenshot below:
Thanks!
---
### Author:  [@zogstrip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/zogstrip)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2026, 12:07pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/23 "2026-03-25T12:07:22Z")
The dropdown is working as expected 😉
The “Reporting improvements” setting is a simple on/off toggle, so it only offers **Everyone** (on) and **No one** (off) — there’s no group-based targeting for this one.
We made this [change](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/37801) on 2026-02-15T23:00:00Z to prevent confusion for upcoming changes that don’t support being scoped to specific groups. Since “Reporting improvements” applies globally to the admin reporting UI, offering a “Staff only” option didn’t make sense — it’s either enabled or it isn’t.
The screenshot in the OP was taken before that change. Selecting **Everyone** is the correct way to opt in.
---
### Author:  [@martin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/martin)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 3:42am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768/24 "2026-03-26T03:42:41Z")
We also plan to make a little further change here so things like this can have “Staff only” or “No one” as the options, since “Everyone” still doesn’t really make sense.
[Next page](https://meta.discourse.org/t/admin-reporting-analysis-incremental-changes/395768.md?page=2)